How to Make Kimchi Fried Rice and Be a Sensational Culture Pundit at the Exact Same Time

Culture

Perhaps you're thinking that making fried rice and writing for PolicyMic don't go hand in hand, but for new pundit Chelsea Hawkins they certainly do.

When PolicyMic launched its Summer Culture Skillshare, we asked applicants to teach us one thing they loved to do and why.

Chelsea Hawkins grew up in a mixed race Korean household, and learned that food is best if it's spicy, pungent and full of pork. Her essay "Learn How to Make Kimchi Fried Rice So Good You'll Cry" whet our appetite and landed Chelsea a spot on our culture writing team.

How the Culture Writing Skillshare works: The program begins on May 20 and will run for eight weeks, during which writers will receive detailed writing coaching, and produce a weekly column. Participants will also join a special network of fellow writers, share feedback and story ideas, receive job opportunities, and get great writing tips. PolicyMic will promote writers’ content via social media and our newsletter (subscribe here).

Writers based in New York will be invited to attend offline meetups with the PolicyMic staff.

How to apply: Please send an email to Caira Conner (caira@policymic.com) with the following:

- Résumé

- Short post (~350 words) in which you teach us something you’re awesome at doing. Be creative!

- Your favorite movie, book, or album and why.

Deadline: Please submit your application by May 15. Space is limited, and we’ll prioritize early submissions.

About Chelsea: Chelsea is a book, music, and food enthusiast. Though being a reformed carnivore forced her to cut out some of the finer, darker aspects of Korean cuisine (blood sausage, soon-dae, looking at you) she refuses to bid adieu to one of her favorite comfort foods: kimchi fried rice.

From Chelsea: WARNING, There’s butter in this recipe. Lots of it. And there are no real directions or measurements, just hopeful hunger.

Ingredients:

Cooked white rice

Really sour kimchi and the glorious red liquid it steeps in

Cabbage, onions, carrots, peas … .really any veggies of your choice

Chopped green onions

Sesame oil

Sesame seeds (optional)

BUTTER (again, apologies)

Egg (optional)

Instructions:

1. Prep your ingredients: dice that onion, slice that cabbage and julienne those carrots. Make sure to chop up your kimchi too, so that it’s in bite sized pieces.

2. Warm a large skillet on medium heat, and add a bit of butter (I’m going to ballpark and say a tablespoon) and begin cooking your onions, then add carrots. Add your kimchi and begin to cook it down.

3. Now that your carrots, onion, and kimchi are simmering in goodness, add a large spoonful of rice and mix everything together with a bit of sesame oil to taste. Be sure to add generous amounts of “kimchi juice,” aka the liquid at the bottom of the jar. This is where I like to add the sliced cabbage and peas, vegetables I prefer to keep a little undercooked — personal preference, but you can add them in sooner.

4. Once your rice is mixed together evenly, you can go ahead fill up a bowl, top it with a handful of green onions and sesame seeds and eat! Or...

5. … Make an egg over-easy in a separate pan and lay it on top. I like breaking the yolk over the rice, but you can cook your egg however you prefer.

I don’t suggest eating this every day, or even very often, but if you’re looking for a carb-heavy dream boat after a night of drinking, find your way to this, ASAP.