Cafeteria-Style Steamed Egg (Jungtang Gyeran-jjim)
A jiggly, pudding-soft cafeteria-style steamed egg! Egg beaten with kelp broth is strained and steamed in a dish in a water bath until set, with a lovely airy crumb — a nostalgic school-lunch favorite with a different texture from the usual earthenware steamed egg.
Ingredients
Main
- Eggs6
- Chopped green onion2 tbsp
- Chopped carrot1 tbsp
- Dried kelp (dasima)2 sheets (5×5 cm)
- Water200 ml
Seasoning
- Cooking wine1 tbsp
- Salted shrimp brine1 tbsp
- Sugar2 tsp
- Seasoned salt1 tsp
- Sesame oil1 tbsp (+ a little for the dish)
Directions
- 1
Steep two 5×5 cm sheets of kelp in 200 ml of water for about 20 minutes to make a kelp broth.
- 2
Crack 6 eggs into a large bowl and add 1 tbsp cooking wine, 1 tbsp salted shrimp brine, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp seasoned salt, and 1 tbsp sesame oil.
- 3
Beat the eggs well with chopsticks, then pour in all the kelp broth and mix evenly.
- 4
Brush a heatproof dish thoroughly with sesame oil to coat it. (This helps the steamed egg release later.)
- 5
Strain the egg mixture once through a sieve into the steaming dish.
- 6
Add the finely chopped green onion and carrot to the egg mixture and stir gently with a spoon.
- 7
Cover the top of the dish with plastic wrap.
- 8
When the water in the steamer is boiling, set the dish in, cover, and steam over medium heat for 20 minutes; then turn off the heat and let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
- 9
Place a cutting board over the dish, flip it, and lift off the dish to release the steamed egg.
- 10
Cut into bite-sized pieces and serve. It's jiggly like pudding yet soft and tender.
Tips
Straining the egg mixture once gives a fine, smooth crumb. Greasing the dish with sesame oil lets the set egg slide out cleanly. It's also delicious chilled.