Product Review: Mrs. Lam Premium Sinandomeng Rice + KIMCHI FRIED RICE, KIMCHI BOKKEUMBAP Recipe

Rice is a Filipino staple food. Most of us cannot live without eating rice. In fact, when I went abroad for the first time, I felt that my meals weren’t complete because there was no rice available. There are lots of rice variations: brown rice, red rice, black rice, yellow rice and of course, white rice. I recently received 2 kilograms pack of rice brand called Mrs. Lam Premium Sinandomeng Special rice for a product review from Ad Garlic. 

Mrs. Lam’s Rice is guaranteed 100 % locally harvested and carefully selected over-milled crop from the best regions in the country. What makes Mrs. Lam’s rice different from other rice is its naturally fragrant aroma, white, long grain, smooth shiny and silky in appearance. When cooked, Mrs. Lam’s produces a white soft long grain with a slightly chewy texture.

Produced utilizing the state-of-the-art innovative technology of rice-polishing along with its advanced laser sorting machines, Mrs. Lam’s Rice ensures the best quality rice. Guaranteed to deliver the best rice but sold at a very reasonable price, it ensures every customer’s satisfaction and continues patronage.

Mrs. Lam's Premium Sinandomeng Special Rice after it's cooked

 Aside from its longer, slimmer grains, what distinguishes Mrs. Lam’s long-grain white rice from medium or short grained white rice (the kind used in risotto or sushi respectively) is that after cooking it remains fluffy and separate. Long grain rice such as Mrs. Lam’s contains less of starch called amylopectin, which is what makes rice stick together.

Celebrity mom Danica Sotto Pingris endorses Mrs. Lam's Rice

Mrs. Lam's Sinandomeng Premium Rice is neutral in flavor, perfect for providing backdrop in other foods. Nonetheless, high quality white rice such as Mrs. Lam's rice--like good white pasta, or a real French baguette--offers pleasingly chewy "al dente" texture and a slightly fragrant aroma on its own. On my last trip to the International Rice Institute, I was able to learn that processing per se affects the rice flavor. All rice starts out brown' to become white, it is milled. It goes a process that removes the husk, bran, and germ, which contains flavor compounds as well as nutrients. The longer the rice is milled, the whiter the rice becomes--and the more flavor is removed. Most brands of rice are then enriched to replace the lost nutrients. Overall, I loved Mrs. Lam's Premium Sinandomeng Soecial Rice. It had subtle notes which reminds me of "nuts" or "barley." Even with added flavors in rice pilaf or Korean bokkeumbap, I prefer Mrs. Lam's rice for its winning brand quality in both taste and texture. 

Speaking of such, I am sharing my personal recipe of one of my all-time favorite easy-to-do meals, Kimchi Bokkeumbap or Kimchi Fried Rice from Korea. What do you do when you don't have much in the fridge or you don't feel like cooking? Kimchi Bokkeumbap is the best way to go! If you're like me who makes kimchi her favorite appetizer (I make sure I have this thing on my fridge) or side dish since I love fried foods. Often, this over fermented (sour) kimchi along with cooked rice, some butter, sesame oil, choice of veggies and gochujang paste (Korean soy bean chili paste). For those who do not know what Gochujang paste is, it is a savory, spicy and pungent fermented Korean condiment made from red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt. 

With sour kimchi, cooked rice, sesame oil and some butter, you can make a dish in just 15 minutes that is divinely delicious and sinfully addictive. For those who are wondering about butter use in Korean cooking, it is true that butter is not a traditional Korean ingredient; yet, it’s widely used by Koreans today in dishes such as this.

Here's my recipe on how to make an amazing Kimchi Fried Rice:

KIMCHI FRIED RICE, KIMCHI BOKKEUMBAP

김치 볶음밥

6 oz	Kimchi 김치
2 cups	Cooked Rice 밥
2 tbs	Butter 버터
3 tbs	Kimchi Juice 김치국물
2	Egg 계란
1 tsp	Salt 소금
½ tsp	Black Pepper 후추

Kimchi
For 2 servings, ⅛ of a whole napa cabbage kimchi is used which is equivalent to 1 cup of chopped kimchi (¼ inch pieces) or about 175 g in weight.

