Kimchi is synonymous with Korea and it wouldn’t be wrong to call it the national dish of Korea. Our Korean friend taught us how to make this simple, kid-friendly Kimchi Fried Rice recipe that the kids cannot get enough of. If you’re a love kimchi, read this post to find out all about kimchi, our favorite illustrated kimchi book for kids, and how to make our friend Sunny’s simple kid-friendly kimchi fried rice recipe.
I remember a couple years ago all about the process I went through of introducing Korean food to my children for the first time. It was quite a fun experience!
As a child growing up in Hawaii, one of the US’s most diverse states, you’re accustomed to a very varied diet. I remember when I was a kid, I’d eat everything from spam musubi, sushi, lumpia, saimin to lau lau and poi. Read our post on 10 Must-Try Local Foods From Hawaii. Hawaii has a rather large Korean population, which means that Korean food is very accessible and loved in Hawaii.
Trying Korean Food for the First Time
One day after school, I took the kids to get some Korean food in Honolulu.
I didn’t tell them that the kimchi that was sitting on the table in front of them was spicy. I also knew that if 2-3 year old Korean children eat kimchi regularly, it can’t be all that bad. So I looked on and observed what was about to happen:
To my surprise, she just kept on eating it.
“This is sour Mom, and a little spicy!”
Jaf, on the other hand, took one whiff and pushed it to the side (he was not ready yet for that adventure…but it’s been a couple of years, and things have changed).
What is Kimchi?
Just as sushi is ubiquitous in Japan, Kimchi is a dish that is synonymous with Korea. Kimchi is a dish made of spicy, fermented cabbage. There are many different kinds of kimchi but the most traditional one is known in Korean as tongbaechu-kimchi.
Kimchi is commonly found in Korean households and you’ll generally find a plate of kimchi on the table with every Korean meal, which was our experience when we visited Korea.
Learning How to Make Kimchi
Since Lou Lou had her first taste of kimchi, she’s asked me to learn how to make it at home. A little bit of research led me to discover this great online picture book, that’s perfect for kids called Kimchi is Great!
The book explains why kimchi is healthy and shows how kimchi can be made with a variety of vegetables and they different kinds of ways it can be prepared and fermented.
Get your own copy of Kimchi is Great! here
How to Cook That: Kid-Friendly Kimchi Fried Rice
On top of experimenting with making our own kimchi, thanks to one of our friends from Korea, we also learned how to make Kimchi Fried Rice!
Jaf really took a liking to this recipe and now kimchi is one of his favorite Korean dishes! Read our 10 favorite kid-friendly Korean foods.
“It’s just like a spam musubi…but with spicy ketchup!” – Jaf
Before you get started with this simple kid-friendly Kimchi Fried Rice recipe (thanks, Sunny!), here’s what you’ll need.
Kimchi Fried Rice Shopping List
Ingredients
- 3 cups steamed rice
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 can Spam (diced)
- 1 cup chopped kimchi
- ¼ cup kimchi juice
- ¼ cup water
Directions
Heat up a pan over medium heat with vegetable oil. Add in the diced canned SPAM and fry for 1 minute.
Add the kimchi and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add in the kimchi juice and water. Stir all the ingredients together for about 7 minutes with a wooden spoon. Add in the steamed rice and carefully mix everything together. 
Remove from the heat.
Top with fried egg (optional). Serve right away.
Kid-Friendly Kimchi Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups steamed rice
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 can Spam diced
- 1 cup chopped kimchi
- ¼ cup kimchi juice
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
-
Heat up a pan. Add the vegetable oil.
-
Add diced canned spam and fry for 1 minute.
-
Add in the kimchi and stir fry for 1 minute.
-
Add in the kimchi juice and water. Stir all the ingredients together for about 7 minutes with a wooden spoon.
-
Add in the rice and carefully mix everything together.
-
Remove from the heat.
-
Top with fried egg (optional)
-
Serve right away.
I’m glad LouLou and Jaf have had positive experiences with kimchi as Korean food can’t be eaten without it. It’s just not the same…Bring on the spicy!!
LIKE IT? CLICK TO PIN IT!!
[genesis_column size=”one-half” position=”first”]
[/genesis_column][genesis_column size=”one-half”]
[/genesis_column]
What were your experiences with letting your kids try kimchi? Let us know in the comments below!
That looks incredible! I’m going to make this recipe with some Beyond Meat strips to sub the spam and found a few easy recipes for homemade kimchee!