Prep: 30 mins || Cook: 25 mins || Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
225g snow peas or sugar snap peas
2 Lebanese cucumbers
1 ½ tsp. kosher salt, plus more
2 tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar plus more for cucumbers
4 spring onions (green shallots)
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
6 tsp. toasted sesame oil, divided
4 Cups cooked short-grain white or brown rice, chilled overnight
2 Tbsp. gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste) or Sriracha (or to taste)
2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. honey
1 cup fresh (or frozen) peas
4 large eggs
1 cup pea shoots (tendrils), bean sprouts, watercress, or baby arugula (optional)
Radish and/or carrot pickles (optional)
METHOD
Prep your vegetables: Trim ends from snow peas, then cut in half on a diagonal. If using snap peas, trim ends, remove fibrous string, then slice into pea-sized pieces or thinly on the bias. Set aside.
Thinly slice the cucumbers and place in a small bowl. Season with a fat pinch of kosher salt, then massage cucumbers with your hands, gently at first, then more aggressively as you go, just to soften. Pour off any excess liquid, then add a splash of unseasoned rice vinegar. Taste and season with more salt and vinegar if needed. (You can also add a pinch of sugar or a bit of honey to taste.) Set aside.
Trim roots from spring onions and thinly slice crosswise or on a diagonal. Set aside a handful of the dark green tops for serving.
Heat 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil and 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high. Add spring onions and cook, stirring often with a heatproof rubber spatula, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
Scrape spring onions with oil into a large bowl; reserve pan. Add 4 cups cooked short-grain white or brown rice, chilled overnight, and 1½ tsp. kosher salt to spring onions and mix well with spatula, making sure there are no lumps of rice remaining.
Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in reserved pan. As soon as oil is hot, add rice mixture and press firmly into an even, compact layer. Cook until deeply browned underneath, 6–8 minutes.
While the rice mixture is cooking, make the dressing. Whisk together 2 Tbsp. gochujang, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 2 tsp. honey, remaining 4 tsp. toasted sesame oil, remaining 2 tsp. unseasoned rice vinegar, and 1–2 Tbsp. water (if using Sriracha, omit the water) in a small bowl. Taste for heat: You can add more gochujang if it’s not spicy enough or more water if it’s too fiery. Set dressing aside.
When the rice is browned, divide among bowls and set aside (if you’d like, cover them with a kitchen towel to keep warm).
Combine 1 cup fresh (or frozen) peas and reserved snow peas in the same pan (no need to wipe out) and cook over medium-high, stirring, until just starting to sizzle, about 1 minute. Add ¼ cup water and cook, stirring often, until peas are bright green and crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and season with salt.
Heat 1½ tsp. vegetable oil in same pan and heat over medium-high. Crack 2 eggs into each side of pan and cook until eggs are setting underneath but whites are still clear, about 1 minute. Sprinkle ¼ tsp. soy sauce over each egg, then continue to cook, basting whites with oil (tilt the pan so that it pools), until completely set and opaque, about 1 minute more. Transfer eggs to serving bowls and repeat process with remaining oil, eggs and soy sauce.
Making individual piles, evenly distribute pea mixture, cucumbers, pea shoots (tendrils; if using), and some radish and/or carrot pickles (if using) among reserved bowls of rice, arranging on top of rice. Top with reserved spring onion tops and drizzle generously with dressing. Serve remaining dressing alongside. Mix together before eating!