February 2025: Into the Kimchi-Verse

You’re telling me kimchi fried this rice?! But seriously folks, for February, I decided to take on a dish I’d never made before: kimchi fried rice. It was both a culinary and a financial challenge — after all, eggs aren’t cheap these days. Good thing my first blog post made me so much $$$$!

Growing up in the Keystone State with a Pennsylvania Dutch background, I’ve always had a thing for fermented foods like pickles and sauerkraut. The discovery of kimchi in college was a welcome surprise. I’ve made fried rice before, but never with kimchi as the star ingredient. February’s dish opened up a new universe of flavors and ingredients that I was excited to explore. Let’s jump in!

FIRST PASS: FEBRUARY 2, 2025

I started with a recipe from New York Times Cooking. This time, I had a new tool: a Global 8” Chef’s Knife I gifted myself for the project. Anthony Bourdain recommended it in his book Kitchen Confidential, and I’ve wanted it ever since my friend lent me his copy.

After getting all Sweeney Todd with it first, I used my new knife to chop up some kimchi.

I chose Mother-in-Law’s Napa Cabbage. It’s a solid flavor, though I prefer spicier. The recipe also recommends Spam, which my parents always warned me against due to its high fat and sodium content. But hey, I’m an adult now — I make my own salty, ultra processed decisions.

Google’s wine recommendation: Pinot Grigio to pair with the kimchi’s spice. My local wine guy (let’s call him Rico) pointed to a 2022 Redentore which he lauded as the “standard” for the white wine style. On the nose its bright and aromatic. Upon first sip, light and fruity.

I cooked two cups of rice in my Aroma rice cooker which ended up a bit dry — perhaps too much rice for my mini machine. While cooking, I chopped my onion, kimchi, and Spam.

The recipe calls for “kimchi juice” but the can I bought barely had any. After softening the kimchi, I added the rice, diced Spam, soy sauce, and sesame oil, stirring until the rice turned light orange. I simmered it all, then fried two eggs in my cast iron skillet and dropped them on top of the rice with some chopped nori.

First impression: it’s fine, but not packed with flavor or spice. The rice texture was off, and I should’ve seared the Spam first for more flavor. Like with my first chili recipe, the “cohesion factor” wasn’t quite there but improved after sitting in the fridge. The Redentore, however, was an outstanding pairing with the flavors of the dish. Overall, I give the fried rice a 2/5, the wine a 3/5, for a total score of 5/10.

SECOND PASS: FEBRUARY 10, 2025

For round two, I got some advice from a chef: squeeze the kimchi to release the juice. I bought two jars of Goshen Kimchi, which looked juicier than the Mother-n-Law’s. I also grabbed a three-pack of Spam from my local bodega and some shiitake mushrooms. I ditched nori in favor of scallions — an umami punch I prefer over the fishiness of seaweed.

This time I cooked 1.5 cups of short grain rice (Chef recommended size) in the Aroma rice cooker, hoping a smaller amount would result in more moisture. I also seared the Spam ahead of time for better flavor and crunch. While it cooked, I squeezed the kimchi in a bowl with my bare hands, draining the juice and turning my hands bright red. I sautéed the onions, then added the juiceless kimchi and mushrooms. Per my chef’s advice, I cooked until the kimchi turned translucent, added the juice, and brought it to a boil until the liquid cooked down.

Then I added the diced spam — two cans worth to really go for it. I dropped the rice into my dutch oven then mixed with soy sauce and sesame oil and fried the eggs. I plated the rice with scallions and sesame seeds.

This batch was somehow worse than the first. Not awful, just…lacking flavor. As with the first round, the leftovers improved after sitting in the fridge, but I felt like I was missing something.

The real story here was the wine. During a chat with Rico, I learned that Pinot Grigio is only made in Italy and is, apparently, a fairly “basic wine.” Pinot Gris is the same style but made outside Italy. Gris means grey, alluding to the semi-white, semi-red color of the grapes which can be creatively capitalized on for artisanal wines. For the latter he recommended two:

1. A 2022 natural Pinot Gris, The Marigny by St. Reginald Parish. it’s a dusty orange wine with kombucha-like flavors and woody, funky notes. Enjoyable but doesn’t complement the kimchi.
2. A 2022 red wine (talk about versatile) Pinot Gris, Only Zulu by Swick Wines. This wine blew me away — effervescent, jelly-bean-like, with a subtle black licorice flavor. Despite not pairing well with the fried rice, it’s the most exciting wine I’ve tried so far.

Sadly, this recipe was a 1/5, with a wine pairing of 1/5, for an overall dismal score of 2/5. However, the wines themselves were a solid 4/5 for overall enjoyment. Bottoms up!

