Kimchi Beef Stir Fry

Holy crap! Tonight after work I had to go out and buy a replacement charger for my Surface tablet. Are they made out of gold or something? I was not expecting to pay 89 dollars for the dumb thing. However, since about 90 percent of what I do in my spare time, including this blog, is computer related I bought it anyway

It is a good thing I have a lot of quick, easy and relatively cheap meals planned for the next couple of weeks.

Kimichi Beef Stir Fry

• Difficulty: Easy
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From I Heart Umami

16 oz Napa cabbage kimchi

1/2 lb ground beef

1 TBS olive oil

2 large cloves, minced

3 scallions, chopped, white and green parts seperated

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

3 TBS kimchi juice, or to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

sprinkle of sesame seeds, for garnish

Use a strainer to drain the kimchi over a small bowl. Use a spoon to press as much juice out of the kimchi as possible. Set the juice and drained kimchi aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Saute the kimchi for 1 minute. Spread the ground beef over the kimchi. Add 1 tsp toasted sesame oil over the beef and cook until cooked through. Add saved kimchi juice and salt and pepper, to tasted. If desired, garnish with the green parts of the scallion, additional toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds before serving.

Kimchi Fried Rice

A lot of interesting stuff happened at work today First, I was offered a chance to change my schedule. They need some people to move to earlier shifts so starting soon, I start working 8 am to 4:30 pm instead of 10:30 am to 7 pm.  I was a little reluctant to change schedules.  I don’t drive so once we get back to the office, I would have to be on the bus at 6:30am to get to work on time.  Doable but is it something I want to do everyday?

My team manager then told me something that really made me make up my mind about changing my schedule. It looks like we are going to be working from home through 2021 and into 2022. How far into 2022 they don’t know yet.  Ughh. I am very grateful I am able to work from home but I don’t like it at all.  I have always worked very hard to keep work crap out of my home life and my home crap out of my work life. That’s very hard to do when your work is smack dab in the middle of your home.  I would be the first one at the office door if they said we could come back to the office tomorrow. Well, I am done complaining now. I’ll move on to something more fun. 

The best thing about Kimchi fried rice is you can use fresh made rice instead of leftover rice to make it  and it comes together in about 10 minutes once the rice is cooked so its a great get in and get out of the kitchen quick kind of meal. If you like, fry an egg for over the top for a boost of protien.

• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Adapted From The Spontaneous Tomato

1 1/2 -2 cups cooked rice

1/2 cup chopped kimchi

2-3 green onion or a small piece of white onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp – 1 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the scallion whites or the onion, and cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes. Next add kimchi and cook while stirring for 3-5 minutes until the kimchi starts to get soft.

Add the rice, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Then mix well until the rice is coated with the kimchi. If your rice looks dry, add a teaspoon or two of the Kimchi brine from the jar. Cook until the rice  is heated through.