Breakfast Rice Cakes with Chinese Sausage Recipe

• 1 cup short-grain rice
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the eggs
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil, plus extra for oiling the plate
• 4 lop chong (Chinese dried) sausages, cut on the bias into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 6 ounces total)
• 4 large eggs
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias

1. Place rice in a large fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water 3 times to remove some of the starch. Combine rice with water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender and all the water is absorbed, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, to finish steaming, about 10 minutes. Mix in mirin, vinegar, and sesame seeds and set aside until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes.
2. Heat the oven to 300°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Lightly coat an oven-safe plate with peanut oil and set aside. With moist hands, divide cooled rice into 4 portions and form into compact cakes, rewetting hands if rice becomes too sticky. Set cakes aside on the oiled plate.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When oil shimmers, fry rice cakes until golden and crispy on one side, about 3 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side. Remove from the pan to the oiled plate and hold in the warmed oven until ready to serve.
4. Remove any leftover rice from the frying pan and return the pan to medium heat. Add sausage and cook until crispy and browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove sausage from the pan and place on top of rice cakes in the oven.
5. Return the pan to the stove over low heat. Crack eggs into the pan with the leftover sausage grease (the eggs may need to be cooked in batches), sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper, and fry to desired doneness.
6. To serve, arrange rice cakes and sausages on 4 plates. Top each with a fried egg and sprinkle with sliced scallions.

Beverage pairing: Tombo Shochu, Japan. If you’re eating a Pan-Asian Egg McMuffin for breakfast, you’ll probably need a shot of something strong. We’d recommend Moutai (Chinese liquor made from fermented sorghum), but it’s hard to find. So try some shochu, made from barley in Vietnam by a Japanese family. Chill it and sip with your meal.