Sweet and savory is one of those divisive flavor combinations. Take, for example, a pineapple pizza, a grilled cheese with apple slices, or an avocado toast with hot honey — these are foods loved by some and found not-so-appealing by others. But if you’re a fan of mixing such sweet and savory flavors, there’s a Korean breakfast sandwich you have to try: gilgeori toast.
To learn exactly what goes in gilgeori toast, Chowhound spoke to chef Ji Hye Kim, who owns the Korean restaurant Miss Kim and the upcoming Little Kim in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Korean breakfasts can require as little as two kitchen staples like fried egg and rice, but as chef Kim explained, “[A] more contemporary breakfast might consist of fried eggs and toast, or the street food favorite, gilgeori toast. It’s basically the savory egg and cabbage omelet sandwiched with buttered sugar toast, with ketchup.”
Korean breakfasts tend to lean savory – kimchi is commonly used to give breakfast a tangy upgrade, and banchan (Korean BBQ side dishes), rice porridge, or even rice and soup are popular choices. The addition of the sugar and ketchup may feel out of place here, but the sugar enhances the flavor of the vegetables, and the ketchup-egg combo makes sense because the condiment’s sweet acidity balances out the fatty richness of eggs.
Considerations for making gilgeori toast
Gilgeori toast is commonly found as a street food in South Korea — and like other street foods, plenty of variations can be found between vendors. If making it at home, the bread choice is flexible; it could be whole wheat, white bread, brioche, or even sweet milk bread. But whatever you choose, remember this advice from chef Ji Hye Kim, “Don’t be surprised by the sugar in the gilgeori toast. Go with it, because the combination of the savory cabbage omelet and sweet milk bread toast, with ketchup, is really fun and fantastic.”
While the egg and vegetable patty is referred to as an omlette, the vegetables are actually more of the centerpiece here. Kim explains, “One hot tip for making this toast is that it really does not take that many eggs. I say omelete for the convenience, but it’s really cabbage and vegetable pancake bound with a little bit of egg. So don’t go nutty with extra eggs, the star is the cabbage.”
For a more exact ratio, in one sandwich, you would use one egg mixed with a cup of julienned vegetables. Besides green cabbage, carrot, scallion, and onion are popular additions. To go the vegan route, you could eliminate the egg and substitute it with chickpea flour. To up the heartiness, a slice of cheese and ham are also sometimes added. Just don’t forget to sprinkle a spoonful or so of sugar on top of the sandwich for that sweet finish.
