Mushroom Pepper Rice Recipe (with Video)

1. Begin with cooking white rice as instruced on the package. Mince 5 garlic cloves and fry in 1/4 cup oil until lightly golden about 5 minutes. Drain the oil through a fine mesh sieve. Save the oil for later use and set the fried garlic in a separate bowl on the side.
2. Making the sauce: In a sauce pan, add the vegetable oil, garlic, shallots, and black pepper. After a few minutes when the shallots have softened, add the kombu granules, soy sauce, mirin, and water. When it starts to boil, add the cornstarch slurry and mix well until the sauce thickens. Use a hand blender or add the sauce to a regular blender to create a smooth sauce. Once the sauce has cooled down, pour in a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat up the garlic oil in a cast iron or nonstick pan on medium high heat for several minutes. Once it has been thoroughly heated, add the mushrooms and onions. Fry for a few minutes until softened. Push the vegetables to the edge of the pan and create space in the shape of a circle in the center. Add the cooked white rice, kimchi, corn, butter, green onions, curry powder, fried garlic, sesame seeds, freshly ground black pepper, and drizzle everything with 2-3 tbsp of the sauce. At this point, the food should be sizzling and is ready to eat. Mix everything together and enjoy straight out of the pan. Be careful, it's hot.