Egg (gyeran)

Koreans use two words for the hen's egg: dalgyal, the native word, and gyeran, from the Sino-Korean characters for "chicken" and "egg"; both are standard and appear side by side in recipe names. Eggs have been eaten since ancient times. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture notes that a pottery vessel holding eggs was found in Gyeongju's Tomb No. 155, the Silla royal tomb known as Cheonmachong, yet no egg recipes survive from before the Joseon period.

Joseon cookbooks such as the 17th-century Gyugon siuibang (also known as Eumsik dimibang) record a wide range of egg dishes: nantang, eggs cracked into boiling broth and lifted out as they set, much like a poached egg; aljjim, beaten eggs seasoned with salted shrimp and steamed in an earthenware pot set on the rice; paengnan, hard-boiled eggs; and alssam, thin egg sheets folded around a filling and pan-fried. Thin omelet sheets were also cut into garnishes and used to coat jeon. Aljjim is a clear forerunner of today's gyeran-jjim.

For much of the 20th century eggs were a luxury. The Korean Food Promotion Institute recalls that a fried egg on top of a school lunchbox was once something classmates envied; only as poultry farming expanded did eggs become the cheap, ubiquitous ingredient they are now. Today they appear in rolled omelets, steamed custards, soy-braised banchan, as a fried egg on bibimbap, and as jidan on tteokguk and noodles.

• Compact nutrition: Eggs provide high-quality protein along with vitamin A, riboflavin, selenium and iodine; the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture notes that most of the fat and vitamins sit in the yolk.
• Egg allergy: Eggs are one of the nine major food allergens under U.S. law. They also hide in jeon batters, fish cakes and many noodle dishes.
• Salmonella risk: The FDA warns that even clean, uncracked eggs may carry Salmonella. It advises refrigerating eggs at 40°F (4°C) or below, cooking them until both yolk and white are firm, and cooking egg dishes such as gyeran-jjim to 160°F (71°C).
• Soft and raw egg toppings: A runny yolk on bibimbap or a raw egg stirred into hot noodles may not be fully cooked; for dishes where eggs are served raw or undercooked, the FDA suggests eggs that have been treated to destroy Salmonella, such as in-shell pasteurized eggs.
• Soy-braised eggs: Gyeran-jangjorim absorbs a salty soy braise, so it is meant as a small side rather than a main portion.