Korean Egg Rice, 계란밥 (Gyeran Bap), is a simple and cozy Korean home meal you can make in just 3 minutes. This easy recipe uses warm rice, a fried egg, soy sauce, and sesame oil to create one of the most comforting ways to enjoy authentic Korean flavors at home.
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What is Gyeran Bap? (Egg Rice)
Gyeran bap (계란밥) is a Korean dish of egg and rice. It’s the simplest and most classic home-style Korean dish, Jip Bap (집밥), which means “home meal.” It’s made by putting a fried egg on top of rice and mixing it with soy sauce and sesame oil. Since Koreans have been eating it since childhood, it could even be considered a soul food.
Korean Egg Rice Ingredients
You only need 3 simple ingredients: a fried egg, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Whether you like your fried egg fully cooked or with a runny yolk is totally up to you. Which do you prefer: a runny or fully cooked egg?
How to Enjoy Gyeran Bap Even More?
In Korea, seasoned seaweed (called “jomi gim”) often comes as a side dish (banchan). In the U.S. or Europe, people sometimes call it snack seaweed, but for us Koreans, it’s a legit side dish—haha! If you wrap your well-mixed soy sauce egg rice with this seasoned seaweed, the umami flavor is seriously next level. It’s so good, I’m already drooling—haha!
Oh, and if you want to add a richer, nuttier taste, try putting 10g of butter on top of the egg and rice before mixing it all together. The creamy butter flavor makes the dish smoother and even more delicious. This isn’t a traditional Korean way, but many young Koreans enjoy it like this.
How to Make Egg and Rice with Soy Sauce?
It’s so easy to cook egg fried rice with soy sauce.
- First, prepare your rice. If you don’t have a rice cooker, just use instant rice like “Hetbahn” and heat it in the microwave.
- Shop Hetbahn Rice: US l UK
- Next, fry an egg—cook it runny or fully cooked, depending on your preference. For a rich flavor, go with runny yolk; for a cleaner taste, fully cooked is best.
- Pour soy sauce and sesame oil over the rice. The aroma of the sesame oil will already make you want to eat it right away!
Why You Should Use Korean Sesame Oil
After moving from Korea to Belgium, I tried sesame oils from other countries because Korean sesame oil was expensive. However, none of them had the deep, nutty flavor of authentic Korean sesame oil. So, I switched back to the Korean variety. The difference comes from the way it’s made, which gives Korean sesame oil its unique aroma and rich taste.
For this gyeran bap, the sesame oil flavor accounts for about 70% of the taste — it’s that important! I strongly recommend using Korean sesame oil for this dish to achieve its true, delicious flavor.
What Kind of Soy Sauce? (Ganjang)
Never use Korean soup soy sauce (Gukganjang) for gyeran bap. It’s much saltier and would make the dish too salty. Instead, you should use Jin Ganjang (regular soy sauce) or Yangjo Ganjang (brewed soy sauce). I personally use Jin Ganjang for the best balance of flavor.
Side Dishes to Enjoy With
- Seasoned Seaweed: Try wrapping your soy sauce egg rice with seasoned seaweed. It’s seriously, seriously delicious!
- Kimchi: No Korean meal is complete without kimchi. Put some rice on the seaweed, add kimchi on top, and enjoy—that’s basically a simple homemade gimbap!
- Egg Drop Soup (Gyeran Guk): Egg rice and egg soup make the most classic Korean breakfast. Here’s a quick 5-minute recipe for Korean Egg Drop Soup you can try alongside.
Microwave Recipe
Too lazy to cook on a frying pan? Here’s a 2-minute microwave recipe for soy sauce egg rice that’s super easy and loved by over a million viewers!
Korean Egg Dishes
Korean cuisine has an incredible variety of egg dishes. Here are some beloved egg recipes that Koreans love.
- Gyeran Mari (Korean Egg Roll): This is one of the most popular side dishes in Korea. Sometimes chopped green onions and carrots are added inside, and some people even put cheese in it. My Korean mom often added seaweed when she made it. It’s simple, but somehow the taste sticks with you. Here’s my mom’s recipe.
- Mayak Toast: This toast is super simple — just bread, mayonnaise, and eggs. The sweet and salty balance combined with the rich flavor makes it dangerously addictive. One bite turns into three very quickly! This is the simplest Korean-style toast you’ll find.
- Golden Egg Fried Rice: Unlike regular egg fried rice, this version has eggs soaked between each grain of rice, giving it a beautiful golden color. It’s much richer and more savory. Here’s a 5-minute recipe for this delicious egg fried rice.
Ingredients Guide
- Korean Soy Sauce (Jin Ganjang) : US | UK
- Seasoned Seaweed: US | UK
- Korean Sesame oil: US l UK
- Hetbahn Rice: US l UK
- Sesame Seeds: US | UK
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Korean Egg Rice: 3 Minute Gyeran Bap
Equipment
- 1 Pan
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Spoon
Ingredients
- 1 bowl rice
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 pinch sesame seeds
Instructions
- Fry an egg to your liking — sunny side up or fully cooked.
- Place the fried egg on top of warm rice.
- Add soy sauce and sesame oil.
- Sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds on top.
Gyeran Bap 계란밥
- Korean egg rice.
- Mix thoroughly and enjoy!
- Wrap it in seasoned seaweed. It tastes even better!
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @blondekimchi_ on Instagram and hashtag it #blondekimchi.