Fun Surf Yesterday Before Another Big Storm. Plus Another Chef Choi Inspired Lunch At Home.

Well, last week's storm has come and gone, and guess what? Here comes another. This is such great news. And this time Mother Nature heard my request because snow is expected in the mountains, so here's hoping for ski time up at Mt. Baldy. In fact this winter I may try to cross off that item that's at the top of the bucket list: ski and surf in the same day. Can I do it? Stay tuned.

But in looking at the surf reports, it seemed like yesterday, Monday, would be the only day possible this week for a mellow day aficionado like me to get in the water. At Santa Monica it was 2-3 foot waves so I headed out because starting today waves are in the 4 to 8 foot range and then that big storm comes. But yesterday turned out to be a pretty fun day for me. Actually, to be honest, when I got to the beach, the waves were a little bigger than I expected. But I paddled out and I caught a couple of smaller ones and almost got a good long ride on one! For me that's awesome.

Afterwards, of course, I needed lunch, and while I didn't have the time to get downtown to Roy Choi's Chego for a Kimchi Spam Bowl, which is what I was kind of in the mood for, we had some leftover rice at home. We also had some Dave's Kimchee from the Silver Lake Farmer's market, and we had eggs. We had ginger and garlic, and I have chives and cilantro in the garden. I was missing the Spam, but we do Meatless Monday so it that's okay. It was just a Kimchi rice bowl. But it was still delicious. Look, here it is:

If you want to make it at home, here's my version. I'm sure it's missing some good stuff they put in the bowls at Chego, but it works:

For one Kimchi Rice Bowl.

1 small clove garlic
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce, or more if you like
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. canola oil
1 cup Kimchi, chopped
2 large eggs, beaten
About 2 cups leftover white or brown rice
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp. chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Sriracha sauce

1. Peel and chop the garlic. Set aside, along with the chopped ginger.
2. In a small bowl mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil and set aside.
3. In a wok, or large saute pan, heat 1 tbsp canola oil. When hot, add the Kimchi. Stir-fry until the Kimchi is heated through, then remove to a bowl.
4. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet. When hot again, add the beaten eggs. Let the egg cook until set, stirring, then remove to the bowl with the kimchi.
5. Wipe out the skillet. Add the last tablespoon of oil. When hot, toss in the garlic and ginger.  Let it sizzle about a minute, then add the rice. Stir, breaking up the rice. After a couple of minutes, when the rice is brown and fragrant, add the soy sauce/vinegar/sesame oil mixture and stir to blend.
6. Add in the egg and kimchi.  Stir everything around, breaking up the egg. Add some salt and fresh ground pepper.
7. Transfer fried rice to bowl. Top with chives, cilantro and as much sriracha as you like.

Here's a couple of snaps of the ingredients gathered and then prepped. This process goes fast once you get started, so no time to photograph each step.

If I had the Spam, I'd definitely dice some up, fry it in the skillet or wok after the egg and then mix it in at the end. But I know not everybody is into Spam so it's easy to leave out.

So next time you have extra rice on hand, do this with it. Or if you want to get the ultimate version, get downtown to Chego!

Chego: www.eatchego.com