Kimchi Fried Rice (Plant-Based!)

All the flavor of tangy, spicy kimchi combined with comforting fried rice. Our plant-based take is simple with just 10 ingredients required. The perfect weeknight meal or make-ahead recipe for the week. Let us show you how it’s done!
Origins of Kimchi …

Kimchi Fried Rice (Plant-Based!)

All the flavor of tangy, spicy kimchi combined with comforting fried rice. Our plant-based take is simple with just 10 ingredients required. The perfect weeknight meal or make-ahead recipe for the week. Let us show you how it’s done!

Origins of Kimchi Fried Rice

Kimchi fried rice, also called kimchi-bokkeum-bap, is popular in South Korea (source). It’s unclear who exactly invented it, but it’s thought that it originated out of a need to create an affordable and delicious meal with minimal ingredients.

Kimchi Fried Rice (Plant-Based!) from Minimalist Baker →

Vibrant Collard Green Wraps with Green Curry Tahini Sauce

This vibrant, colorful collard green wrap comes together in just 20 minutes and makes the perfect portable snack or meal. It’s great for making ahead for meal prep and keeps in the fridge for several days.
The star of the show is the tangy-cream…

Vibrant Collard Green Wraps with Green Curry Tahini Sauce

This vibrant, colorful collard green wrap comes together in just 20 minutes and makes the perfect portable snack or meal. It’s great for making ahead for meal prep and keeps in the fridge for several days.

The star of the show is the tangy-creamy green curry tahini sauce made with our go-to Green Curry Paste. This wrap is what plant-based dreams are made of!

It’s no secret that around here we’re big fans of cuisines and flavors from around the world (including the Middle East, Germany, and Thailand).

Vibrant Collard Green Wraps with Green Curry Tahini Sauce from Minimalist Baker →

Spicy Korean Egg Roll Bowls with Kimchi

Bowls over rolls—everything you love in an egg roll, now in an easy-peasy bowl form! These satisfying egg roll bowls provide all the fantastic flavors of egg rolls without the hassle of wrapping and frying. Sautéed cabbage, carrot and ground pork with a punch of spicy kimchi, served over a bed of rice. For all […]

Bowls over rolls—everything you love in an egg roll, now in an easy-peasy bowl form!

These satisfying egg roll bowls provide all the fantastic flavors of egg rolls without the hassle of wrapping and frying. Sautéed cabbage, carrot and ground pork with a punch of spicy kimchi, served over a bed of rice.

Spicy Korean Egg Roll Bowls with a bowl of rice, pinch bowl of sesame seeds, and whole purple radishes on a dark background.

For all the chaos in the world right now, food is proving to be a safe haven for a lot of us. I’m trying to see a silver lining to all of this, and I have to say that seeing so many people staying at home for the good of their communities, and cooking food for their families is heartwarming. If we all come out of this with a little more confidence in the kitchen, and a more conscientious approach to food waste, I think we’ll all be better for it in the end.

In the coming weeks we’re going to try to keep sharing recipes as best as we can, focusing on practical recipes utilizing pantry ingredients and incorporating fresh produce whenever we can (because while one can feasibly live on dried beans and pasta, it’s certainly not satisfying).

In these bowls, for example, both cabbage and carrots will keep quite well in the fridge for weeks, as does kimchi. Paired with some steamed rice and frozen pork from the freezer (you could also use ground turkey or chicken), it’s a practical recipe that doesn’t sacrifice on flavor.

Closeup of Spicy Korean Egg Roll Bowls with rice and thinly sliced green onion

This particular recipe was inspired by our most recent CSA box from Caney Fork Farms, which arrived with a whole head of napa cabbage, beautiful fresh carrots, gigantic green onions and the most beautiful purple daikon radishes I’ve ever seen.

We sort of threw this together on a whim, stir frying that lovely produce with some ground pork and all the spicy condiments we happened to have in our fridge. The result was so good, so deliciously spicy, that we had to make it again to share with you. Served atop a bed of steamed rice it really makes for one heck of a meal.

(And, if you’re in the Nashville area and interested in getting your own CSA delivered right to your front door, check out Caney Fork Farms. And psst! Use coupon code LOVEANDOLIVEOIL to save $25 off your first share!)

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Mac and Kim-Cheese

What do you get when you mix tangy, spicy Korean kimchi into an ultra creamy, white cheddar mac and cheese? A downright delicious dinner, that’s what! Mac ‘n cheese aficionados: this one’s for you! Quite possibly the creamiest mac and cheese EVER (thanks to a super secret sciency ingredient), we’ve added spicy kimchi for a […]

What do you get when you mix tangy, spicy Korean kimchi into an ultra creamy, white cheddar mac and cheese? A downright delicious dinner, that’s what!

Mac ‘n cheese aficionados: this one’s for you! Quite possibly the creamiest mac and cheese EVER (thanks to a super secret sciency ingredient), we’ve added spicy kimchi for a unique take on a comfort food classic.

Kimchee Macaroni & Cheese in black ramekins with a jar of kimchi

Kimchi mac and cheese.

Mac and kim-cheese.

Get it?

I crack myself up sometimes.

But this pun-derful recipe is more than just a clever name. While it may have originated there, when we made our first test batch we were blown away by the combination of tangy, spicy kimchi and creamy white cheddar cheese. It’s simply unreal.

Closeup cocotte of Kimchee Macaroni & Cheese in black ramekins with a jar of kimchi

That said, this recipe did not come together easily.

I have a thing about texture, and especially when it comes to mac ‘n cheese, the texture is paramount to my ultimate enjoyment.

Most mac ‘n cheese recipes start out with a flour roux; this is how I’ve always made it (and indeed my past mac ‘n cheese recipes have done just that) but for whatever reason this time I just wasn’t satisfied.

Roux-based cheese sauces have a tendency to get somewhat pasty, a texture that really isn’t ideal when you’re craving an ultra creamy mac ‘n cheese.

I tried changing proportions of flour and cheese. I tried different kinds of cheeses. I compared baked vs stovetop versions. Either I’d have a thick cheese sauce that maybe stayed creamy for 5 minutes before going pasty, or a thin and watery one; there was no perfectly creamy middle ground.

Then I discovered a secret ingredient that is nothing short of magic.

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