Kimchee Rice Patties
When Kimchee meet cheese, it is heaven on earth. I call it Kimcheese. As you know they both are fermented food, one is from cabbage and the other from milk of cow, goat, and/or sheep.
I don’t think Mr. Cow ever eats cabbages but perhaps he wouldn’t mind having a blind date with Ms. Cabbage in the rice park. Kaboom! You won’t believe how divinely delicious they are together.
My brilliant inspiration of putting these two fermented god and goddess together came from the Italian risotto ball I had at my local Neapolitan pizzeria called Pupatella. The true Neapolitan style pizza I love.
When I bite into a risotto ball as an appetizer, something just clicked me as an light bulb. “Why don’t I mix Kimchee with cheese to make rice balls?” So I did. Ooooh! you will love it, my dears…
They are so meant to be together. Why on earth did I not try that before?
So here I am… urging you to try this recipe. I will give you two options to choose from. One is deep fried and the other pan seared. They both are good.
The deep fried one offers irresistible crispness while pan seared one offers more aromatic substance to overall flavor. You will need well fermented cabbage Kimchee to bring out the full flavor.
I will share with you my East meets West version of rice patties. Kimchee rocks!
Revealing my glorious ingredients! Mozzarella cheese, Feta cheese, Kimchee, ground pork, parsley, green onion, eggs, flour, and panko crumbs.
You will also need some cooked short grain rice and Parmesan cheese.
Squeeze your Kimchee to death to remove their juice. Parental discretion advised. Looks a little R-rated on this scene. Scary…
Chop Ms. Cabbage as fine as you can.
Saute the piggies in the hot oil until they are no longer shy in pink…
Chop the greens…
Add the chopped Kimchee and fry until it gets softened, about 6-7 minutes over medium heat. When the Kimchee gets nice and soft, add green onion and parsley. Remove from the heat. Let it cool down for a few minutes.
Take some rice onto your hand and flatten it. Scoop the Kimchee mixture over rice.
My brain was tuned to a play-mode that moment so I made into triangle shape. If you want some fun, try star shape to see if it works…
Version 1
Let’s try a deep-frying method.
Coat with flour, egg, and panko crumbs.
Version 1 finished.
Version 2
Want to know how you can pan sear these patties? Super easy.
Just press onto Parmesan cheese on both sides.
Sear with a little bit of oil over hot skillet until NGB. You better serve these patties when hot. Leftovers aren’t that great unfortunately.
Kimchee and Cheese Rice Patties (kimcheese jumuk bap)
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb fermented cabbage kimchee
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 lb ground pork
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 3 Tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 3 cups cooked short grain rice
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- pinch salt
- flour, eggs, and panko bread crumbs for coating
- oil for deep frying and/or pan sear
Instructions
- Squeeze out the kimchee to remove its juice, chop finely.
- Heat the skillet over medium heat, add oil and saute ground pork until brown. Add kimchee and continue to saute until kimchee gets softened, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat, add black pepper, green onion and parsley, toss. Rest the mixture to cool down for a few minutes. Add mozzarella cheese and feta cheese, mix well, and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine rice with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese and pinch salt.
- Grease your hand with a little oil. Scoop some rice, about 2 Tbsp, on the palm of your hand and flatten it with the other hand. Put 1 1/2 Tbsp of kimchee mixture on top of the rice. cover with more rice over the kimchee and make sure to cover the kimchee completely. Gently squish the rice patties to make into desired shapes.
- For Deep frying, coat the patties with flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs. Deep fry in 170ºC oil until golden brown.
- For pan seared, press the patties onto the rest of the grated Parmesan cheese both sides. Heat a little oil in the skillet and sear the patties until it creates golden crust, about 3 minutes on each side.
Can you use day old or two day old sushi rice for the Trianles?. I bought the molds and want to try as I have lots of leftover rice in the fridge and freezer????
Thanks
Alanjesq
Of course. Just reheat the rice in the microwave or by other reheating method, and proceeds to recipe instructions. Hope you like these rice patties. Thank you!
Hi, are these good cold? I have a Korean homestay student and I am trying to find food for him to tale to school.
