For those that haven’t tried it, Kimchi is a Korean side dish that is made of fermented vegetables, usually Napa cabbage and a bunch of spices. Some might find it a little funky (not gonna lie, it has a heavy odor) but it is DELISH! Trader Joe’s used to have a kimchi fried rice that was discontinued several years ago (if you’re reading this Trader Joe’s, please bring it back!) – you used to be able to find it in the frozen section. A quick 2 min microwave while cooking an over easy egg and you had the PERFECT quick dinner. We were at Wegman’s supermarket a few weeks ago and found their brand of vegetarian kimchi (had not realized kimchi usually has fish sauce!) and so we had to try our hand at it ourselves. 

The recipe itself is super simple and comes together in 20 minutes and apart from the kimchi you probably have all the other ingredients in your fridge/pantry right now! Because the kimchi itself is so flavorful, you need little to no additional spices for the dish, we add a touch of paprika to up the heat level because nothing is spicy enough for us! While serving with an egg is optional, we highly recommend it: something about the yolk mixing with the kimchi is pure perfection. Try it and thank us later! 

Tips & Tricks

• We love the taste of kimchi so we used the entire bottle – kimchi intensity can vary by brand so taste some on its own and maybe start with half a bottle if you find the odor too funky! 
• This is a great dish to layer on additional vegetables or plant based meat too – if you’re using any kind of plant based protein, give it a quick cook in a separate pan and add it at the stage you add the frozen mixed veggies below

Recipe Information

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 3-4 entrée servings

Ingredients

• One 14 oz bottle vegetarian kimchi (we used Wegmans brand)
• 1/2 red onion diced 
• 2 serranos diced 
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 cup cooked brown rice 
• 1 tsp paprika 

Directions

1. Fry onions and serranos in a few tsp of olive oil until soft ~5 min
2. Add in frozen mixed vegetables and paprika and cover, cook on medium heat for ~10 min
3. Add whole bottle of kimchi and stir till combined, let flavors meld on medium heat for ~5 min
4. Add in rice and mix till combined
5. Serve hot with your choice of garnish: sesame seeds, some chopped scallions or an over easy egg!