I had some leftover kimchi from my friend who is the managing cook of a resto. I had a blast eating it with all kinds of food the past few days. Now, I'm almost done with the tub of kimchi he gave me and still crave for the taste. So, I scanned the refrigerator and some ingredients stood out. There were also leftover white rice from last night and it became clear: kimchi + leftover white rice + veggies and mushroom. And, voilà! Here is my version of Vegetarian Kimchi Fried Rice.

Ingredients

Of course, the main ingredients for this dish are: Kimchi, kaning lamig (leftover white rice), cabbage, mung bean sprouts, tofu, green peas, and dried shiitake mushroom. For flavor, I used salt and pepper, premium soy sauce, and mushroom seasoning.

Procedure

1. Fry two blocks of tofu; then set aside.
2. Re-hydrate dried shiitake mushroom in a bowl of water. I got one piece from a bowl I was already getting ready for another dish.
3. Heat a wok and put two tablespoons of coconut oil.
4. Put in the shiitake mushroom, stir a little, then add in the green peas and julienned cabbage. Add a dash of salt and a shake of black pepper. Adjust taste to your liking.
5. Add in the leftover rice (2 1/2 cups). Stir continuously for a few minutes. Then add some salt and pepper, a dash of premium soy sauce, and a pinch of mushroom seasoning. Check out the taste and add more seasoning to your liking.
6. Add in half a cup of fresh mung bean sprouts. Stir for one minute.
7. Check if the fried rice is cooked already. Pour in as much kimchi juice as you want. No limits! 😅 But, if you are like me, I stopped myself from putting in all my leftover kimchi and just scooped in around 4 tablespoons into the fried rice.
8. Stir and taste after 2 to 3 minutes. Add some more seasoning or kimchi juice as needed.
9. Place in a serving bowl and consume immediately!

Conclusion

Life is good. This is how I felt after eating this brunch. After all, we don't really need to go to a fancy Korean restaurant to eat delicious savory, tangy and a bit spicy food. With a little creativity, we can do our own version of it. I did not add eggs to make it #vegan. So, that's that. Also, I ran out of roasted seaweed but had some in the kimchi left, which I included in the dish when I poured in the kimchi juice. If there was a lesson that I learned from creating this version of the famous Kimchi Bokkeumbap, is that I made the mistake of adding only 1 piece of shiitake mushroom because it meshed perfectly with the dish and could be the star of the dish next to the kimchi. I will also want to include some toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil the next time around.

So, I will end here and say that this is definitely one of the best brunches I have had in the last few weeks. Wishing you all a happy and productive day ahead.

Love and peace.
@juanvegetarian 😎

*_{FYI, I own all the images used in this blog post and used Canva templates ---> here and here, in case you want to check it out.}