Hi Ange
Unfortunately, they are not good as cold. Fried food should be eaten when they are just made to enjoy the best taste. Once cooked and let it sit cold, the oil can get rancid and can be smelly, too.
Try this recipe. They can be made ahead of time and great for school lunch.
https://www.beyondkimchee.com/kimchi-tuna-rice-patties-and-balls/
Just a question… You said leftovers don’t do so well. Could you assemble the patties and freeze them before breading them instead? There’s only 2 of us in my house, so I know there would be leftovers.
I have not tried to freeze them them before but I think you it should work. Make sure you thaw completely before breading.
Oh my. These are delicious! I had a bit of a hard time making them into nicely packed triangles like the photos. I ended up giving up on that and making them into carefully mushed balls and it worked (I don’t think the rice I have is sticky enough). Regardless, they were so good! We dipped them in a mayo/korean hot pepper paste mix…also delicious. Thank you!
It can be tricky to mold into triangle shape but whatever shape you make, it will taste the same. Glad to hear that you loved it.
You can't go wrong with cheese and rice. They go so well together.
wow! i just happened onto your site while searching for recipes for an american friend, and i saw this and your rice ball recipes. you know what? my mom makes CHEESY RICE BALLS for my ridiculously picky daughter's lunch!
she mixes the rice (brown rice with black beans) with sesame oil, salt & pepper, rolls into balls, and then rolls the balls in parmesan cheese.
when she first made them, i thought she was insane, but then i realized that the balls were insanely good.
thanks for sharing your wonderful recipe, i am a taiwanese but i love love korean food,yummy spicy sultry…hmm…learning how to korean food recently.i will definitely make this very soon.: )
@7e4ae6b49260b7a97cc57e29fdcf50d2:disqus
You are very welcome. Hope you like them. Please let me know how they turned out.
This will be the perfect dish to make for my boyfriend, an Italian-American who got so hooked up with kimchee I introduced to him when we just started dating. Thank you so much for the detail recipe with beautiful pictures.
Sally N.
I really like this recipe and will definitely try to make it as soon as I can. Your blog is great and your photos are awesome (lighting and setup – top notch). Not everyone can or is willing to take step by step photos of recipes, but the effort is greatly appreciated by fellow foodies and cooks. Keep up the good work! 🙂
Hi Jaime
I glimpsed your blog and saw how you made the patties. What a brilliant idea
to mix bulgogi and kimchee with rice! Thanks for trying and I am glad that
you enjoyed it. Also hope you enjoy every moment in Korea.
I made a version of these today, and loooved them! Your photos blow mine out of the water, but thank you for giving me the idea and the recipe. You rock!
http://jaimeabroad.blogspot.com/2011/04/i-made-something-else-i-did-it.html
Yes, you will definitely need to use short grain with any rice patties or balls. Long grain rice is too fluffy for the job. Your second attempt will come out much better. I am glad that you liked it.
Hi Holly,
I tried them last night, and I used long grain rice instead of short grain rice as I had lots of it left over, but unfortuately it would not stick together properly when I formed the patties! I manage to make 2 and deep fry, but there was too much rice to meat ratio, so we had to spoon some meat mixture on top of the patties to eat! Nevertheless they were delicious, and next time I get my hands on some short grain rice, I will attempt to make them again! Thanks again for sharing this recipe!
Tonight I am trying your steamed egg recipe, I found a jar of salted shrimps when I went to buy kimchee. =D
Lucy
Hi, I managed to buy some shop made kimchee for this recipe (fresh I think as it expires in a few weeks) , but couldn't find the fermented ones. Do you think I should just use the fresh kimchee like it is, or let it go by it's use by date to ferment a bit?? There isn't too much juice in the box I bought last night.. Thanks!! =)
Maybe you can just mix rice and cheese into balls and fry them. That would make brilliant snack!
Kimcheese is a good name! 😀 Will definitely try out your patties – can't choose between pan-fried and fried, think I shall try both!
wow, these look amazing!!! i will be using this recipe, can't WAIT to try it out!!! you are brilliant, and everytime i see a new recipe i get soooooo excited!!! =)