I fell in love with eggs and rice in Japan where it was a part of our daily breakfast at the traditional hotels (called Ryokans) that we stayed at. We were told to mix the raw egg into the hot rice, so it’s not quite the same but it evokes the same flavors and memories!
You likely have all of the ingredients on hand for this recipe at all times, making it a great speedy emergency meal that doesn’t skimp on flavor. Eggs get fried in a combination of butter, soy sauce, and sesame oil. What you end up with is a buttery caramelized soy sauce mixture that then coats and flavors the rice and eggs. Spicy, tangy sriracha on top and fresh scallions brighten it up!
Ingredient highlight
Eggs! These little rays of sunshine are a great source of vitamin K and B vitamins. They’re also high in selenium, vitamin D, and choline (an important nutrient for brain health).
Be sure to buy pasture-raised eggs! The amount of healthy omega-3 fats found in the yolks and other nutrients depends on what those chickens were eating! A true sign of a well-fed chicken is a golden yolk. My favorite store-bought brands are Vital Farms and Happy Egg.
Servings 2
Prep Time 5 minutes 
Cook Time 7 minutes Ingredients
For the Instant Pot rice (optional):*
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cup jasmine white rice or short grain white rice
- 1 ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp grated ginger (optional)
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups chopped greens (chard, kale, spinach, etc…)(optional)
For the bowls:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 ½-3 cups cooked rice**
- 2 cups chopped greens**
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- Sliced scallions, for topping
- Sriracha, for topping
- Sesame seeds, for topping
- *Easily double the rice recipe to have more on hand for lunches, etc…You can also skip this and just cook plain rice to use for the bowl recipe.
- **Use plain rice or use the Instant Pot rice above. If using Instant Pot rice + greens, skip the greens you see listed here!
Instructions
For the Instant Pot rice (optional):
- Add the rice to a fine mesh strainer and rinse, using your hands to agitate the grains, until the water runs clear. This gets rid of the extra starch so your rice isn’t mushy.
- Turn your Instant Pot on and press the “sautée” button. Add 1 tablespoon of butter. Once melted, add the rice and stir it around to coat and toast in the butter for 1 minute. Press “cancel” and stir in the water, ginger, and salt. Scatter the greens over top. Secure the lid on.
- Set the vent to “sealing”, then pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure by moving the valve to “venting”. Fluff with a fork to mix in the greens.
For the bowls:
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the butter and swirl it around to coat. Once the butter is bubbling and just turning light brown, add the eggs, then drizzle the soy sauce all around the eggs (there should be a lot of sizzling going on!).
- Cook until whites are cooked through, reducing the heat if the soy sauce begins to burn, about 2 minutes (to get the egg whites all the way cooked through, it helps to cover it with a lid towards the end when there is just a little bit of uncooked white on top).
- Turn the heat down to medium and use a spatula to transfer the eggs to a plate. Add the cooked rice and greens to the skillet and use your spatula to toss it in the buttery soy sauce mixture, scraping up anything stuck to the pan. Stir in the rice vinegar and sesame oil, continuing to scrape the bottom of the pan and mix the rice.
- Serve the rice topped with the two fried eggs. Garnish with scallions, sriracha (if using), and sesame seeds (if using). Break the fried egg open and mix everything into the rice.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Cook the rice
- Chop 2 cups kale
Substitutions:
- To make dairy-free, you can try using coconut oil in place of butter or use a vegan butter.
- To make vegan, see above + use thin tofu slabs in place of eggs.
Storage:
- Store leftover rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- To rehydrate leftover rice, add a splash of water when you warm it up in the microwave or in a skillet. It also helps to brighten it up by adding a splash of rice vinegar to your bowl and mix it in.
- I like reheating this in the skillet, because then I can add in more greens or any other veggies odds and ends.
- Use leftover rice to make fried rice!
- Top the rice with any protein and any toppings you have on hand (sriracha, kimchi, pickled cucumbers, avocado, steamed broccoli, etc…)
