Egg and Rice Breakfast Bowls, Two Ways

I grew up in an apartment in Morningside heights on the 10th floor of a high rise. My Japanese grandparents (we called them Kachan and Jita) lived directly below us in apartment 9J. On weekends, my mom would occasionally bring us downstairs to sleep over at my grandmother's place on a large, thick futon that was rolled out on the living room floor. In the morning, we'd drink mugicha (roasted barley tea) or Calpis (a yogurt-flavored soft drink popular in Japan that has been re-branded as Calpico in the U.S. because Calpis sounds like... well...), and down bowls of tamago gohan, which literally translates to "egg rice."

It's the simplest Japanese comfort food I know. We'd make it by scooping some hot rice into a bowl from the rice cooker. We'd break a raw egg on top of it, season it with a dash of soy sauce, a pinch of salt, and a shake of MSG, then whip it up with a pair of chopsticks until it was light and frothy, with the lava-like flow of proper risotto, but with a much lighter, airier texture.

If we wanted to get fancy, we'd top it with a sprinkle of slivered nori or a shake of furikake from a jar (this is my favorite brand and flavor, which features shaved bonito, seaweed, dried eggs, and other seasonings).

Recently I've seen the same dish referred to as "TKG," an abbreviation of Tamago Kake Gohan, or "Egg-Covered Rice"

There are no real tricks to making it other than to use hot rice--a bowl of rice microwaved for 1 minute works fine if you have rice from the fridge--season it as you desire, and whip it up real good with chopsticks until light and frothy.

If raw eggs aren't your thing (and do note that even hot rice will not get the eggs to fully cook, so you are essentially eating raw eggs when you eat TKG), you can get some similar flavors in a bowl by topping hot rice with a fried egg with a dash of soy sauce, salt, and MSG (furikake optional).

Tamago Kake Gohan (Japanese-Style Egg Rice) Recipe

Prep time: 1 min

Active time: 2 minutes

Total time: 3 minutes

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 cup hot cooked white rice (about 12 ounces cooked rice; 340g)

1 large egg (plus 1 optional egg yolk)

1 teaspoon (5ml) soy sauce, plus more to taste

Pinch kosher salt, plus more to taste

Pinch MSG powder, such as Aji-no-moto or Accent (optional)

Furikake to taste (optional; see notes)

Thinly sliced or torn nori to taste (optional)

Place rice in a bowl and make a shallow indentation in the center. Break the whole egg into the center. Season with soy sauce, salt, and MSG. Stir vigorously with chopsticks until the mixture is pale yellow, frothy, and homogenous. Top with an extra egg yolk if desired. Sprinkle with furikake or nori to taste. Serve immediately.

Notes

Furikake is a seasoning mixture typically made with seaweed, dried sweetened bonito, and sesame seeds, among other ingredients. It can be found in any Asian market, or you can order it online.