Crispy Rice Bowl with Sugar Snap Pea Slaw

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January is bleak. I don’t know about you, but for me, this month is not about starting over. This is a month of survival. The light is returning, sure. But it hasn’t returned. Nine times out of ten it’s wet and cold outside. And you get the added confidence booster of wearing an egg-shaped parka whenever you leave the house. How can my best self possibly turn up in these conditions? So with that in mind, I bring you this low-maintenance but deeply satisfying Crispy Rice Bowl with Sugar Snap Pea Slaw and a Fried Egg. Because at the end of a long January day, all you need is an easy win and a hot meal and this is both. 

This is the fancier, well-thought-out version of what I eat 99% of the time. Well, that’s not entirely true, I’m usually eating leftovers for obvious reasons. But when there is a gap in my fairly rigorous cooking/eating schedule there is usually a bowl of rice with fried egg on top to fill it. As I said, these bowls are typically more laid-back than this rendition. I usually top my rice with bits and bobs from my crisper that are not long for this world. But you deserve better than a handful of sad snap peas. You deserve fried eggs with frizzled edges, an avocado sugar snap pea salad tossed in a sweet onion dressing, and yes, crispy rice. And while this is my favorite rice bowl’s best version of itself, it is still very approachable. So let’s make it. 

Now, before we start tackling the recipe, we need to talk about leftovers. You can’t have a Crispy Rice Bowl without crispy rice and you can’t have crispy rice without leftover cold rice. So make sure you have roughly 2-3 cups of cooked short-grain rice waiting for you in the fridge. I make a habit of cooking more rice than I need for any given meal, so I always have rice on hand. I get a little panicked when there is no rice in my fridge. 

Okay, with the rice issue addressed, let’s move on to the dressing. This salad dressing is unbelievably good! And I think it would be incredible in almost any context, so keep this recipe in your back pocket. Start by shredding a sweet onion. Heat a quarter-sized amount of neutral oil in a skillet until shimmering. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cover and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden. 

Transfer the onions to a bowl and add the shredded ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, and neutral oil. Whisk to combine and chill until ready to serve. You can make this dressing up to a week in advance. This is another good recipe to double up for the sake of leftovers. 

With the dressing made, let’s tackle the veg. We’re going to start by finely chopping some sugar snap peas. Give a large carrot a julienne and quarter and finely chop a jalapeño. Feel free to add two if you’re feeling sassy. We’re also going to add some lightly salted peanuts for a little extra crunch. Feel free to substitute the peanuts for your preferred nut or wonton strips if you have a nut allergy. To this fine salad, we’re going to add the dressing we made earlier. Toss everything together and store the salad in the fridge until you’re ready for it. 

Now, let’s fish that leftover rice out of the fridge and add it to a dry non-stick skillet. Pat the rice out into an even layer and let cook, undisturbed, until the edges turn golden. This should take about 10-15 minutes, make sure you rotate the pan every so often so the rice toasts evenly. Once the rice is golden, break into up into chunks using a wooden spoon. Divide the rice across a couple of bowls and add some neutral oil to the now empty skillet. 

When the oil is quite hot, crack a few eggs into the pan. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and cover. Let cook until the edges are crispy and the whites on the surface are barely set. Spoon the sugar snap pea slaw on top of the rice and add a fried egg to each bowl. Add as much kimchi and radish micro greens as you want and drizzle everything with chili crisp. And don’t skimp on the chili crisp, it really sets the whole bowl off.

And there you go, a Crispy Rice Bowl with all the fixings. Exactly what a drab January evening needs. 

Enjoy!