THIRD PASS: FEBRUARY 10, 2025

The breakthrough. I reached out to my Chef friend again for more advice. He recommended visiting H Mart for key ingredients, so I made the 45 minute trek up to the Asian food market on 34th street (only to later discover there’s one just minutes from my cheese shop in Lower Manhattan — thanks, Google Maps). I picked up the following:

1. Fresh kimchi with the closest best-buy date for the funkiest flavor.
2. Korean chili flakes for heat and color
3. Hondashi (dried fish stock) for a touch of umami
4. Korean beef bulgogi (marinated rib eye) to replace the Spam

I began once again by prepping my mise en place, squeezing my kimchi — a very red-looking brand called Country Style Kimchi — setting aside the juice (and staining my hands), then cooked the pre-marinated rib-eye in my dutch oven until it was brown and tender.

After removing the beef, I sautéed the onion and kimchi, following my chef’s advice to, quote, “sauté the crap out of them.” I followed the same process as before, but added in the chili flakes until the mixture turned a dark red.

I’d heard that leftover rice is best for fried rice dishes, so the day before I’d cooked 1.5 cups. I stirred the day-old rice into the kimchi mix, added the bulgogi, salt (“I don’t add soy sauce,” my chef had warned), sesame seeds, scallions, sesame oil, and a dash of hondashi. I followed it up with fried egg and sliced mini cucumbers for freshness.

The flavor of this batch was miles ahead of the first two. The bulgogi added great texture and protein, and the spice of the chili flakes balanced the kimchi’s fermentation. The cucumbers were a great touch, though next time, I’d like to try something with more acidity.

For wine, I tested two inexpensive Pinot Grigios: 2023 Cantina Zaccagnoni and a 2023 Santa Marina. The Santa Marina was the better of the two, but that’s not saying much. It had that “ripe-avocado” flavor I don’t like. The Cantina, wrapped in string and a…a stick (what’s the point of the stick? To play fetch?), felt thin and flat after just ten minutes in the glass. The Redentore from round one still holds its own as the best Pinot Grigio at this price point.

This recipe gets a 4/5, but the wine pairing only a 1/5, for a grand total of 5/10. Disappointing, considering how great the dish was, but I’ll find a better pairing next time, I promise.

FINAL PASS: MARCH 9, 2025

Yes, I know — February’s challenge bled into March. But it was a busy month, what can I say? Hannah said it best: nobody’s perfect. But boy, did I work it. Again and again.

For this batch, I focused on deepening the dark red color and emphasizing the spicy, meaty flavor. Enter my latest Google find: the red pepper paste gochujang.

Following some chef advice, I also tried adding bacon and swapped my rice cooker for microwaveable rice. I cooked the bacon first, keeping it floppy and greasy so it could finish cooking with the rice. Then, I followed the usual steps, this time using kimchi with oyster to crank up the funk factor.

I mixed two tablespoons of gochujang into the kimchi juice before adding it to the dish. The color? Blood red — darker than any previous batch. While it reduced, I microwaved the rice, then stirred it in. The grains soaked up the color instantly and stayed vibrant. I followed the rest of the steps to a T, plated it with a fried egg and some seasoned cucumbers (for added acidity) from H Mart, and — voilà!

Not good. At first, the spicy richness hit just right. But then, it was too much. I didn’t even want to finish. The leftovers? Even worse, with a weirdly fishy taste — maybe from the hondashi or the cucumbers. The color and intensity could’ve been due to using less rice (½ cup instead of 1½ cups).

But overall, the gochujang and oyster-flavored kimchi added nothing new. Same for the bacon and seasoned cucumbers, both of which paled in comparison to the cucumbers and bulgogi from batch three.

Two positives came from this pass: First, I toasted my sesame seeds in my skillet before incorporating them, a move which definitely enriched their flavor.

And most importantly: microwaveable rice is just as good as anything made or left over from an Aroma rice cooker.

Once again, the real story here is the wine. A 2022 Pinot Grigio from Dessimis — the priciest bottle on the list. With a gorgeous amber hue, it was easily the standout. On the nose, it is Autumn in a glass, with crisp Fuji apple notes and a touch of carbonation. Delightful. Almost made this batch of fried rice bearable. Almost.

Recipe: 0/5. Wine pairing: 4/5. Overall score: 4/10. Disappointing. But it gave me an idea: In December, I’ll revisit some of these recipes and see if a year’s worth of dedication makes a difference.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

This time, I achieved perfection.

NOT! But that’s the point — to push my limits and see where I need to grow. The culinary universe is vast, full of recipes, preferences, friendships (shoutout to my chefs and Rico), and — of course — the occasional late-night McDonald’s DoorDash order when things go sideways.

But as Miley says, “the journey is usually the part you remember anyways.” It’s the climb, folks. Party in the USA.

**Kimchi Fried Rice Recipe Paired with [2022 Redentore Pinot Grigio](https://www.primitiveselections.com/shop/p/redentore-pinot-grigio-2022)**