Fernando's Kimchee Bokeumbop (Fried Rice)

It's been a rough week.
Yesterday, we didn't even really eat dinner. Even after Fernando came home after a 15+ hour day with a post-work running workout with his urban crew.
I on the other hand, I'm not totally sure what I did or said for most of the past 5 days.

So yep. It's been rough.

But there are few things better than wrapping up a whirlwind, mostly upsetting week with a Friday night dinner at home in our pajamas, wine, and Fernando's kimchee bokeumbop. It's like he knew even better than I did that this is really what we needed to feel okay today. Here's the rundown.

Ingredients: 

• 1.5 cups of short-grained, white rice (dry) 
• 2 cups of water for the rice
• OR use 3 cups of yesterday's rice that you have leftover
• 1 cup of sliced cabbage kimchee (we use the Chongga brand)   
• 2 Tbsp of butter 
• 1/2 can of Spam, thinly sliced into 1" strips
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp of Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
• 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil 
• 2 eggs
• lots of love and patience 

Steps: 

1. Set up the rice to cook first - this will take the longest. (~20 minutes or so, if you have one of those nifty rice cookers. Ours is around 30 years old and still chugging.)
2. In a 10" skillet, add 1 Tbsp of butter over low heat. 
3. Once the butter is melted, add the minced garlic. And let it heat up without burning it. 
4. Add in the sliced kimchee and let that sautee until some of the juices release. You'll know this happens when you notice the kimchee loses it's reddish coloring. 
5. Add in the Spam to cook in all the kimchee juicy goodness. Cook that til the Spam pieces start getting a nice crust. 
6. Add the Gochujang and stir until it's fully incorporated into the mixture of buttery kimchee and Spam. 
7. Add the second tablespoon of butter and add in the 3 cups of rice (if it's ready). 
8. Mix in thoroughly until the rice itself turns the kimchee red. Fernando's trick is to press down on the rice for a nice even layer up top and a crunchy rice bottom we Koreans call nurungji, similar to the socarrat in paella or the Persian tahdig. 
9. While the rice gets a crispy bottom, fry up an egg per person with the olive oil or if you're Stacy, in more butter. See, we had 2 in this recipe to feed 2 adults. But read the note at the bottom. (Fernando would like to note, if you're Stacy, multiply all calls for butter by 5.) 
10. Fernando likes to top his bowl of bokeumbop with the fried egg, so he can mix in the runny yolk. An excellent choice. 

This will feed 2 very hungry adults, or more reasonably, 3 adults. 

- From Fernando, written by Stacy