When I first got into Korean cooking, I had never actually eaten at a Korean restaurant. I didn't actually know what most of the dishes I was making were supposed to taste like, but as I live in a town with no real Korean restaurants, I was curious to find out more about the different foods the region had to offer. The nice thing about Korean food is, for the most part, the recipes are simple and easy to follow. The trickiest part about Korean cooking is being able to get all of the ingredients in place, which might require you to locate a nearby Asian grocery store or find a nice place to buy them online. (If that is your situation, I would recommend ordering from H-Mart's official website, one of the larger Korean grocery chains here in the US.) However, gyeran bbang - which translates to 'egg bread' - is a pretty simple Korean food to make without needing to dig that much for ingredients. In fact, you probably already have most if not all the ingredients in your refrigerator right now! Gyeran bbang is a popular street food that is often sold by vendors in South Korea. It was also made recently popular in the Korean television show "The Return of Superman" when actor Jang Hyunsung made them with his two sons. Gyeran bbang is perfect for any time of day, but is especially delicious when served warm for breakfast or on a cold winter day. An oval muffin pan is traditionally used to make the bread's shape, but a standard muffin pan works just as well. I've even seen gyeran bbang in adorable heart shapes! --------------------------------------------- Gyeran Bbang (Egg Bread) 3/4 cup flour 10 eggs 1/2 salted butter, melted 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup milk 3/4 teaspoon baking powder Salt, to taste 1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Whisk two eggs in a mixing bowl until they are slightly foamy. Add the sugar and continue whisking until all of it has dissolved. 2. Sift the flour and baking powder into the egg mixture. Add the melted butter and milk and mix well. Place the batter in a ziplock bag. 3. Brush the inside of the muffin pan with melted butter. Cut a 1/4" hole in one corner of the ziplock bag and squeeze 2 - 3 tablespoons worth of batter into each space. It should cover about the first 1/4". Smooth the batter with a spoon, if needed. 4. Carefully break an egg on top of each muffin. Sprinkle each egg with a generous pinch of salt, then cover each egg with the rest of the contents of the ziplock bag. (Make sure each muffin space is only 3/4 of the way full so that each muffin has room to rise.) 5. Bake the muffins for about 24 - 26 minutes or until golden brown. Turn off the oven, but leave the muffins inside for an additional five minutes to continue cooking the egg yolks. Serve warm.
