Kimchi and Bacon Fried Rice

This idea piqued my interest so I tried it.  Good, then I fiddlled a bit..or quite a lot actually.  Now, we have this treat..

Lots of flavour, plenty of umami and something a little different that works.

(I genuinely wasn't sure how bacon and kimchi would 'marry' together and was happily proved wrong over their union).

In brief, fry sliced smoked streaky bacon, add garlic, ginger and chilli. Kimchi next, mushroom and spinach.  Raise the heat, stir in cooked, cooled rice and add kimchi juice.

Happy Days! (A friend likes to say)

Ingredients (2):

Aromats and veges:

4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, sliced

I TBSP high temperature oil

2 cloves of minced garlic

1 tsp of minced ginger 

1/4 cup of kimchi, with a sprinkle of de Arbol chilli flakes (1/2 tsp) and 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

2 spring onions, chopped (separate white- for cooking and green -for garnish)

1 rehydrated cloudear mushroom, sliced

4 cubes of frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed if excess liquid

Rice and topping:

2/3 to 1 cup jasmine rice, steamed and cooled (ideally 2 days refrigerated)

2 fried eggs, sunny side up

Sesame seasoning- furikake (optional)

1/2 tsp seasame oil (also optional but recommended)

Method:

Heat wok or similar favourite pan over a medium heat and fry the bacon until starting to crisp.

Add oil, garlic, ginger and stir 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add white parts of the spring onion, kimchi and mushrooms. Cook 2 minutes, add spinach.

High heat, add rice and kimchi juice, stir well. Turn off heat.

Fry 2 sunny side up eggs whilst the fried rice stays warm.

Serve and garnish the fried rice topped with egg, spring onion greens, furikake (if you have it) and sesame oil.

Swaps?

Fresh sliced mushrooms can swap for cloudears.

Spring onion can be replaced with chopped diced white onion.

Spinach can swap for spring greens

Another fried rice:

Thai Shrimp Pineapple Fried Rice

A fabulous Asian plate from Loïc:

Sichuan Pepper Beef