Korean BBQ Fried Rice
You know how fried rice can be kind of blah sometimes? This is not one of those recipes.
This fried rice recipe is a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, with the perfect amount of crunch making it totally irresistible.
And if you have a well-stocked freezer and fridge, you may just have all the ingredients for this dish in your kitchen right now.
The Trick To Making Amazing Fried Rice
If you like fried rice that really crisps up, almost like a rice fritter, try using frozen rice.
In the past, I made fried rice using rice that had been cooked and cooled, and the results were fine. But lately I have been using frozen rice packets from Trader Joe’s. With this simple change, my fried rice has gone from fine to amaaazing.
One other trick to making really great fried rice is to add the sauce right at the end. The sauce for this fried rice has a bit of sugar in it. The heat of the frying pan is enough so that the sugar caramelizes just a bit. This adds extra flavor and a bit of crunch to the final dish.
Love Korean flavors? Try these Korean ground beef bowls. Consider making both or having a Korean potluck dinner, complete with banchan, kimchi, bulgogi, bingsu – and even some Korean gifts if you’re celebrating a holiday!
Bacon lovers: Check out this bacon fried rice that I previously made.
Try something different: Ring bologna and sweet corn fried rice.
Korean BBQ Fried Rice
I am all about substitutions to save money. If you can't find gochujang sauce, you can sub all-purpose Korean BBQ sauce or even teriyaki sauce. Brandless sells gochujang sauce for $3.00 a bottle (like everything on their site).
If you can't find Korean BBQ chicken sausages, feel free to substitute another type of chicken sausage, such as apple or spicy Italian.
Ingredients
For fried rice:
- Cooking oil
- 3 cups cooked rice (I used frozen brown rice packets from Trader Joe's)
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 1/2 red pepper, chopped
- 2 Korean-style chicken sausage links, cut into coins (I used Trader Joe's Spicy Chicken Sausage, a Korean Inspired Kalbi BBQ Recipe)
- Chopped green onion
For sauce:
- 1/3 cup Annie Chun's Gochujang Sauce (see notes above)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce
- Hot pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Whisk sauce ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Place a large frying pan over high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of cooking oil. Cook onions for a couple of minutes, until they begin to soften. Add corn, carrot, and red pepper. Cook for a minute or so, stirring often. Add rice and continue stirring. Add sausage.
- Once everything is cooked and rice becomes crispy (total cooking time of about 10 minutes), remove from heat and immediately add sauce. Stir to evenly incorporate. Top with chopped green onions.