Iri Iri Pan Pan Aka Mom's Super-Scrambled Eggs and Ground Beef

duonyte's Note:

This recipe is from "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat" by Naomi Moriyama and William Doyle. The name represents the sound of scrambling and cooking. It's a very tasty and satisfying breakfast. I've modified a bit to accomodate my kitchen's usual contents, see notes. Time to make does not include time to cook rice.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 tablespoon canola oil or 1 tablespoon rice bran oil
• 6 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon canola oil or 1 tablespoon rice bran oil
• 1 lb finely ground extra lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 pinch salt
• 8 snow pea pods, stems trimmed
• 4 cups cooked brown rice or 4 cups white rice

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbl. oil in a small saucepan. Add the eggs and sugar to the saucepan, bring heat to medium, and scramble the eggs with a wooden fork or a whisk (silicone is nice if you have non-stick pans) for 2 minutes. When the eggs start to harden, add the pinch of salt. Continue to scramble for 2 more minutes or until the eggs are just cooked and in very small pieces. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tbl. oil in a small saucepan. Add the ground beef, sake, sugar soy sauce and salt to the saucepan, and bring heat to medium. Saute the beef, stirring constantly with a wooden cooking fork, ensuring that beef stays in small pieces and there are no clumps, for 6 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Blanch the snow-peas for 1 minute, or until crisp-tender. Drain and refresh under cold water. Julienne lengthwise.
4. Scoop 1 cup cooked into each of 4 medium bowls. Smooth the top, but do not tamp down (you want it rather flat, but not mounded up). Spoon 1/4 of the eggs on one half of each dish, and 1/4 of the beef on the other half, and spread carefully on their respective halves. Divide the snow pea strips into 4 even portions and place them down the middle, where the eggs and beef meet.
5. Note1: This is most attractive if the scrambled eggs are really kept to small pieces, like small-curd cottage cheese. I have taken a pastry blender to the eggs to break them up further. Using a small saucepan or skillet to do this makes it easier to achieve the right texture.
6. Note2: I've used green onion, blanched just a few seconds, if I don't have snow peas.
7. Note3: I usually make just half this recipe. I have found that a single frozen hamburger, thawed, is an easy way to provide the meat. I don't add any oil, as the fat content is a bit higher, and cook it a bit first, then drain, before adding the beef seasonings. Author recommends pulsing in food processor to get the fine texture, but I don't bother.

Reviews

[IngridH]

I took this in my bento box for lunch today, and I was very pleased. It looked so pretty and cheery at lunchtime, and it tasted as good as it looked. Since this was just for my lunch, I cut the recipe by 4 (I used 1 large and 1 small egg). I used brown rice, which is just personal preference, but I think the combination of the nutty rice with the sweet, soft egg and slightly salty beef was a winner. Next time I would cut down on the sugar in the eggs, and increase the seasonings in the beef, but that doesn't reflect on the recipe, just my personal taste. I'm sure this will be a staple in my lunch rotation!

[allison knapik]

This was super easy, quick and tasted pretty good. Every once in a while I put "home" Japanese dishes out for my family - they love them. My one year old enjoyed it as well as my husband. If you have a rice cooker - you can just get the rice going while you do the rest and both should be ready on time.

[mersaydees]

I really liked this as a lunch dish, and it has a great presentation. For me, it has a great balance of flavor with the sugar (my DH asked what made it sweet-tasting), salt, sake, and soy. Thanks, Duonyte! Made for Please Review my Recipe Tag.