Kimchi fried rice, K-Mama, and all things Korean cuisine: Taste Buds

Korean cuisine: Taste Buds

Stephanie Hansen's love of Korean food takes her on a whirlwind adventure of flavors in this episode of Taste Buds.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Stephanie Hansen's love of Korean food takes her on a whirlwind adventure of flavors in the latest episode of Taste Buds.

First up: kimchi fried rice with James Beard Award-winning chef Ann Kim. Ann welcomes Stephanie into her new restaurant, Kim's, which features Korean American cuisine that is close to Ann's heart. Her kimchi fried rice is made with "Ann's ham," which is Ann's in-house twist on Spam.

Inspired by Ann's kimchi fried rice, Stephanie heads to United Noodles to shop for Korean ingredients with KC Kye. KC makes social media videos touring Asian grocery stores and explaining products to viewers, so he was a perfect guide. KC is also the creator of K-Mama Sauce, which he calls the "Korean ketchup."

Home from the store with her ingredients in tow (and her handy Souper Cubes), Stephanie makes Spam and kimchi fried rice and Korean pancakes (with some help from her husband, Kurt, a pancake-flipping pro). Follow along with the recipes below.

Easy Kimchi Fried Rice

Ingredients

1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp gochugaru dried chili pepper
1/2 cup white onion, chopped
1/2 cup cubed Spam or other protein
1/3 cup kimchi or other pickled vegetables
1/4 cup K-mama Sauce
1 cup day-old or frozen white rice
Chopped or pickled jalapeño slices to taste (you can save a few slices to garnish)
1/4 cup green onions (1 Tbsp reserved for garnish)

Instructions are available in the video above and here.