Crispy Rice Bowl with Kimchi and a Fried Egg

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups Jasmine rice (dry), cooked and chilled, ideally day-old
• 2 tbsp Canola oil
• 2 tsp Toasted sesame oil
• 1 ½ cups Kimchi, roughly chopped, juice reserved
• 1 tbsp Gochujang
• 1 tbsp Low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp Pure maple syrup
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 4 cups Baby spinach, packed
• 4 Eggs (large)
• 4 Scallions (green onions), sliced
• 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 Cucumber, sliced thin

Method

1. Use cold rice. Freshly cooked rice is too wet and will steam into mush instead of crisping — this is the one non-negotiable in the recipe.
2. Whisk the gochujang, soy, maple and 2 tablespoons of the kimchi juice together and set it aside.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the kimchi and garlic and fry 3 minutes until the edges darken and it smells sweet rather than sharp. Push it to one side, add the spinach, and toss until it wilts. Scrape it all onto a plate.
4. Add the remaining oil and the sesame oil. Add the rice and press it into a flat, even layer with the back of a spatula. Now leave it for 5-6 minutes. No stirring. You will hear it crackle and you should let it keep crackling.
5. Lift an edge with the spatula. When the underside is deep golden and lifts in a sheet, break it into rough pieces and toss with the sauce and the kimchi mixture.
6. Fry the eggs in a separate pan in a film of oil over medium-high, spooning hot oil over the whites until the edges are lacy and brown but the yolk is still liquid, about 2 minutes.
7. Pile the rice into bowls, set an egg on each, and top with scallions, sesame seeds and cold cucumber slices. Break the yolk into the rice at the table.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

Serve it in a shallow bowl and lay the egg slightly off-centre so the yolk runs toward one side. Add one extra spoonful of kimchi juice around the edge; it pools and looks like a sauce because it is one.

🧒 For the kids

Kimchi is a hard sell for a lot of kids. Crisp their rice plain with a little sesame oil and soy, top with a fried egg, and give them the cucumbers on the side — the crust is the part they will actually care about.

🌿 From the garden

Napa cabbage for homemade kimchi is a straightforward fall crop in Ohio, sown in August and harvested after the first light frosts, which sweeten it.

🥡 Leftovers

The crisp does not survive storage. Make only what you will eat, and use tomorrow's rice for tomorrow's version.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.