Korean street toast recipe has cabbage and carrot-filled egg omelette sandwiched with butter-toasted bread with a generous spread of sugar, mayo and ketchup. Sounds simple but you will be surprised how delicious it is... I have not been able to stop making them. You must have noticed on my Insta stories! 😁
If you ever tried making Korean street toast and weren't too happy because you couldn't keep the egg-veg mixture in the shape or had a hard time trying to stop the "liquid" from running out of the cabbage... you should read this post where I have tried to explain how to your Korean street toast game better.
But before the recipe comes, a little about how I became a fan of KST. 🙂 I first came across this on my YouTube feed. I think it was Chef John's video but as soon as I watched it, I went to my favourite Korean YouTuber, Maangchi and watched her version. My friend, Z introduced me to this channel after I raved about the Korean food we had from a restaurant here. I wanted to recreate Bulgogi which we both loved! But my YouTube feed threw this street toast suggestion which I had to make and have been making every other day since August 2021! I am obsessed!
You won't find many East Asian recipes on my blog because I don't make them often either. But when the craving hits, we dine or takeaway. I believe the charm of eating Asian food is not complete without a takeaway. Don't you agree? Also, JFYI, I am not into K-pop or K-drama as much as F is. The only series I ended up watching with him was the Squid game. So, not so crazy to cook up every dish they eat. 😛
What is Gilgeori toast?
Gilgeori toast is Korean for “street toast”. Korean Street Toast is a popular sandwich sold by street-food vendors in Korea. Though this is a go-grab-and-eat food, you can easily make Korean omelette with cabbage at home for breakfast or brunch or even as early dinner! A classic Korean Street Toast recipe is made primarily with cabbage, carrot and egg and uses white bread slices with lots of mayo and ketchup. Recent variations include cold-cut meats and other condiments and not forget the zero-calorie sugar.
Ingredients
- Cabbage: Use any kind of cabbage but make sure to use only the thin leafy part and discard the thick stalk part.
- Carrot: a half would be more than enough for this batch.
- Onion: I like to use both red onion and spring onion. You can use any one or both.
- Eggs: of course!
- Chillies: though this is not traditionally used, I like the green chilli flavour more than red chilli flakes. But feel free to skip this.
- Butter: I am not afraid to use butter so never really measured it. Just rub a bar or butter as and when required for toasting the bread and cooking the egg-veg mix. Don't be scant, the butter adds richness to this humble toast.
- Bread slices: Our personal favourite is plain white bread! But you can use any sliced bread of your choice.
- Sugar: Like butter, don't be shy about using sugar or alternatives. I have tried both with sugar and stevia and loved it.
- Ketchup: as much as you like. Use a squeeze bottle for ease.
- Mayonnaise: as much as you like. Use a squeeze bottle for ease.
That time when I had more egg-veg patty than bread slices - Open-Faced Korean Street Toast!
Instructions
It may seem easy but if you don't follow the instructions, you will have a hard time getting the cabbage-egg mix to shape up. The secret lies in the way you chop the veggies and the type of spatula you use to turn them.
Cabbage-egg mix
Chiffonade or shred the cabbage into long strands. Do not chop into tiny pieces, we want long thin strands. Weigh after chopping to be accurate if you are making this sandwich for the first time. Carrots, red and or green onion should be much lesser than cabbage. I don't always have spring onion so I have tried parsley or coriander leaves too.
Add egg(s)
If you are planning to eyeball the quantity, then start with just one egg. You may be tempted to add more eggs but that will make the patty softer and hard to shape. The idea is to have a crunch in every bite.
Mix
Adding a pinch of salt and giving it a good mix using hands will help the veggies to start sweating and soften a bit. Do this before you add the chillies and eggs. Add the eggs and lightly whisk and pour in portions enough or a single sandwich.
Toast the bread slices
You may start toasting the bread slices on a different pan while you make the egg-veg patty on another. Either way, make sure you have your bread slices toasted before the egg veg is done so you can assemble immediately.
Chiffonade or shred the cabbage into long strands. Carrots, red and or green onion should be much lesser than cabbage. Adding a pinch of salt and giving it a good mix using hands will help the veggies to start sweating and soften a bit. Do this before you add the chillies and eggs. Add the eggs and whisk lightly.
Grease a pan with butter and pour the mixture in portions enough or a single sandwich. When I made this toast for the first time, I toasted one slice of bread beside the egg-veg mix to get an idea to shape the patty.
Make as many as your pan can fit. Cook on medium to high flame.
Use a wide thin-edged spatula to shape into a square or rectangle depending on your bread slice shape.
The wide spatula will also help in turning the korean omelette with cabbage without breaking it.
Place the warm omelette patty over the toasted slice, sprinkle generous sugar and squeeze lots of mayo and ketchup.
That one time I made Korean Street Toast on a Potato bun!
If you are adventurous, then do try my Meat Momos!
I thought of a shortcut and tried making one big Korean omelette with cabbage in a deep skillet. You know, why have the hassle of shaping and all? It was not the same, trust me! I went back to making per sandwich. 😂
The weight measurements are after chopping.
📖 Recipe
Korean Street Toast | Gilgeori Toast
Ingredients
For the egg mixture
- 250 grams cabbage thinly sliced (chiffonade)
- 50 grams carrot julienned
- 1 small-sized red onion sliced thinly
- 2 spring onions chopped
- 2 green chillies chopped finely (optional)
- 2 large eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter to cook
For the toast
- 6 to 8 bread slices
- 2 tablespoons butter to toast
- 1 teaspoon sugar for each sandwich
- ketchup as needed
- mayonnaise as needed
- 1 cheese slice (for each sandwich) optional
- luncheon meats aka cold cut meats optional
Instructions
Prepare the cabbage-egg mixture
- Combine the prepped cabbage, carrot, onion, spring onion, and salt in a large bowl. Squish and mix the veggies with your hands to soften them.
- Next, add in the eggs, green chillies or chilli flakes and season with salt and pepper. Use a fork to mix everything just to combine. Don't have to over-whisk.
Toast the bread slices
- Heat a skillet over low-medium heat. Rub a stick of butter generously to grease the pan evenly. Add the bread slices and toss to make sure both sides are well buttered.
- Toast the bread slices until both sides are golden brown and a little crispy. Rub more butter as required to toast the bread evenly. Remove the toasted slices to a plate.
Cook and shape the patty
- Wipe any bread crumbs off the pan and once again grease with butter by rubbing the butter all over the pan. Depending on the size of your bread slice, pour enough of the egg mixture and shape it roughly into the size of your toast.
- The patty should be around an inch thick. Use the edge of a spatula to keep pushing back the runny egg while simultaneously giving the omelette a shape.
- Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it firms and holds the shape. Once the cabbage-egg mix becomes firm, carefully flip and cook the opposite side for another 2 to 3 minutes with more butter if required.
- Cook until both sides of the egg-veg omelette are golden brown and crispy. It is ready when there is no liquid egg oozing out when you press the patty. You may place a bread slice on the pan as a guide to shape the egg mixture.
Assemble and serve
- Place the toasted bread slices on the board or a large plate. If you want to add cheese, add them before you place the shaped omelette. Place the warm cabbage patties on the toasted bread slice. The warmth is enough to melt the cheese.
- Sprinkle sugar generously all over the patty and then squeeze lots of ketchup and mayonnaise over the sugar. Place another toasted bread slice to make it a sandwich. Serve immediately.
aysha says
i have tried it .. and its my fav ever since ❤️