peace in my pans: Kimchi Fried Rice

with lots of other stuff including brown rice and a secret ingredient. Yup, that's right. A secret ingredient. And no, this is no Kung Fu Panda stunt where I reveal at the end that there is no such thing. Oops, did I ruin the movie for you?

Fried rice is great to make when you have day old rice (at least), mystery meat like SPAM or Danish Ham, frozen veggies like peas, corns, and carrots (although I used baby carrots here), and yeah... There is also a method to cooking fried rice and if you mess it up, that's it, you're done, game over. Kidding, there is a method and it usually pertains to the first few steps and involves patience. You'll see what I mean in a bit.

Here's what I used (I know, finally, the recipe all in one place):

2 cups of cold brown rice (please don't cook up a batch of fresh rice to make fried rice - no bueno)
1 cup of diced ham of your choice
1/2 cup of peas, corn, carrots (diced or chopped), and kimchi
1/4 cup of sliced scallions (both green and white parts) and garlic scapes (oh yeah!)
2 eggs
4 Ts of canola oil
Secret Ingredient to be revealed later on...

*I didn't add any seasoning to my fried rice but feel free to add salt, pepper, soy sauce and or fish sauce according to your preference.

The cast of characters waiting to get on stage or in the pan. Rice, the main character and star of the show will be making a delayed appearance.

Here's a more intimate take.

I julienned the scallion whites, thinly sliced the scallion greens, and gently chopped the garlic scapes.

I carefully sliced the baby carrots into very thin pieces and flash cooked it in the microwave with a bit of water.

I can't help but quote Forrest Gump when I see peas and carrots... "we goes together like peas & carrots" - yes, my peas are still frozen.

Two beautiful eggs and make sure you coddle them in your palm just like this the entire time you make your fried rice. This is an ancient Asian method of cooking that guarantees perfectly cooked fried rice each and every time. Google it.

In a large pan, add 2 Ts of oil and allow it to really heat up (cook on med-high heat) before you add anything to it. Patience #1. How cool - you can see my reflection.

Add ham and allow it to brown a bit.

Once it is nice and brown, push the ham to the side of the pan. Yes, to make room for the other stuff.

Break the eggs into the pan and allow them to cook for a while undisturbed. The goal here is to allow the whites to cook and the yolk still running before you get involved. Patience #2.

Once the whites are fairly cooked, you need to disturb the yolk with your tool of choice just like this. You need to break the yolk and the rest of the egg.

Until it looks something like this. Imagine that you're cutting up the egg into pieces with your spatula (assuming that's what you're using).

This is better. The steam really ruins your photos!

Once done, also push the eggs to the side of the pan along with the ham.

Add the carrots, corn, and peas. Combine and allow it to cook for a good 5-7 minutes. Patience #3.

You need to wait for the pan to absorb all the liquids (I used frozen veggies) and give all the ingredients a nice char before you remove it to a bowl.

Once the ingredients have been removed, your pan should look something like this. Add another 2 Ts of oil.

With your spatula, begin to scrape off the yummy gooeyness at the bottom of the pan.

Add the scallions and garlic scapes.

This part always make me melt - the aroma is truly intoxicating.

Finally! Add your rice.

Combine and cook. Again, the rice should not be disturbed constantly but should be allowed to cook for 30 seconds, flip, cook for 30 seconds... repeat until you feel that each grain has been cooked and coated. Patience #4 .

Add the kimchi and cook some more.

BUTTER! Yes, that is the secret ingredient. Fried rice tastes so much more decadent with just a little bit of butter. Add 1/2 T of butter to your fried rice. Cook some more. Patience #5.