Loaded with vegetables, flavorful vegan Kimchi Fried Rice comes together quickly, making it a great dinner option for busy weeknights! This easy Korean inspired recipe is vegan and gluten-free.
Vegan Kimchi Fried Rice
A quick Google search for kimchi fried rice will bring up lots of recipes that use eggs and very few vegetables. I’ve loaded my dish with lots of vegetables, because why not? Here, I've used a mixture of carrots, peas, broccoli, and red pepper, but you can’t use pretty much any veggie you have on hand.
Baked tofu is used in the place of traditional eggs in this recipe. I like to use my own baked tofu in recipes like this, but if you’re pressed for time, packaged premade baked tofu will work just as well.
Whenever I cook rice, I make extra and pop it in the freezer, so I tend to have cooked rice on hand. If you don't want have time to cook your rice, you can buy precooked frozen brown rice in most stores. You can use cauliflower rice, if you prefer.
What is Kimchi?
Kimchi is a staple in Koren cuisine and it's often served as a side dish. Essentially, it's just fermented vegetables, usually cabbage, but it can also be made with other vegetables such as Korean radishes, cucumber, or lotus root. It's commonly seasoned with chili powder, scallions, garlic, and ginger.
Not all kimchi is vegan. In fact, most of what my local store has isn’t. It’s often made with shrimp, fish sauce, and even bone broth. There are vegan varieties, though, so make sure you read the labels. I’ve been enjoying Mother-In-Law’s Vegan Napa Cabbage Kimchi, which is nice and spicy. If heat’s not your thing, they also have a mild White Napa Cabbage Kimchi. Nasoya also makes vegan kimchi.
Cooking with Kimchi
I first started using kimchi in my meals a few years ago after Dennis had to take a round of antibiotics. He was taking probiotics, but I also wanted to help him rebuild his gut flora with food.
When I first started using kimchi, I was just throwing it on top of our salads or serving it on the side of our meals. But then I started to experiment with different dishes. I really love Korean-style Soy Curl tacos with kimchi. I also love this kimchi fried rice, which is a super-easy and quite tasty.
Most kimchi fried rice recipes add the kimchi during the cooking process. I know that heat can kill beneficial bacteria, which kind of defeats the purpose of cooking with it. In this recipe, I’ve added it after the dish has been removed from the heat. You can also just serve it on the side, if you prefer.
What You Need
- Neutral-flavored vegetable oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Cooked rice
- Peas
- Carrots
- Red bell pepper
- Broccoli
- Tamari
- Rice vinegar
- Garlic chili paste or sriracha
- Kimchi
- Baked tofu
- 2 scallions
- Sesame seeds
See the recipe card for exact amounts.
How to Make Vegan Kimchi Fried Rice
Once you have your veggies chopped, this dish comes together super quickly, so it’s a terrific option for dinner on busy weeknights.
- First you cook the onion, garlic, and ginger in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Then you add the rest of the vegetables to the pan.
- Once the vegetables have softened, you add the cooked rice to the pan along with the seasonings.
- After cooking about 10 more minutes, you remove the pan from the heat and stir in the kimchi.
- Serve your fried rice with baked tofu, sliced scallions, and sesame seeds.
How to customize your Kimchi Fried Rice
You can easily make this recipe your own!
- You can omit any veggie you don't like and replace it with something you do like.
- Instead of broccoli, you can use another green veggie, such as bok choy or kale.
- If you don't want to make your own baked tofu, you can use store-bought.
- If you follow a gluten-free diet, make sure your tamari and baked tofu are gluten-free.
Kimchi Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon neutral-flavored vegetable oil
- ¼ cup minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup cooked peas
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 bunch broccoli cut into small florets (about 5 cups)
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon garlic chili paste or sriracha plus extra for serving, optional
- 1 cup kimchi, roughly chopped plus extra for serving, optional
- 16 ounces baked tofu homemade or store-bought
- 2 scallions chopped
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion, garlic and ginger. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until they are fragrant.
- Add the broccoli, peas, carrots, and bell pepper to the pan and turn up the heat to medium high. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until the broccoli turns bright green.
- Add the rice to the pan. Stir in the tamari, rice vinegar, and garlic chili paste or sriracha.
- Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. You want to make sure the vegetables are tender and everything is heated throughout. Remove from the heat and stir in the kimchi.*
- Divide among 4 bowls and top with the baked tofu, scallions, and sesame seeds.
Notes
Other stir-fry style recipes you might enjoy include:
- Tofu Teriyaki Stir-Fry
- Spicy Soy Curl Stir-Fry
- Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts
- Tofu and Shirataki Noodle Stir-Fry
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