Breakfast Stack: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Serves4

Active Time:25 min
Start to Finish:1 1/2 hr

Pearl-like sushi rice cooks up slightly moist and sticky, so it forms a cake easily. Chilling the cakes before browning helps them hold their shape.

November 2004

1 cup sushi rice
1 scallion
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 slices Canadian bacon (6 to 8 oz total)
4 large eggs

Rinse rice in a large fine-mesh sieve under cold running water, then drain well, tapping sieve. Combine rice, 1 1/4 cups water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes.
While rice is standing, trim scallion and cut diagonally into very thin slices.
Stir rice from bottom to top. Lightly butter a metal 1-cup measure. Firmly pack enough rice in measure with a rubber spatula to fill measure halfway. (If spatula becomes sticky, dip in water.) Invert measure onto a buttered plate, then tap measure to unmold rice. Repeat with remaining rice, rebuttering measure each time, to make 4 disks total. Chill disks, uncovered, at least 15 minutes.
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately low heat until foam subsides. Add rice disks and cook, rotating each once for even browning, until undersides are pale golden, about 8 to 10 minutes, then turn cakes over and add 1/2 tablespoon butter to skillet, swirling to melt butter. Cook, rotating each cake once, until golden, about 5 minutes more, and transfer to plates.
Increase heat to high and add 1/2 tablespoon butter to skillet, then brown bacon, turning over once, about 2 minutes total. Place 2 slices bacon on each rice cake.
Wipe out skillet with a paper towel and heat remaining tablespoon butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Crack eggs one by one into skillet. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper total and fry until whites are cooked and yolks begin to set, 2 to 4 minutes.
Place 1 egg on each rice cake stack and sprinkle with scallion.

Cooks’ notes:

Rice cakes can be shaped 1 day ahead and chilled, loosely covered after 15 minutes. Allow 2 to 5 minutes longer to cook.
The eggs in this recipe will not be fully cooked, which may of concern if salmonella is a problem in your area.

Recipe by Lillian Chou

Photograph by Romulo Yanes