Gyeran Jjim

Eggs sieved and then never stirred again, steamed gently until they set like a savoury custard.

Fish, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains fish, fish sauce.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 300 ml anchovy and kelp stock, as on its own page, warm
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 spring onions, very finely sliced
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. THE EGG IS SIEVED AND THEN NOT STIRRED AGAIN. Beaten, passed through a fine sieve to take out the stringy white, and from that moment it is poured, covered and left. Every stir after the sieve puts air back in, and air is what turns a smooth savoury custard into something spongy with holes through it. Skim any foam off the surface before it goes on the heat.
2. IT IS STOCK, NOT WATER, AND IT IS WARM. Roughly one and a half parts liquid to one of egg by volume. Cold liquid makes it take much longer and set unevenly; water instead of stock gives you a plain custard with nothing in it, since there is almost nothing else in this dish.
3. THE HEAT IS LOW AND THE LID IS ON, and it is steam rather than boiling. A pot with a trivet and 2 cm of simmering water, or a bowl set over a pan. Boiled hard, the outside sets and bubbles while the middle is still liquid, and it will weep water when cut.
4. A CLOTH OR A LAYER OF FOIL UNDER THE LID stops condensation dripping back onto the surface and pitting it.
5. AND IT IS DONE WHEN A SKEWER COMES OUT CLEAN AND THE CENTRE STILL WOBBLES. Taken further it tightens and squeezes out liquid, which cannot be reversed. The residual heat finishes it in the two minutes it stands.
6. Anchovy and kelp stock made as on its own page and kept warm but not hot.
7. Eggs beaten with the fish sauce and salt until just combined -- not whisked pale.
8. The warm stock stirred in.
9. PASSED THROUGH A FINE SIEVE into a heatproof bowl or a small earthenware pot.
10. Any foam on the surface skimmed off with a spoon.
11. The bowl set on a trivet in a pan with 2 cm of simmering water, or in a steamer.
12. Covered with foil, and the pan lid put on over a cloth.
13. Steamed over a LOW heat 15 to 18 MINUTES without lifting the lid for the first 12.
14. Tested with a skewer: it should come out clean while the centre still wobbles.
15. Taken off the heat and left to stand 2 minutes.
16. The sesame oil drizzled over, and the spring onions and sesame seeds scattered on. Served warm from the bowl, with rice and other side dishes.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under South Korea · All recipes