The best thing about kimchi is this: It packs so much flavor and complexity, you can use it to make lightning-quick meals that taste as if they took hours to prepare. This fried rice, for instance, comes together in mere minutes. Cutting up the cauliflower might be the most time-consuming part. And yet this dish is downright addictive. If you don’t have a wok, you can use a large nonstick skillet for this fried rice, but it will take a little longer to cook.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Remember to have everything measured out and ready before you start, because with high-heat stir-frying, everything happens pretty quickly.
Step 2
Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a drop of water vaporizes within a second or two. Swirl in the oil to coat the sides and bottom. Add the cauliflower and stir-fry until it softens and starts to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Resist the urge to turn down the heat, and keep everything moving.
Step 3
Add the rice, breaking it up with your fingers as you toss it into the wok. Use a heatproof spatula to keep the rice moving for 2 to 3 minutes, scooping and tossing and pressing the rice against the bottom and sides of the wok to sear it. Add the kimchi and scallion, and stir-fry until the kimchi heats through and the scallion softens, 30 to 60 seconds.
Step 4
Season to taste with soy sauce, transfer to a dinner plate, and eat.
Wok For One
Step 5
You’d think a wok would be too big for single-serving meals, but you’d be wrong. I use mine for fried rice and wouldn’t want to make it any other way. Even with smaller amounts, a regular-size wok (14 inches) provides the room you need to keep all the ingredients moving.
Step 6
I don’t have a wok ring on my stove, but these days you can buy woks that are flat on the very bottom but still have the bowl-like shape that allows such great tossing, scooping, and turning.
Step 7
Buy a carbon-steel wok, not a nonstick one. The carbon steel conducts heat so efficiently that you can get the thing blazing hot, which is what you want for effective stir-frying. Once the wok is properly seasoned (I am a devotee of Grace Young’s instructions in The Breath of a Wok), it will turn as slick as glass—much more nonstick than anything coated.
