Korean Gochujang Fried Rice (Bokkeumbap) (2024)

This Korean Gochujang Fried Rice (Bokkeumbap) comes together in 15 minutes and makes for a great main course or side dish. Load it up with veggies, eggs, bacon, or meat of your choice for a spicy treat.

About Gochujang Fried Rice

A bowl of fried rice is a comfort meal for me. I often make fried rice with leftover rice, and this time, when I had some sitting in my fridge, I tried my hands on this new spicy Korean version, which is known as Gochujang Fried Rice (Bokkeumbap).

Fried rice with gochujang is easy, quick, and lip-smackingly delicious. It comes together in just 15 minutes if you have the ingredients ready.

Make it vegetarian with lots of veggies, or load it up with egg, bacon, or meat of your choice like chicken, pork, beef, or seafood like shrimp, scallops, or fish.

This rice dish is great for serving as a quick main course dish on its own or as a side dish along with your Korean meal. It is also great to pack for office or school lunch boxes.

If you are someone like me who loves a delicious bowl of fried rice for dinner, try some more fried rice recipes.

• Kimchi Fried Rice
• Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice
• Chinese Mushroom Fried Rice
• Thai Fried Rice
• Schezwan Fried Rice
• Egg Fried Rice
• Hibachi Fried Rice
• Chicken Fried Rice
• Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
• Teriyaki Chicken Fried Rice

What Is Gochujang

Gochujang is a popular Korean fermented red chili paste staple in Korean recipes. It is spicy and adds a nice heat to the dishes it is added to. This Korean red chili paste has a spicy, smoky, umami, sweet, and nutty flavor, which is a bit pungent too.

It is prepared from red peppers, fermented soybean, chili powder, glutinous rice, malt powder, and salt. Gochujang comes in different heat levels, so choose the one that suits you.

Gochujang paste can be used to spice up fried rice, stir fry, gravies, soups, stews, salads, or as a marinade for chicken, mutton, seafood, veggies, or other meat.

Ingredients

Rice – Use any cooked short-grain white rice. Basmati rice or Jasmine rice also works fine.

Leftover day-old rice works best to make Korean fried rice. If using freshly cooked rice, cool it well before using it in the recipe; otherwise, the fried rice will turn out mushy. To speed up the cooling process, spread the cooked rice on a baking sheet. Cover with a cling wrap and freeze for 15 minutes.

You can replace white rice with brown rice, quinoa, or couscous for a healthier version of this Korean Bokkeumbap.

Gochujang Paste – It adds a nice spicy kick to the fried rice. You can always adjust the quantity of the paste according to the spice level you like or buy the less spicy one.

You will find it in the Asian section of your grocery store or in Korean grocery stores, or order it online.

You can use the leftover tub of gochujang to make other Korean dishes like Gochujang Tofu, Korean Gochujang Noodles, Korean Gochujang Dipping Sauce, or Korean Gochujang Chicken Wings.

Dark Soy Sauce – Add it for a lovely umami flavor.

Vegetables – I have added bell peppers, carrots, and green onions, but you can add napa cabbage, broccoli, snow peas, button mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, green beans, cabbage, bok choy, etc.

I sometimes add a little chopped kimchi to the rice for that extra kick.

Eggs – I love to add eggs to my fried rice. You can choose to skip it.

Oil – Use any cooking oil to make this recipe.

Others – Some ingredients that further enhance the flavor of this fried rice are garlic, ginger, and white sesame seeds. Toasted white sesame seeds and green onions are used for garnishing.

You can drizzle a little toasted sesame oil over the ready fried rice for a very traditional Korean taste.

How To Make Gochujang Fried Rice

Heat a wok over medium-high heat.

When it is hot, add 2 tbsp oil to it.

Once the oil is hot and shimmery, add 2 tsp minced garlic and 2 tsp finely chopped ginger and saute for 3-4 seconds.

Break 2 eggs in the wok and scramble them.

Add 1/2 cup sliced mixed bell peppers and 1/2 cup cubed carrots and saute for 30-40 seconds.

Add 1/4 cup gochujang paste and cook for 30-40 seconds.

Now add 2 tbsp dark soy sauce and 4 cups of cooked rice and mix everything well.

Garnish with 2 tbsp chopped green onions and 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds. Serve hot.

Serving Suggestions

Serve gochujang fried rice on its own; it is very flavorful and doesn’t need anything on the side. You can keep some Schezwan Sauce and soy sauce on the side if you wish to.

I like to top my bowl with a fried egg or a sunny side-up for a protein-rich meal. You can also top it with crispy seaweed strips.

You can also serve it with Indo Chinese Veg Manchurian, Sweet and Sour Vegetables, or Indo Chinese Chilli Chicken.

Storage Suggestions

This rice dish will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Reheat it in a pan or microwave until nice and warm before serving.

If the rice has become dry, sprinkle a little water on top while reheating.

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