Korean Steamed Egg aka Gyeran/Kyeran Jjim(계란찜) or Dalgyal Jjim(달걀찜) is a Korean side dish made from eggs.
Gyeran and Dalgyal both mean ‘egg’ in Korean. I know this must be always so confusing about the Korean language – there’s usually two different words that mean the same thing. Korean language has words that come from two different origins – one based on Chinese characters and the other is based on pure Korean phonetic characters called Hangeul which was created by King Sejong in 1443. Gyeran comes from Chinese characters and Dalgyal/Dalkyal is a pure Korean word.
So, my inspiration for this Korean Steamed Egg?? July is always a happy, busy and expensive (according to my hubby;) ) month for our family. Our wedding anniversary and our only daughter’s birthday are all in July. And then there’s July 4th weekend…and it’s also summer vacation time!!! We usually have a fabulous time traveling, going out to expensive restaurants to celebrate and buy each other gifts. But then when the time comes to pay the bills at the end of the month, we usually end up having a fight..trying to blame each other for spending too much money… haha. This year though, thankfully, my husband and I were invited to spend the 4th weekend at my friend K’s beautiful vacation home in Lake Tahoe which meant we did not have to pay for lodging!! Yay!!! Thank you K, for the invite. :))
At Lake Tahoe, we had great fun meeting and making new friends (who were also invited to K’s home). And during a conversation about my blog with a young man- who will be moving out on his own very soon – I was asked how he could cook some Korean dishes for himself. Until he asked me a recipe for Korean Steamed Eggs, I was able to answer most of his questions with – “Oh, it’s in my blog.. I have a post on it”. But for Gyeran Jjim, I realized I did not have a post on it. I couldn’t believe I left out this classic!!! This Korean steamed egg (in hot pot or not) souffle-like side dish (banchan) is such a great quick, easy, nutritious and filling recipe for college students, singles, kids and anyone who loves eggs. I don’t know why I missed this one. Thank you Andrew for asking!
Just like how we all have a different omelette version that we like, I think this Korean steamed egg is one of those dishes that people have different tastes for and different ingredients are added to make each Gyeran Jjim unique. So I shall now begin a series of posts on Korean Steamed Eggs and end with a summary post on all the different methods and ingredients you can use to cook this ultimate Korean comfort food. So, are you ready to follow me?? 🙂
First, in this post, I will introduce the recipe version that is not the most classic but it’s certainly the dish you have most likely seen it served at restaurants. The most classic way is to steam it in a double boiler and that’s how our moms used to make it at home. At many Korean BBQ restaurants these days, for some reason, they cook it directly on the fire and it comes to you in hot pot, steaming – hot, hot. Sometimes the bottom part will be burnt and this is absolutely my favorite part.
Korean Steamed Egg (Gyeran Jjim) Recipe
Servings: 2 – 3 Cooking Time: 20 min Difficulty: EASY
Ingredients
- 4 eggs (large)
- 200 ml water (3/4 cup + 1 Tbs)
- 1 Tbs chopped green onion
- 2 tsp saewoojeot(salted fermented shrimp) – substitute fish sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 3-4 dashes black pepper
- red chili pepper powder (optional)
- Chop green onions, saewoojeot (fermented shrimp) and mix with sesame oil, sugar and black pepper. Let it sit for few min.
Green Onions, fermented shrimp(saewoojeot) mix for gyeran jjim - Whip 4 eggs in a bowl and add water. Mix again.
- Add green onions + saewoojeot mixture from 1 and mix with egg.
Whipped eggs and water for Gyeran Jjim - Add to your favorite hot pot (ttukbaegi 뚝배기) and put on the stove on MEDIUM heat, covered for 7-8 min.
Gyeran Jjim at 8 min after cooking - At this point, egg should be semi cooked, still very watery. Stir the egg mixture (bring bottom to top) to ensure even cooking. Cover again.
Gyeran Jjim stirred (but not shaken 😉 ) - Turn heat to LOW. Finish cooking for another 3 min.
Gyeran Jjim all risen like a souffle! @11 min after cooking – done! Cook a little more if you like the bottom to be a little burnt. But not more than 1 – 2 min.
- Sprinkle some more black pepper, red chili powder (optional) and chopped green onion as garnish.
Korean Steamed Egg in Hot Pot (Gyeran/Kyeran Jjim 계란찜)
Korean Steamed Egg or Gyeran Jjim in Hot Pot is often served at Korean BBQ restaurants. They cook it directly on the fire and it comes to you in a hot stone pot, steaming – hot, hot. Sometimes the bottom part will be burnt and this is absolutely my favorite part.Prep: 5 minutesCook: 20 minutesTotal Time: 25 minutesserves: 3 peopleIngredients
- 4 eggs (large)
- 195 ml water (195 ml = 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp)
- 1 Tbsp chopped green onion
- 2 tsp saewoojeot (salted fermented shrimp – can substitute w fish sauce)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 3-4 black pepper
- red chili pepper powder (optional)
Instructions
- Chop green onions, saewoojeot (fermented shrimp) and mix with sesame oil, sugar and black pepper. Let it sit for few min.
- Whip 4 eggs in a bowl and add water. Mix again.
- Add green onions + saewoojeot mixture from 1 and mix with egg.
- Add to your favorite hot pot (ttukbaegi 뚝배기) and put on the stove on MEDIUM heat, covered for 7-8 min.
- At this point, egg should be semi cooked, still very watery. Stir the egg mixture (bring bottom to top) to ensure even cooking. Cover again.
- Turn heat to LOW. Finish cooking for another 3 min.
- Cook a little more if you like the bottom to be a little burnt. But not more than 1 – 2 min.
- Sprinkle some more black pepper, red chili powder (optional) and chopped green onion as garnish.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 107kcal (5%)| Carbohydrates: 2g (1%)| Protein: 8g (16%)| Fat: 7g (11%)| Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)| Cholesterol: 223mg (74%)| Sodium: 155mg (7%)| Potassium: 103mg (3%)| Sugar: 1g (1%)| Vitamin A: 335IU (7%)| Vitamin C: 0.4mg| Calcium: 37mg (4%)| Iron: 1.1mg (6%)
Inside of Gyeran Jjim (Korean savory egg souffle) cooked in hot pot
Here’s a close up of the inside of Gyeran Jjim cooked in ttukbaegi (hot pot). See the browned bottom? And the yummy broth? My mouth is watering just looking at this picture. BTW, this one is made with chopped cooked pork belly – my Dad’s special recipe.
And you can also check out my other Elegant & Classic Korean Steamed Egg recipe- so pretty and yummy.
Enjoy!!
JinJoo
Thank you for sharing this recipe! We loved it.
You are so welcome! Glad you liked it.
Would you mind please to put the oven temperatures for low and medium ?
Thank you kindly
Hi, I mean low and medium on the stove top and I’m not even sure how it would work in the oven.
My wife is Korean. But this dish we have not tried.
Oh! Well you must try it then! 😉👍