Gyeran Bap — Korean Egg Rice
Rice loosened in a hot pan, eggs fried hard in sesame oil until the edges frill and brown, all mixed together at the table.
Why it works
A splash of water in the pan steams cold rice apart in two minutes, so yesterday's grains behave like freshly cooked. Frying the eggs in the same pan over high heat crisps the whites while the yolks stay liquid, and those yolks are the only sauce it needs.
Method
- Put the rice and water into a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Break the clumps up with a spoon and stir for 2 minutes, until the grains are steaming and separate.
- Divide between four bowls. Add a piece of butter and a splash of soy to each while the rice is hot, and stir until melted.
- Return the pan to high heat and add 1 tbsp of the sesame oil. Crack in four eggs and fry for 2 minutes without moving them. The edges should blister, frill and brown while the white nearest the yolk turns opaque.
- Slide two eggs onto each of two bowls, then repeat with the remaining oil and eggs.
- Top each bowl with gim, spring onion, gochugaru and sesame seeds, add the last of the soy and a few drops of sesame oil, and take them to the table. Break the yolks and mix hard before the first mouthful.
For the toddler
Fill their bowl at step 2 with a little butter stirred through the rice and no soy. Fry their egg with the others, chop it up and fold it in. Keep the gochugaru and the gim off, since the seaweed is salt through and through, and crush the sesame seeds fine. A quarter of an adult serving is plenty.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Brown rice works and takes a minute longer to loosen. Gochujang stirred through instead of the dried chilli flakes.
Cook double the rice whenever you make it and keep it chilled — this becomes a five-minute breakfast.
A handful of spinach wilted into the rice, or kimchi and cucumber on the side.
None worth keeping; a fried egg on rice does not survive the fridge. Cook only what you will eat.