Nurungji (Scorched Rice)

By Eric Kim

Published July 29, 2025

  • A pan of scorched rice.
    Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(41)
Comments
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People forget that rice isn’t just a blank canvas; it has a unique flavor all its own, whether it’s jasmine, basmati or sushi rice, or any other kind you and your family love. Scorching it helps you taste its nuance. Also known as socarrat in Spanish cuisine (when it crisps on the bottom of a paella pan) or tahdig (in Persian households), among many other names, scorched rice is a natural byproduct of cooking rice in a pot over fire. This simple recipe extends the life of leftover rice to achieve that crisp, tender rice, a lovely treat that doesn’t require the time it takes to tenderize uncooked grains.

Featured in: The Rice Hack That Fuels My Family

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Ingredients

  • Fresh or day-old cooked short- or medium-grain or sticky white rice

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Add enough fresh or day-old cooked white rice to fill a dry nonstick skillet, packing it down into a layer about ½-inch tall. Drizzle 1 tablespoon water evenly over the rice. Cook over medium-low, undisturbed, until the bottom of the rice is nicely browned and releases on its own, 15 to 20 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    When you shake the pan, the rice “pancake” should slide around as one entity, smelling toasty and fragrant. Then, either with a big spatula or a confident toss of the pan, flip the pancake to lightly crisp the other side, about 5 minutes. The longer you toast the rice, the drier the inside will get and the crunchier the crust will be.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
41 user ratings
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Comments

Hapa Haole

I loved reading this thing for overcooked crunchy rice! I am a 70+ half Chinese woman, and I discovered when I was about eight that when the pot of rice was left on the stove too long, the bottom got a bit crunchy. I absolutely loved rice that underwent this accident, having no idea it was a "thing" in many cultures. I would often sneak into the kitchen and turn up the burner on the simmering rice while my mother's back was turned. What a treat!

philippo

This recipe reminded me of the fantastic "Sizzling Rice Soup" I used to order every time at "Hong Fat's" Chinese restaurant in Manhattan many decades ago. As far as I could tell (there was a slight language barrier :-), it was this fantastic broth, served just this side of boiling, with the broken up and slightly burnt scrapings from yesterday's rice pot thrown in just before serving, Yum!

Alfonso Bedoya

This treatment of rice is known in Chinese cooking as “guo ba” (锅巴) and, as in Iran, is scraped from the bottom of the cooking pot and given to kids as a treat… and not so incidentally to bribe them out of the way of meal prep.

John Pruitt

Why does this article say “Total time = 5 minutes” when the instructions are to cook the rice 15 to 20 minutes on one side and 5 minutes on the other?

Nano

Nano I have made this several times now (as well as tahdiq and other versions), and tho the rice eventually gets brown and crunchy, it is not cohesive and impossible to flip. It ends up being a pile of crunchy rice bits. Which is fine - but I want my pancake! It seems like it needs more than one tablespoon of water. Any thoughts Mr. Kim?

Kai

I am curious about what to serve along with this, or one just break it up and eat them as rice crackers.

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