Each month I’m highlighting a different non-Ina cookbook – these can be old favorites, classics I need to try, or new books I’m excited about. I’ll make at least one recipe from each chapter of the book to get an overall flavor of each. For the month of May, the book is Eric Kim’s Korean American. I hope you’ll cook along with me! The book is available for purchase here.
Gyeranbap with Roasted Seaweed and Capers
I love the combination of runny yolks with rice – I could eat it every day for breakfast. For this easy dish, an egg is fried in sesame oil and soy sauce, then placed on top of warm white rice and sprinkled with gim and capers. That’s it! Eric says this is “the kind of food you make for yourself when you’re hungry but too tired to cook” Simplicity at its best.
Book: Korean American, page 130
Rating: 5/5
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: gim
Pricey Ingredients: —
Recipe on NPR.org.
Tomato-y Omelet Rice
This dish took me back and reminded me of weekend breakfasts growing up – where I always topped my eggs with ketchup! I haven’t done it in years, but still love the combination! For his take on omurice, Eric makes fried rice with onions, grape tomatoes, scallions, soy sauce, and ketchup which is topped with a perfectly fluffy omelet and a zig-zag of ketchup. The breakfast of champions!
Book: Korean American, page 133
Rating: 5/5
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: —
Pricey Ingredients: —
Recipe is not online
Eric’s Kimchi Fried Rice with Egg Yolk
I’ve never met a kimchi fried rice that I didn’t love and Eric’s Kimchi Fried Rice may rank among my favorite ever! It’s one of the spiciest I’ve had and the gim nest with an egg yolk in the center makes for one beautiful presentation! The extra gochugaru also lends a vividly bright red color to the dish and is where a lot of the heat comes from. It’s a quick dish and perfect for that leftover rice lingering in the fridge. The gochugaru is bloomed in butter before adding onion followed by finely chopped kimchi and sauteed, Next, rice, kimchi juice, sesame oil, and fish sauce are added and cooked. The final step is key: pressing the mixture into a flat disk and leaving it undisturbed for a couple minutes so some of the rice can get crispy! To serve, you sprinkle on gim and add the yolk – I adore the combination of egg yolk and warm rice.
Book: Korean American, page 136
Rating: 5/5
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: kimchi
Pricey Ingredients: —
Recipe is not online.
Cheeseburger Kimbap
I loved this version of kimbap! Eric takes ground beef and seasons it with garlic powder before browning and caramelizing. It’s then mixed with onion, pickles, ketchup, and mayo and distributed on white rice that’s been spread over a sheet of kimbap. Topped with American cheese and thin pickle spears, the kimbap is rolled up tightly, sliced and (believe me) devoured! It reminded me of a McDonald’s cheeseburger in the best way possible!
Book: Korean American, page 141
Rating: 5/5
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: unseasoned kimbap gim
Pricey Ingredients: —
Recipe on Today.com
Eric’s Perfect White Rice
Eric provides two ways to cook rice in this chapter. The first is his, which is a stovetop method. The second is his mothers using a rice cooker. Since I didn’t have a rice cooker, I went with the stovetop method and the results were truly perfect every time – cooked through and fuffy!
Book: Korean American, page 122
Rating: 5/5
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: —
Pricey Ingredients: —
Recipe is not online.
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