Nurungji (Scorched Rice)
Published July 29, 2025
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini
- Total Time
- 5 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
Fresh or day-old cooked short- or medium-grain or sticky white rice
Preparation
- 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.
- 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.
Private Notes
Comments
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!
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!
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.
I followed the instructions exactly and toasted the pancake longer for crunchier crust. Served with some Maldon flakes and drizzles of melted butter or olive oil. My granddaughter said it’s tasty like popcorn. It’s a great way to use up leftover rice. Pending on the amount of rice, it could be a small pancake but always with about 1/2 “ thickness as directed in the recipe. Thank you for sharing a great recipe for leftover rice.
Needed longer (closer to 30 min) for me. I would love the recipe for the nurungi soup as well!
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?