Kimchi and broccolini fried rice with Gochujang charred chicken

We are currently in Italy enjoying food that has absolutely nothing to do with the recipe of this week, but I know some of you rely hea-vi-ly on the weekly content this newsletter delivers at your doorsteps so I thought I’d send you something delicious I made right before we left.

If you’re also a regular and returning victim of Uber Eats (or similar) you’ve most likely experienced the following: you order a gorgeous Thai curry which comes in a normal(ish) sized container. With your curry you’ve ordered rice, which comes in a container at least twice, but likely three times as big. Eating plain white rice is boring (don’t @ me) so I got you a little clearing-the-fridge-the-Uber-Eats-edition recipe this week! It’s super simple, comes together very quickly, and gives you a reason to get some goodies from an Asian supermarket near you!

Ingredients #

Ingredients for 2:

• 2 heaping tablespoons of gochujang (this fermented korean chili paste you can find in any Asian supermarket and will make the majority of things taste delicious)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 300gr chicken thighs
• 200gr cooked leftover white rice (don’t have leftovers? Make the rice an hour or so in advance so it has time to cool down)
• 250gr broccolini
• 200gr kimchi
• 1 egg
• Cilantro
• Scallions
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method #

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Combine the gochujang with the olive oil in a small bowl to make it a little runnier, and generously spread it over the chicken. Add the chicken to an oven tray together with the broccolini and roast in the oven until slightly charred and cooked through, about 20 minutes for the broccolini and 30/40 minutes for the chicken.

2. In the meantime chop some cilantro and scallions and put them aside for later.

3. Take the broccolini out of the oven once it’s gotten some nice char, and chop it in small pieces, also chop the kimchi finely. Mix the egg through the leftover rice.

4. Heat up some frying oil in a wok or similar pan on high heat until it’s very hot, then add the rice to it. Fry on high heat for a few minutes while stirring constantly, until the rice is starting to get some color, then add the kimchi and broccolini and toss to combine. Grind some black pepper onto the rice, and taste if it needs any salt. Some kimchi brands are decidedly more salty than others so best to just taste as you go along!

5. When the chicken is nicely colored and cooked through, take it out of the oven and slice it horizontally in thin strips.

6. Plate up an ever generous portion of fried rice, top it with the charred chicken, and scatter some cilantro and scallions over it. Rice leftovers will never be boring again.

Alright, back to pizza eating now, enjoy your weekend folks and next week will be a little extra special as it's going to be my birthday edition!