Today’s Friday food is yet another side dish (or banchan – 반찬) of many that can be served alongside Korean dishes.
Gyeran Jjim (계란찜) or steamed eggs, is a simple side dish that is regarded as a banchan that can go along with any type of meal. It’s mellow and helps cool down spicy foods, but also creamy and flavorful enough to add that something extra to a less exciting dish. It is often made with anchovy broth, kelp broth, or other forms of stocks to give it a deeper flavor profile, as well as mixed with salted shrimp or pollock roe and a variety of different vegetables. The green that makes it unmistakably gyeran-jjim though, are chopped green onions/scallions! You’ll also see it frequently topped with chopped red chilies or chili flakes.
This week’s dish actually happened to line up with yet another birthday. Yesterday was Teddy Park’s (YG’s main producer) birthday and I have once before mentioned that years ago I celebrated his birthday with my friends and we made different Korean dishes, including some of his researched favorites, and yes, 계란찜 is, or at least was, one of his favorite dishes. I wish I had a clearer memory of the steps so I could do a step by step, but all I can offer up is: don’t make it like me. This was several years ago, before cooking channels were prevalent on YouTube and definitely before Korean food channels were a favorite of many YouTube viewers.
My recipe turned out far too soupy and the flavor was sulfur-y instead of rich and creamy. I actually don’t know exactly how gyeran-jjim is supposed to turn out because I’ve only had one poorly executed attempt at it (and maybe custardy eggs that are also savory just aren’t my thing) but I know that with the help of the videos below, you all can definitely make some delicious steamed eggs!
First up we have Seonkyoung Longest with a beautiful video:
And second we of course have a (much older) video of well known and beloved Maangchi:
Have you had Gyeran Jjim, or would you like to try it?
Let us know in the comments below or on our UKP Facebook or Twitter!
PS: Happy Birthday Teddy!
I̶ ̶m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶a̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶e̶n̶c̶y̶c̶l̶o̶p̶e̶d̶i̶c̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶l̶e̶d̶g̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶K̶o̶r̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶c̶e̶l̶e̶b̶r̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶b̶i̶r̶t̶h̶d̶a̶y̶s̶.̶
