How I Flip Leftover Rice Right into a Bowl of Pure Consolation

Should you, like me, usually find yourself with a container of chilly rice sitting within the fridge, let me prevent from watching it slowly harden from neglect—flip it into gyeran bap. The Korean dish of rice, eggs, and some pantry staples is without doubt one of the easiest, most comforting meals you may make with day-old grains. It is proof that leftover rice is not a tragic afterthought, however an awesome dinner ready to occur.

My love for gyeran bap began in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the place I lived with considered one of my finest buddies, who was additionally my coworker at America’s Take a look at Kitchen. We ultimately fell right into a rhythm and each night we might come residence from work, set the rice cooker, and let it hum within the background whereas my cat weaved between our legs, angling for an early dinner. Then we might retreat to our bedrooms to unwind from the day—studying, writing, listening to music—and emerge once more round 8 p.m. to scoop the nice and cozy rice into bowls and high it with no matter fast dinner we threw collectively, often a easy stir-fry, curry, or no matter we scrounged up from the check kitchen’s fridge. We would eat, watch an episode of one thing, discuss, and go to mattress with full, content material bellies—all three of us, the cat included.

My greatest grievance about our rice cooker was that it at all times left us with additional rice—even once we cooked the minimal quantity it allowed. However that turned out to be the most effective half: The leftovers led to my roommate introducing me to Eric Kim’s recipe for gyeran bap, Korean egg rice.

What Is Gyeran Bap?

Gyeran bap—actually egg rice in Korean—is a humble, comforting meal of rice, fried eggs, and some pantry staples. It is each easy and deeply satisfying, proof that an ideal bowl of rice would not want a lot to change into a full meal. In lots of Korean houses, there’s virtually at all times a rice cooker crammed with heat rice able to go, however sometimes we made our gyeran bap with leftover rice reheated within the microwave.

In Kim’s model, butter is browned till nutty, then two eggs are cracked into the pan. As quickly as they hit the warmth, soy sauce and sesame oil are drizzled on high, scorching and effervescent within the butter. The soy sauce reduces and caramelizes when it meets the recent pan, infusing the butter and evenly staining the egg whites as they flip lacy and crisp, whereas the yolks keep mushy and custardy. The eggs, together with all their buttery soy drippings, are poured over a bowl of rice and topped with a beneficiant pile of gim (crushed roasted seaweed). Blended collectively, the yolks coat each grain, the seaweed softens, and every chew tastes buttery, toasty, and deeply savory. This easy, quick-to-prepare dish grew to become a staple weekend lunch in our sunny little Victorian house.

Gyeran bap can differ from family to family. Some folks brown the butter till it smells nutty, like Kim does. Others merely soften the butter with out browning it. Some fry the eggs till the perimeters frill and crisp, whereas others prepare dinner them simply till the whites are set and the yolks keep mushy. Some skip the butter altogether and use vegetable oil to fry the eggs, including sesame oil on the finish for taste. And whereas gim is the basic topping, it would not be out of the strange to serve this with a spoonful of kimchi, a scattering of sesame seeds or scallions, slices of avocado, and even some fish roe in the event you’re feeling fancy.

Personally, I observe Kim’s recipe virtually precisely (I can recite it by coronary heart at this level), although I do generally skip the nonstick pan he suggests and fry the eggs in a stainless-steel skillet—the upper warmth provides the perimeters a fair crispier, lacier end. And if I’ve kimchi or avocado available, I am going to add them on high. I make gyeran bap so usually that I now frequently purchase the roasted seaweed snack packs bought at mainstream grocery shops like Entire Meals.

When’s the Greatest Time to Eat Gyeran Bap?

Individuals in Korea eat gyeran bap for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Made with pantry staples—rice, eggs, butter or oil, soy sauce, and sesame oil—it is fast, dependable, and deeply comforting. For me, it is change into my splendid work-from-home lunch between conferences and errands. There are days when life appears like a continuing checklist—emails, immigration paperwork, annual vet appointments, remembering to name my grandmother, and the longer term planning that is at all times ready its flip. In the course of all of the cacophony, this bowl appears like one of many few simple issues—a comforting pause in a day filled with to-dos that by no means appears to dwindle.

The Attract of the Rice and Egg Bowl

What makes a rice bowl (particularly this one) so interesting is how easy and adaptable it’s. Rice is a clean canvas—a pantry staple most of us have already got—whereas eggs add substance and protein, turning it right into a filling meal with little effort. From there, it is no matter you will have: a drizzle of sizzling sauce, a spoonful of chili oil, a number of slices of avocado, or some scallions scattered on high.

After which there’s the bowl itself. It would not ask for a lot past a spoon—you may cup it in your fingers on the sofa, tuck it shut when you eat standing on the counter, or steadiness it in your lap on the ground. You will discover variations of this sort of meal in every single place. In Peru, tacu tacu is made by searing day-old rice and beans right into a crisp, golden cake, usually completed with a fried egg. For the Japanese dish gyūdon, thinly sliced beef and onions are simmered in a evenly candy soy-and-dashi broth and piled over rice, generally with a uncooked or soft-poached egg on high. In Indonesia, nasi telur ceplok—which interprets fairly actually to “rice with a fried egg”—is a straightforward dish of heat rice topped with a crisp-edged egg and sambal on the aspect. Completely different kitchens, totally different particulars, nevertheless it nonetheless comes again to the identical factor: rice and an egg, heat and full in a bowl.

Some meals care for you with out asking you to make use of each bowl and pan in your kitchen, with out demanding hours of prep or a excessive grocery invoice. A very scrumptious but easy meal can perk up your day. Gyeran bap is and can at all times be that to me.