Eric Kim edition: 3 easy Korean recipes from NYT Cooking

Mmm, stuff and rice

[Go straight to the recipes: Kimchi, Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl, and Gyeran Bap (Egg Rice) from NYT Cooking]

While I would usually recommend recipes that are meant to feed, say, a family or a group of people (and when I say "usually", please pretend that I actually update this newsletter regularly and didn't, say, skip the whole year of 2022), today I'm recommending recipes I mostly make for myself for quick lunches or late-night snacks. If my husband, Kåre, or daughter, Tilda, asked me to make these dishes for them, I would. But they don’t. We’re just not always into the same food. Would it be nice if we were? Totes! But you know what else is nice? Not having to share, and not feeling bad about it.

Today’s recipes are brought to you by Eric Kim, my favorite contributor at New York Times Cooking.

Kimchi

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Grilled cheese with cheddar and kimchi.

I've eaten more kimchi in the last half year than in the 37 years of my life before then, all thanks to Eric's recipe that looked too easy to pass up. Since the first time I made it last September, I've made at least eight batches. The main reason I wasn't regularly shoveling kimchi into my face before then is because my heat tolerance hovers around "sad trombone", but now that I make it myself I can tone down the spiciness to my liking. (I use about 2 tablespoons of gochugaru for about 1.5 pounds of napa cabbage.) I mostly eat it as a side to random rice bowls, or I put it in quesadillas or grilled cheese sandwiches. If you've never made kimchi before because you thought it was too complicated, try this recipe!

Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl

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I thought I had a photo of this. Then I found out I didn’t. And thus DOODLE.

This is one of the aforementioned random rice bowls I eat with kimchi. It's just canned tuna mixed with mayo and a lil' sesame oil and soy sauce, plopped on top of rice. You can top it with sesame seeds, scallions, or other seasonings, but I usually don’t cos I’m just that lazy. If you can't access the recipe link, then…I basically just told you the whole recipe. A plus is that Tilda likes this recipe too. Sometimes. She doesn't eat it with gusto, but if she sees me eating it she may or may not ask for a few bites.

Gyeran Bap (Egg Rice)

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Uhhh, I don’t have a photo of this either! No prob, this doodle is a very accurate representation. Yeah.

For my third recipe, another easy rice bowl I like to eat with kimchi. Fry an egg or two in some browned butter (although I usually just use vegetable oil…😅) and drizzle some soy sauce and sesame oil on top of the egg. Cook the egg to your preferred doneness, in my case, semi-runny yolks. Plop on rice. Mix together. EGG RICE!

Hope y’all like these recipes. If you make any of them, let me know!

Section of random stuff you may or may not be interested in

• Last October I updated my blog for the first time in over two years. Have fun learning way too much about my vaginal breech birth!

• My current favorite podcast is “Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet” hosted by siblings Christine and Alex Schiefer giving dramatic readings of terrible/unhinged/weird/funny reviews of pretty much anything. No matter which episode I choose (and there are over 200 of them, yessss), I know it’ll make me laugh.

• Do you like experiencing intense flashbacks of your awkward early teenage years through the magic of young adult novels? Then check out my friend Olivia Abtahi's second novel, Azar on Fire, which came out last August. (And if you like that book, check out her first novel, Perfectly Parvin). I first met Olivia a million internet years ago through my blog when we were in college. It's such a gift to be able to keep in touch and see her success as a novelist. Getting older often feels like I’m steadily decaying (why don’t my knees wanna knee anymore?), but when I see old friends doing awesome things, I remember GETTING OLDER IS COOL (sometimes)!!! 🥹 🥹 🥹

• Is anyone else a fan of the Hulu (or Disney+ in Norway) comedy This Fool? This video features one of my favorite scenes from the show, where members of a non-profit rehabilitation program for ex-gang members are trying to convince a millionaire couple to donate money to their organization. Actor Carlos Ayala nails the awkwardly long monologue.