We left our comfort zone a bit behind us with last night’s dinner and are reporting back that it was well worth the trip.  We were recently introduced to the food blog Anger Burger and after reading one of her latest entries describing her attempt at Asian fare, vegetarian and meat-eater alike dreamt of the possibilities.  And so, we forayed into the world of fried rice.

Anger Burger’s recipe uses steak which had one of us (guess who) salivating and the other one of us remembering a delicious kimchi fried rice from a potluck dinner with friends.  We fused the ideas and had an initial blueprint for our next meal:  Kimchi fried rice, Anger Burger style, in two pans (one with steak).

One necessary amendment that we made to Anger Burger’s recipe was to replace the Nam Prik Pao with a vegetarian alternative.  We reached out to a friend whose vegetarian kimchi fried rice we love and she led us to a fantastic fried rice solution from a blog that she likes and uses.  This recipe uses a chili paste that is not only vegetarian, but vegan.  An easy shopping trip later we had our final decision: Kimchi Fried Rice (with steak) using Maangchi’s suggested Hot Pepper Paste.

The result was an incredibly satisfying, definitely blog-worthy and (we think) restaurant-worthy dinner.

Kimchi/Steak Fried Rice

Adapted from Anger Burger and Maangchi

(Amounts below make two servings each)

Start by making the marinade.  Combine the chili paste, tamari, water, lime juice, sugar, sesame oil, sriracha, honey, and garlic.  Pour over your choice of flank steak and/or kimchi, and save about 1/3 cup to pour over the rice later when you fry it.

Note: To be clear, we doubled the sauce recipe because we needed enough to make both the kimchi and steak fried rice.

Marinate for two hours.

Make 1 cup of rice (we’ve heard that Fried Rice is a great way to use old rice as well, so feel free to use that).

Slice the onion into thin rounds and then halve.  Slice the scallions into thin rounds (use both the white and light green parts).  Slice the carrot into thin rounds.

If you are making the Kimchi version, start by sauteeing the onion and carrots in oil until soft.  We used grapeseed oil, but sesame oil would be good, too.  Following a friend’s suggestion we laid down the kimchi in the pan, covered it with rice, ad let it sit undisturbed for about 12 minutes.  This is the kimchi’s only chance to cook through.

Add the rice into the pan and mix thoroughly.  Once the kimchi and rice are fully incorporated, press the rice down into the pan as if you are making one big rice patty.  Let it fry for about a minute and then flip it in in sections (imagine flipping pancakes) and repeat the process.  Drizzle the remaining sauce throughout. You will do this for about 8 minutes, until the rice is visibly browned.

While attending to the rice, fry up an egg over easy in a separate pan and when both are done, combine and eat!

If you are making the Steak version, start by sauteeing the onion and carrots in oil until soft.  Once both are soft, add the kimchi and let cook for about 5 minutes.  Sautee the meat with the veggies (another 5 minutes) and then add the rice, mixing everything together thoroughly.

Once mixed, press the rice down into the pan as if you are making one big rice patty.  Let it fry for about a minute and then flip it in in sections (imagine flipping pancakes) and repeat the process.  Drizzle the remaining sauce throughout.  You will do this for about 8 minutes, until the rice is visibly browned.

Serve and savor.

We ate this without a salad, without a side of cooked veggies, and without wine or a vodka tonic.  Don’t worry mom and dad, and mom and dad.  We haven’t sworn off vegetables, or even alcohol for that matter.  But this meal left nothing to want.

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