Tomato-Kimchi-Cheddar Eggs on Rice

A Last-Minute Dinner Solution and New Weeknight Favorite.

It’s actually starting to feel like fall here this week. The mornings are chilly and foggy, I’ve been cold enough during the day to pull out a sweater, and I’m starting to crave more comforting foods. (We’ll see how long this lasts—it’s supposed to be back up in the ’80s this weekend.) This recipe came out of one of those cooler evenings when I wanted to take advantage of the massive bowl of late-season tomatoes I have sitting on my counter but use them for something heartier than my usual summer salads and BLTs. I thought I’d write it up and share it with all of you, in case you need a quick, delicious dinner.

Tomato-Kimchi-Cheddar Eggs on Rice

There’s something uniquely frustrating about having a great weeknight dinner plan and then having it ruined—by traffic, a work emergency, a fridge disaster, or any other normal life hiccup. A couple nights ago I was all set to make Marcella Hazan’s pasta with fresh tomato sauce and butter when 5th grade homework (and the moods of the 5th grader herself) sapped all my energy and time.

Thankfully, like most parents (I assume), I have a few tried-and-true solutions for the evenings when dinner plans get derailed. One of my most useful go-tos is Eric Kim’s Gyeran Bap (Egg Rice), which can be made in just a few minutes (plus the time it takes the quick-cook cycle on my rice cooker to finish) and only requires rice, eggs, soy sauce, sesame oil, and nori—ingredients we keep on hand at all times. It also has the benefit of being something the kid will eat.

Last night, as my husband started the basic version of the dish for the kid to eat (post homework), I rooted around the kitchen for other ingredients to add to mine. I still wanted to use some of the gorgeous tomatoes on my counter, and I wanted a good punchy flavor, so I pulled out a jar of kimchi. The kimchi gave me the idea to grab some cheddar (thanks to a kimchi melt recipe I developed for an upcoming cookbook—more on that in a few weeks). I cooked the tomato and kimchi together, then shoved them aside and fried the eggs with cheddar scattered over the top and around the edges so it would become melty, crispy, and crunchy.

Cooked all together, the result was exactly what I had hoped for, rich and filling and bright and punchy all at the same time. After watching me enjoy it, my daughter asked if she could try some of the kimchi—a huge step for a kid who is barely dipping her toes into spicy foods—so I must have looked very happy about my meal. It was such a great combination that we all decided we’d need to make it again, pretty much as soon as possible. I got impatient, and instead of waiting for dinner time, I made it the next day for lunch.

Short-grain rice, cooked and warm
Unsalted butter
2–3 flavorful tomatoes, such as Tomatero early girls, diced
½ cup diced kimchi
2 eggs
Kosher salt
Large handful grated cheddar cheese
Minced herbs, thinly sliced scallion, and toasted sesame seeds, to garnish

1. Put about 1 cup of cooked rice in the bottom of a bowl.

2. Melt a bit of butter in a small non-stick pan over high heat, then add the tomato and kimchi and fry them, stirring occasionally, until the tomato is soft and the whole thing is hot and very fragrant; it’s alright if there are browned bits. Transfer the mixture to the bowl*, on top of the rice.

3. Rinse the pan well and put it back on the stove. Melt more butter (again over high heat), crack the eggs in, and sprinkle them with a good pinch of salt.

4. Fry the eggs until the whites have started to firm up, then scatter the cheddar over the edges of the whites and out into the pan around them so that it will melt and become crispy.

5. Cook the eggs to your desired texture (flipping if you like) and transfer them to the bowl, setting them on top of the tomato-kimchi mixture. Garnish with herbs and sesame seeds.

*If you want, you can also leave this mixture in the pan and crack the eggs into it; the result is delicious but doesn’t have the same crispy cheese bits.

Photo: Georgia Freedman