Recipe · Weeknight · Serves 2
It's Okay — You Can Make Kimchi Fried Rice Tonight
This is the dish Koreans make when the fridge looks empty — a spoon of kimchi and a bowl of old rice is basically a finished meal. If what you've got isn't real napa cabbage kimchi, that's fine — keep reading before you decide to skip this one.
Before You Shop: Quick Ingredient Check
- Cooked rice (day-old, cold, is best)you already have this, or it's 20 minutes away
- Kimchithe one ingredient you actually need — see below
- Spam or bacon (optional)easy anywhere
- Eggeasy everywhere
- Sesame oilnice to have — see note below
- Green onioneasy to substitute — see our ramen guide
Nothing here is a dealbreaker. Let's cook.
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 cups (about 370g) cooked rice (day-old and cold works best — it fries up instead of turning mushy) 
1 cup (about 150g) kimchi, chopped, plus 2-3 tbsp of its juice 
1/2 cup (about 75g) diced spam or bacon (optional) 
1 tbsp (15ml) gochujang (optional, for extra heat) - 1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil - 1 egg per person, for frying
Green onion, chopped, to finishBuy on Amazon 
Crumbled gim (dried seaweed) or sesame seeds, to finish (optional)
Steps
- 1 Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat.
- 2 Add the chopped kimchi (and spam or bacon, if using) and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, until the kimchi turns slightly translucent and smells less raw.
- 3 Add the cold rice and the kimchi juice, breaking up any clumps, and stir-fry until every grain is coated in red, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the gochujang here if you're using it.
- 4 Drizzle the sesame oil over the rice, then push the rice to one side of the pan and fry an egg sunny-side up in the empty space (or in a separate pan).
- 5 Plate the rice, top with the fried egg, and scatter green onion (and gim or sesame seeds, if using) over the top. Serve hot.
국룰Kimchi fried rice without a fried egg on top is rare enough that most people would ask where it went — this is the standard finish.
Substitution Guide
About the Kimchi — Here's What to Do
Kimchi (김치) is the one ingredient in this dish that actually can't be skipped — it's not a garnish here, it's the whole point. That doesn't mean you need the real thing on day one, though.
Use this if you can't find kimchi
Sauerkraut. Drain 1 cup of sauerkraut and mix in 1-2 tsp gochugaru (or a spoon of gochujang) plus a pinch of sugar. This isn't identical, but sauerkraut is fermented the same way kimchi is — the sour backbone is already there, and the chili flakes and sugar bring back the color, heat, and sweetness that plain cabbage kimchi's coating normally provides.
If you can get to a Korean grocery store eventually
Grab a jar of real napa cabbage kimchi — and don't worry about using it fresh. Older, more sour kimchi that's been in the fridge a few weeks is actually preferred for fried rice over fresh kimchi, so this is a dish that gets better with a slightly neglected jar.
Why sauerkraut works (so you can use it elsewhere too)
Kimchi's job in fried rice is sour, salty, and a little spicy, all from lactic-acid fermentation. Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage too — just without the chili — so it already carries that same sour backbone. Once you know that's the role fermentation plays, gochugaru and a pinch of sugar are all it takes to bridge the rest of the way to something that tastes remarkably close.
Want to Go Further?
This dish already uses the gochujang you might have stocked for other recipes. Once you've got a real jar of kimchi in the fridge too, half the dishes on this site get easier.
Getting Started with Korean Cooking: The 3 Sauces You Need →Watch It Made
Cooks' versions
Made it your way? Show us.
Swapped an ingredient, changed the heat, plated it differently? Add a photo and a few words — we'll turn it into a pretty card right here on the Kimchi Fried Rice page, so the next cook can follow your lead.
Made this with a different substitute that worked well? Let us know in the comments — it helps the next person who gets stuck on this step.