Steamed eggs (gyeran jjim)

When perfectly cooked, the eggs should be as delicate as soft curd with a silky smooth texture that melts in the mouth.

Credit: Billy Law

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

This recipe may seem very simple at first glance, but there is a bit of an art to perfecting these savoury steamed eggs.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) Anchovy and kelp stock (recipe here), chilled
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• pinch of salt
• 1 spring onion (scallion), thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a simmer over medium heat. Set a steamer basket over the pan.
2. Combine the eggs, anchovy stock, soy sauce, sesame oil and salt in a bowl, and whisk until just combined. Try not to fluff up the mixture too much so you get a smooth, custardy egg when cooked.
3. Pour the egg mixture into a heatproof serving bowl. Sprinkle half the spring onion over the top and place the bowl in the steamer basket. Cover, and steam for about 15 minutes or until the egg is just set. It should have the texture of jelly and wobble when you shake the bowl gently. Carefully remove the bowl from the steamer and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining spring onion on top and serve warm.

Recipe and images from Little Korea Iconic Dishes and Cult Recipes by Billy Law, Smith Street Books, RRP $49.99

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

This recipe may seem very simple at first glance, but there is a bit of an art to perfecting these savoury steamed eggs.