Kimchi is easily available at Asian markets. Some store bought kimchis have fish (and some don’t). So read the ingredients label before making your purchase. Alternatively, you can make your own kimchi at home.
Day old, cooked rice works best for this recipe. That’s because old rice has had a chance to dry out and wont get mushy when you make the fried rice. If you already have left over rice on hand, use 3 cups of that for this recipe. If not, cook 1 cup of jasmine rice (this will yield about 3 cups cooked rice), spread it our in a platter to cool and then refrigerate it over night before using. I like jasmine rice for this kimchi fried rice recipe, but any kind of rice will work. Just make sure its not over cooked.

Kimchi Fried Rice Recipe

serves about 2

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoon oil
1/2 a yellow onion, sliced thin
1/2 a small green pepper, sliced thin. Optional
A pinch of crushed red pepper or according to taste. Optional
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage kimchi, available in Asian markets
3 cups cooked, day old jasmine rice*
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 scallions, chopped. Optional
2 eggs. Substitute with 1/2 cup of cubed, sautéed firm tofu.

*Any kind of rice will work for this recipe; but the amount of water needed and cooking time will vary depending on the kind of rice you use. Just make sure its not over cooked.

To make day old rice – place 1 cup jasmine rice and 1 1/2 cups of water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Stir well. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and let the rice simmer for 10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and the riced is cooked through. The rice must be fluffy and separate, not mushy. Spread the rice out on a platter or large plate. Let it cook completely. Then cover refrigerate it over night.

Method
1. Heat the oil on high heat in a wok. Add the onion, green pepper if using, crushed pepper if using, and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Add the sliced kimchi and cook for 1 minute. Then add the rice and soy sauce. Stir on high heat until everything is well combined and some of the rice is lightly brown. Taste the fried rice for salt. If you’d like it more salty, add more soy sauce and stir. Sprinkle chopped scallions on top.
3. Heat a small skillet with a few drops of oil on medium heat. Carefully break open an egg onto the skillet. Let it cook undisturbed, until the white is set, but the yellow is still a little runny. Carefully slide the egg on top of the rice. Repeat with the other egg.

Try this quinoa, egg and kale scramble if you want to start your mornings with a filling, protein packed, yummy breakfast. There is at least 11 grams of protein per serving in this dish, thanks to all the quinoa. And who says eggs are only for breakfast?! Make this scramble and put it between bread slices for a delicious lunch, or whip up this recipe for a fast dinner.

If you have cooked quinoa on had, this recipe takes just a few minutes to make. I like using red quinoa because it looks jeweled and beautiful against the scrambled eggs. But white quinoa will work just fine. I added dried oregano to the scramble, but feel free to add any kind of seasoning you like. Dried herbs, chipotle peppers, tabasco sauce, curry powder will all be great seasonings for this quinoa and egg scramble.

Quinoa, Egg and Kale Scramble Recipe

serves 3-4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 cups shredded kale
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, optional
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
Salt & Pepper

 Method
1.Heat the butter or oil in a skillet. Add kale and stir just until it turns bright green, about 30 seconds.
2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and oregano and garlic powder together.
3. Pour the eggs over the kale, and stir. Let the eggs cook on medium heat till the bottom is starting to set.
4. Add the quinoa, and scramble the eggs till they set, but are still soft.
Serve with toast.

Here’s a recipe inspired by the Spanish frittata — I kept the potato which is traditionally used in a frittata, but I take it in a totally different direction. This roulade or roll up is a stuffed omelette with smoked paprika, fried potatoes, peppers and water cress. You can make this the previous day of a party and just cut it up and serve the day of. This is a great make ahead appetizer for entertaining!

Use any vegetables or cheeses you like. I enjoy the peppery bite of watercress with the creamy cheese. The orange bell pepper adds color, and the fried potatoes make these omelette pinwheels fun and filling.

(almost) Step-by-step instructions for omelette rollups

- Place cooked omelette on a large pice of cling film. Cling film must be about twice as long and wide as the omelette
- Let omelette cool completely
- Once cool, gently spread cream cheese over the omelette. Dont spread cream cheese all the way to the edges of the omelette. Leave a little space for the filling ooze out when rolling

- Place a single layer of watercress leaves over the cream cheese
- Then arrange julienned peppers and fried potato sticks alternatingly. Place them horizontally. They should be in a single layer.
- Pick up the end of the omelette thats closest to you and begin rolling

- Roll gently, but tightly. Take care not to tear the omelette. You will now have an omelette ‘sausage’
- Now pick up the cling film that the omelette is on, and roll the omelette ‘sausage’ to make a package. Make sure you wrap and roll the cling film tightly over the omelette ‘sausage’
- Twist the ends of the package

- Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This will make the roulade easier to cut
- After 30 minutes, take out the package from the fridge. Carefully remove cling film.
- Place 6-8 tooth picks at regular intervals on the omelette roll.
- Using a sharp knife, cut inbetween each tooth pick, to get spiral shaped omelette pinwheels
- Serve at room temperature 

How I took the ‘inside the fridge’ photo above

I cleared out a section of the fridge and placed my camera inside the fridge, facing out. You need a remote trigger for your camera and a reasonably wide angle lens to do this (focal length for this was 34mm).