Use spicy napa cabbage kimchi for best results. If you have good-tasting kimchi, it's hard to go wrong. If you have to use kimchi that's pretty bland, add some gochugaru (red chili flakes) and season with salt.
Over-fermented (sour) kimchi is ideal for this dish. If you are using non-sour kimchi, add a little bit of vinegar to add sour taste.

Make Rice
Use Mrs. Lam's Sinandomeng Premium Special rice, also known as long grain rice. See cooking white rice in a pot and cooking white rice in a rice cooker. For fried rice, make the rice a little drier than usual by adding a little less water. This prevents your Kimchi Fried Rice from becoming too soggy. White rice is usually used for Kimchi Fried Rice, but multigrain or brown rice is okay too.

Chop kimchi

Chop kimchi into ¼” pieces (about 1 cm) to yield 1½ cup of chopped kimchi (about ⅛ of a whole nappa cabbage kimchi). It’s ideal to use over-fermented (sour) kimchi. You can also add meat or vegetables you like (see tips above). Chop them into the same size as kimchi.

Melt butter

In a large pan or wok melt 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat. (You can add one more spoon if you love butter.) If you are not using butter, you can use vegetable oil but adding some sort of meat to the dish is recommended to enhance the flavor.

Saute kimchi

Add chopped kimchi to pan and saute for 5-10 min on medium heat or until kimchi is cooked completely. Add 3 tablespoons of kimchi juice (optional) while cooking. If kimchi starts to stick to the bottom but not cooked through yet, add a little bit of water or more kimchi juice. You can add more kimchi juice if you like it spicy. If you don’t have kimchi juice, you can also add some gochugaru for more spiciness and red color.

Add rice

Reduce heat to low. Add 2 cups of cooked rice and mix thoroughly. If you are using cold leftover rice, make sure you mix it until there are no cold lumps of rice and all the rice is warmed up. Let it sit on low heat for about 5 min. If you like it crispy on the bottom, you can spread the fried rice thinly over the pan and cook on low heat until the crispy bottoms if formed.

Season

Taste and season with salt only if necessary. The amount of salt depends on the saltiness of kimchi and how much kimchi juice is used. Add a pinch of black pepper

Fry eggs (optional)

In a pan, add a little bit of vegetable oil and fry eggs on medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. You can cook one egg for each serving. Sunny side up is great for presentation but you can cook to your preference.

Tweak it according to your taste/preference

Adding kimchi juice always make it better. If you add enough kimchi juice, you don't need to season with salt.

Also, cut kimchi into small pieces so the kimchi flavor is brought out and absorbed into the rice. Make sure you cook kimchi thoroughly before adding rice.

If you are using old cooked rice that has been in the fridge, be sure to mix it thoroughly with kimchi so there is no lump and all the rice is completely warmed up.

If you are making rice just for Kimchi Fried Rice, make it a little drier than usual by adding a little less water. This prevents your Kimchi Fried Rice from becoming too soggy.

You can also make the bottom part crispy by spreading the fried rice thin on the pan and leaving it on low heat until the bottom gets crispy.

Turn heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until the rice has absorbed the sauce and is very hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil. Taste, and adjust with more soy sauce, sesame oil or kimchi juice.

Variations (add a personal touch)
Many people like to add ham, meat or other vegetables like onions, zucchini and carrots. Bacon, surprisingly, pairs well with kimchi too. If you like to add other ingredients, chop them into fine bits and sauté them with the kimchi until they are thoroughly cooked. Remember not to put in too much of the other ingredients so as to avoid the other flavors overpowering that of the kimchi.

You can also add sesame oil at the end for a nutty flavor and smell.

Adding sugar can also balance out the sour taste and make it more palatable, though it is not necessary. 

Serve Kimchi Fried Rice on a plate or bowl. Top it with a fried egg. Enjoy!

Mrs. Lam's Rice is available in most major supermarkets and groceries. For details, call 0922-8388365 or email ectent@yahoo.com.

Mrs. Lam's Rice brand ambassador celebrity mom Danica Sotto-Pingris

Disclaimer: I am not compensated for this post. Opinions expressed are 100% my own.