Steamed rice is a perfect side dish. Never threatening to overshadow the qualities of a main dish, rice is a good accompaniment for grilled proteins, braises, stir-fries and steamed veggies. But there are times when a meal needs not symbiosis but fiery contrast. That is when Chef Chris Oh’s kimchi fried rice can save the day.

Located near Sony Studios, Oh’s Hanjip Korean BBQ is one of a dozen new restaurants that have created a culinary district in what was once sleepy Culver City, Calif.

An unlikely path to becoming a chef

If you met Oh before he was 30, you would have known an economics major who studied at the University of Arizona and followed his supportive parents into the world of entrepreneurial businesses. Within a few years of graduation, he owned a home, a real estate company and a car wash in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was living the American dream.

Then one day, as has happened to many others, he woke up and asked himself, “Is this it?” His answer was, “No.” He wanted to follow his passion and pursue the life of a chef. But this is where Oh’s story takes an unusual turn. Unlike many others who want culinary careers, Oh did not enroll in a cooking academy. He did not seek out a talented chef and apprentice himself for years.

He abandoned his successful life, sold his house and all his businesses, packed his car and drove to Los Angeles. He knew he wanted to be a chef, but his only cooking experience was preparing meals for his younger brother when they were growing up. He rented a house, bought a TV and turned on the Food Network. For days and nights too numerous to count, he sat on his couch and watched cooking shows. He studied classic recipes and learned to improvise by watching competition cooking shows.

Even though he had never worked in a professional kitchen, after his third interview, he was hired to be a line cook. A quick study, within two years Oh was working with some of Los Angeles’ top chefs. Fast forward another two years and he was the chef-owner of two food trucks and three restaurants. Along the way he won the third season of The Great Food Truck Race and had become a judge on cooking shows.

Korean flavors for American palates

The driving force behind his success is Oh’s love of Korean food. Many people have not experienced Korean food so his intention is to create dishes with authentic flavors but to make them more friendly to the American palate. Korean barbecue, he told me, isn’t just for Korean people.

Eating at a Korean barbecue restaurant is like going to a dinner theater except the show is not on stage but on the table. A gas-powered brazier gets the spotlight. Using tongs and chop sticks, everyone at the table plays chef and places thin slices of meat, seafood and vegetables on the hot grill. The conversation bubbles and the meat sizzles as everyone picks off the flavorful crispy bits and eats them with rice.

Based on his mother’s recipe, Oh adds a few chef’s secret touches to elevate his kimchi fried rice. Essential to the flavor profile is the addition of a barely cooked egg. Just before eating, the egg is broken up and mixed into the rice. The kimchi fried rice with its comfort-food creaminess is a good complement to the tasty, crispy bits that come off the grill.

Hanjip Korean BBQ’s Kimchi Fried Rice

Of the special ingredients needed to make the dish, only kimchi is essential. Found in the refrigerated section in Asian markets, there are many varieties of kimchi. The version used in Oh’s recipe is made with Asian cabbage. Most often sold in jars and prepared with MSG, there are brands that prepare their kimchi without MSG and are recommended.

Kimchi continues to ferment in the jar, which explains the gas that sputters out when the lid is unscrewed. To protect against juices staining clothing and the counter, always open the jar in the sink where cleanup is easy.

Furikake and nori, the other specialty ingredients called for in the recipe, are also found in Asian markets. Nori is a dried seaweed sold in sheets or pre-cut into thin strips. Furikake comes in several varieties. Chef Oh’s furikake is a mix of sesame seeds, nori, bonito flakes and seasoned salt.

For a vegetarian or vegan version, omit the butter and egg and use kosher salt instead of beef bouillon.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes or 45 minutes if the rice must be cooked or 60 minutes if using a sous vide egg

Total time: 20 minutes or 65 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 egg, sous vide 60 minutes or coddled for 4 minutes in boiling water or fried sunny side up

1 tablespoon sweet butter

2 tablespoons sesame oil

¾ cup chopped kimchi

3 cups cooked white rice, Japanese or Chinese

Pinch of beef bouillon powder or kosher salt

2 tablespoons kimchi juice

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic

2 tablespoons scallions, washed, ends trimmed, chopped

2 tablespoons nori strips for garnish

1 teaspoon furikake for garnish

Directions

1. Cook the egg sous vide, coddled or fried sunny side up. Set aside.

2.Heat wok, carbon steel or cast iron pan over high heat.