It took a few test shots and changing the setting to get the exposure right. Then its easy, I just opened the fridge, and clicked the remote as I was placing the roll up inside the fridge.

If you dont have a remote for your camera, set your camera on the self timer.

You can do this from inside the oven too (make sure the oven is not on!). 

Notes & Tips

- Omelette must be completely cool before rolling
- Cream cheese must be at room temperature, this will make it easier to spread
- Dont over cook the omelette. Cooking on high heat or for too long will make your omelette dry and you will risk tearing it while rolling
- Make sure the omelette is not too thick, or it will be difficult to roll. A 12 inch diamater pan is perfect for a 6 egg omelette
- If you find cooking and flipping over a 6 egg omelette is difficult, make 2 roulades instead. Use a 6 inch pan and make two 3 egg omelettes. This way, they will be easier to handle and flip over, compared to a large single omelette

Omelette Rollups or Roulade with Smoky Fried Potatoes, Cream Cheese, Bell Pepper and Watercress Recipe

serves about 3-4 as an appetizer

For the omelette
6 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon of smoked paprika (substitute with chilli powder, regular paprika or cayenne)
salt
non-stick spray or olive oil

For the smoky potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small potato
a pinch of smoked paprika, use more if you like it spicy
salt

Other ingredients
6 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 green or red or orange pepper, julienned
1/2 cup watercress leaves loosely packed

Make the omelette: Whisk the eggs, smoked paprika and salt. Heat a 12 inch diameter nonstick skillet and spray with non-stick spray or 1 tablespoon olive oil. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook on medium heat till the underside of the omelette is slightly golden. Carefully flip the omelette over and cook the other side till done. Using a large spatula, trasfer the omelette to a large sheet of cling film. Let omelette cool completely.

Make the potatoes: While omelette is cooling, make the smoky potatoes.  Scrub the potato clean. Leave skin on. Cut the potato into batons. Heat olive oil in a pan and add the potato sticks in a single layer. Fry the potatoes till golden. Remove cooked potatoes onto a paper towel and sprinkle with smoked paprika and salt.

Make the rollup: When the omelette is completely cool. Spread the cream cheese over the omelette. Then arrange the water cress leaves in a single layer. Place the pepper juliennes and smoky potato sticks over the watercress layer. Make sure the peppers and potato only form a single layer. Gently roll omlette. Wrap the omlette roll in cling film, gently but firmly. Place the package in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then cut into pinwheel pieces.

For detailed step-by-step instructions and photos see post above.

So many of you wrote in, facebooked and tweeted me to ask where I am and why I havent blogged in a while. I am so touched that so many of you care about this blog and I’m happy to say I’m back! Ive been travelling and just got back from a fantastic trip to India, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia (more about that in future posts!). I havent posted while traveling because I had zero drafts when I left..hows that for pre planning?! Now heres a fried rice recipe for you thats yummier than take out!

Make sure you use jasmine rice for this recipe, it will make your fried rice very fragrant. Also dont skip the maggi seasoning sauce, it adds depth and a lovely umami flavor to the fried rice. If you cant find maggi seasoning sauce, use mushroom flavored soy sauce.

Egg Fried Rice using Jasmine Rice: Recipe

serves about 3-4

2 cups Jasmine rice, uncooked
3 1/2 cups water
2 large eggs (for an eggless vegan version, use 1/2 cup fried or scrambled tofu)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red chili slit lengthwise, optional
2 cups mixed vegetables, diced (I used carrots, beans, red pepper and sweet corn)
3 tablespoons light soy sace
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (you may need to use more depending on how dark/strong the brand you are using is)
1/2 teaspoon maggi seasoning
1/4 teaspoon scant white pepper

Cook the 2 cups jasmine rice with 3 1/2 cups water in a rice cooker. When the rice is done, spread it out on a platter or large plate and let it cool completely (if im in a hurry, I put the rice in the fridge to cool). While the rice is cooling, scramble the eggs in a large wok and set the scrambled eggs aside and wipe the wok. Heat the same wok to high, add oil and the red chili if using. Add the mixed vegtables and cook sritting, on high heat, about 4 minutes. Now add 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and cook another minute. Add the scrambled eggs, cooled rice, remaining light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, maggie seasoning and white pepper. Cook on high heat for about 3 minutes. Garnish with chopped green onions.