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

For those who, like me, typically 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 among the easiest, most comforting meals you can also make with day-old grains. It is proof that leftover rice is not a tragic afterthought, however an amazing dinner ready to occur.

My love for gyeran bap began in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the place I lived with one among my greatest associates, who was additionally my coworker at America’s Take a look at Kitchen. We finally fell right into a rhythm and each night we might come house 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, normally a easy stir-fry, curry, or no matter we scrounged up from the take a look at kitchen’s fridge. We would eat, watch an episode of one thing, speak, 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 further rice—even after we cooked the minimal quantity it allowed. However that turned out to be the very best 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 develop into a full meal. In lots of Korean properties, there’s nearly at all times a rice cooker crammed with heat rice able to go, however usually 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 new pan, infusing the butter and flippantly staining the egg whites as they flip lacy and crisp, whereas the yolks keep smooth 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). Combined collectively, the yolks coat each grain, the seaweed softens, and every chunk tastes buttery, toasty, and deeply savory. This straightforward, quick-to-prepare dish grew to become a staple weekend lunch in our sunny little Victorian residence.

Gyeran bap can differ from family to family. Some individuals 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 sides frill and crisp, whereas others cook dinner them simply till the whites are set and the yolks keep smooth. 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 atypical to serve this with a spoonful of kimchi, a scattering of sesame seeds or scallions, slices of avocado, and even some fish roe should you’re feeling fancy.

Personally, I comply with Kim’s recipe nearly 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 offers the sides a good crispier, lacier end. And if I’ve kimchi or avocado available, I will add them on high. I make gyeran bap so typically that I now usually purchase the roasted seaweed snack packs offered at mainstream grocery shops like Complete Meals.

When’s the Greatest Time to Eat Gyeran Bap?

Folks 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 develop into my excellent work-from-home lunch between conferences and errands. There are days when life seems like a relentless 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 midst of all of the cacophony, this bowl seems like one of many few straightforward issues—a comforting pause in a day stuffed 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 could have: a drizzle of scorching 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 possibly can cup it in your fingers on the sofa, tuck it shut whilst you eat standing on the counter, or steadiness it in your lap on the ground. You will discover variations of this type of meal all over the place. In Peru, tacu tacu is made by searing day-old rice and beans right into a crisp, golden cake, typically completed with a fried egg. For the Japanese dish gyūdon, thinly sliced beef and onions are simmered in a flippantly 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 an easy dish of heat rice topped with a crisp-edged egg and sambal on the aspect. Completely different kitchens, completely 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 really scrumptious but easy meal can perk up your day. Gyeran bap is and can at all times be that to me.