This 3-Ingredient Korean Classic Is The Easier Alternative To Fried Rice

Egg-fried rice is a perfect dish, full of rich flavor and protein. But even a straightforward meal like fried rice can take more time and effort than you're willing to spend, which is why it's good to have an alternative. Luckily, there's a three-ingredient classic Korean comfort meal that will make you forget all about your favorite take-out fried rice.

Making this dish couldn't be simpler. You don't even need to use leftover cold rice like you would when making fried rice. All you need is a pot of hot, freshly-made rice, two eggs, and a tablespoon of soy sauce. Crack the eggs directly into the rice and stir the combination aggressively, even after you've beaten out the clumps. The more you stir, the more velvety the end result. Add some soy sauce and give it a final mix. Then serve it, adding your choice of toppings.

While readers may worry about eating eggs only marginally cooked by the heat of the rice, it's worth pointing out the conceptual similarities between this dish and the cooking method for American or Italian carbonara. Using high-quality, pasteurized eggs can help reduce the risk of bacterial contamination, but if that's still too much raw egg for your taste, the Korean dish gyeran bap is the same concept, but starts with lightly-fried eggs added to a bowl of rice and butter, with the eggs then cut with the spoon and mixed into the rice. Typical toppings include sesame oil, green onions, and a touch of soy.

As you can probably imagine, when it comes to such an accessible, nourishing dish, its popularity is not just limited to the Korean peninsula. In Japanese cuisine, it's called tamago kake gohan, or "egg rice," and it's so popular that October 30 is known as Tamago Kake Gohan Day. The texture has been described as resembling risotto, partially due to the custom of generally using short-grain sushi rice — though medium-grain white rice can also be used.

When it comes to toppings, you can really personalize your experience. Traditional additions would include furikake, a briny yet sweet seasoning made from sesame seeds, fish flakes, and seaweed, or katsuobushi, which are dried bonito fish flakes. Natto, a slippery fermented soybean, is also popular. A dash of salt or MSG also goes a long way to bringing out the surprisingly nuanced flavor of the meal. 

But this is your food, and you aren't limited to the traditional toppings when making it at home. Seeing as how eggy rice is just as appropriate for breakfast as it is for dinner, some crumbled bacon would add a lovely crunch to the otherwise airy, smooth rice, as would scallions or a spoonful of chili crisp. A little stir-in of shredded cheese adds layers of flavor (and who doesn't love a cheese pull). It's also common to serve it with a side of light pickled veggies to act as a palate-cleanser.