3. Add butter. Lower the flame and stir well to avoid burning.

4. Add sesame oil and kimchi. Stir well to combine.

5. Add cooked rice. Mix well with oils and kimchi. Do not over stir to encourage bottom layer to crisp.

6. Season with beef bouillon powder or kosher salt, kimchi juice and garlic. Stir well.

7. Add scallions and stir well.

8. When the rice is well coated and some of the grains are crispy, transfer to a serving dish.

9. Top with the egg and garnish with the nori strips and furikake.

10. Serve hot.

Copyright 2016 David Latt via Zester Daily and Reuters Media Express

The post Kimchi Fried Rice, A Crispy Twist On Korean BBQ appeared first on Ubiq TV | English News Channel.

NEW DELHI/BEIJNG (Reuters) – Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra is re-thinking the strategy for its loss-making Korean automaker Ssangyong Motor Co, tapping the brakes on its planned push into the United States to focus instead on China.

Mahindra’s Executive Director Pawan Goenka told Reuters the company was in talks with Chinese firms to enter into a contract manufacturing agreement or form a joint venture to build Ssangyong vehicles in China, where it currently exports to from Korea and sells through a local distributor.

Mahindra rescued Ssangyong from near-insolvency in 2011, acquiring a stake of just over 70 percent, but South Korea’s No. 4 car maker has struggled to break even, reporting a net loss of 61.9 billion won ($51.6 million) for 2015, although it made a net profit in the final quarter.

Making cars in China would mean Ssangyong could lower its prices there, and Goenka said it made sense to focus on expanding sales in an existing market before going to the United States and building a distribution network from the ground up.

“China is easier to look at right now because Ssangyong already has a presence there. We have some traction and need to ramp up our products for local manufacturing,” Goenka told Reuters.

“China is here and now, U.S. is the future. We are still deciding what it takes for us to launch in the U.S.”

Boosting overseas sales has taken on a greater urgency for Ssangyong due to slumping sales in Russia, once its biggest export market contributing more than 20 percent of total shipments.    Exports made up only a third of Ssangyong’s total sales of144,764 vehicles in 2015, down from more than half in 2014, when it sold 141,047 vehicles, and substantially short of its target for exports of 60 percent of total sales.

Also, the Korean car maker does not currently have a vehicle that meets U.S. regulatory requirements, Goenka said.

“The U.S. is not somewhere you can go in without significant investment in product and brand development. Given the various priorities we have, the U.S. is now somewhat on the back burner, but not stopped,” Goenka said.

CHINA CHALLENGE

Goenka, who is also chairman of Ssangyong, did not give details about which Chinese companies it was talking to.

Under Mahindra’s ownership, Ssangyong is investing nearly $1billion in refreshing its product line-up. Mahindra hopes the launch of its new compact sport-utility vehicle (SUV) Tivoli, which has seen strong demand in South Korea, will help drive up sales in China, where smallish SUVs are booming.

While the China market might appear a good fit for Ssangyong’s budget-focused models, growth in the world’s biggest car market has slowed significantly and an effort to set up production there faces challenges.

Most global car makers already have a joint venture or production agreement with local companies, which could make it tough for Ssangyong to find the Chinese partner it needs to build cars there.

Also, given rampant excess auto production capacity, China’s industrial policymakers are no longer so generous in allowing foreign automakers to form a joint venture with a Chinese firm.

Because imported cars are subject to high duty, Ssangyong’s share of the Chinese car market is miniscule compared with market leaders such as Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co.

Overall, China car sales rose a relatively sluggish 3 percent to 24.6 million vehicles in 2015. Ssangyong sold some 2,460 cars in China in last year, down from 11,976 in 2014.

“Yes, right now China is down, but if we can get the right pricing then I think we should be able to benefit there,” Goenka said.

CHINA VS U.S.

Mahindra had said in 2014 it was studying the possibility of selling Ssangyong cars in the United States.

An executive at Ssangyong’s team working on its U.S. strategy said he was not aware of any plan to put the project on the back burner, pointing out it did not envisage entering that market until around 2020.

“I have never heard that before. Never. As far as we are concerned, we are going ahead with the project,” said the executive, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media. “In fact we are supposed to discuss it in the upcoming Ssangyong board meeting in March, and we have been preparing for it since mid-January.”

Goenka said the company was working with consultants on assessing the U.S. market and a final proposal had yet to be made to Ssangyong’s board of directors.

Another source familiar with the matter told Reuters that “there could be a difference of opinions” between the management teams at Ssangyong and parent company Mahindra regarding the United States. “My understanding is that Mahindra wants Ssangyong to take a breather in the U.S. entry plan, while Ssangyong is making progress in the project,” the source said.

A Ssangyong spokesman in Seoul declined to comment.

In 2014, Ssangyong held talks with Geely Automobile Holdings about the possibility of contracting the Chinese firm to manufacture its cars in China, according to three individuals involved in the discussions.

The talks foundered on Geely’s condition that any Ssangyong cars it built would carry the Geely brand name and be marketed through its distribution channel, the sources said.

(Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in SEOUL and Himank Sharma in MUMBAI; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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