Korean Street Toast | The Subversive Table (2024)

In the world of breakfast sandwiches, Korean Street Toast reigns supreme. Also known as Gilgeori Toast, it’s a delicious and satisfying South Korean street food enjoyed by school kids and business people alike.

A breakfast sandwich packed with crunchy vegetables and layered with smoky ham, sharp cheddar cheese, and generous drizzles of mayo and ketchup. A sprinkle of sugar gives it that special tang. Thick slices of buttered toasted milk bread make it complete!

What is Korean Street Toast (Gilgeori Toast)?

Korean Street Toast, also known as Gilgeori Toast, is a popular Korean breakfast and street food item. A breakfast sandwich with buttery slices of toasted bread, crunchy cabbage, melty cheese, and smoky ham.

In South Korea, vendors sell these egg sandwiches from a street cart all day long. (‘Gilgeori’ means street or alley in Korean). There’s even a chain (Isaac Toast) with over 800 locations devoted to these classic Korean egg sandwiches.

What makes Korean Street Toast unique? The combination of fresh, crunchy veggies and generous drizzles of mayo and ketchup sandwiched between thick slices of buttered bread. Plus, a sprinkling of sugar for that sweet tang! Together they make an utterly delicious Korean breakfast egg sandwich!

*Thanks to Conestoga Farms for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.*

Ingredients:

• Eggs. Fresh, local, organic eggs taste best. For this recipe, I used Free Run Omega-3 eggs from Conestoga Farms, a local farm here in Ontario. There’s just no comparison to fresh, local eggs laid by free run chickens — the flavor is unmatched.
• Cabbage + Carrot. A mix of finely shredded green cabbage and carrots keeps the sandwich fresh and crunchy.
• Green onion. For color and subtle onion flavor.
• Ham + Cheese. Smoky, thin-sliced ham and sharp cheddar cheese add so much flavor.
• Unsalted Butter. Toasting the bread with butter is essential! Margarine is a good substitute but don’t leave it out.
• White Bread. Thick and fluffy Japanese-style Milk Bread is ideal. But any kind of thick, sandwich-style bread will work. Brioche, Texas Toast, or any kind of Multi-grain, whole wheat, are all good options, too.
• White Sugar. Adds a very necessary Korean flavor! More tangy than sweet, the sugar is sprinkled directly on top of the eggy filling.
• Mayonnaise. Kewpie Mayo is a Japanese sweet mayo that adds richness and flavor.
• Ketchup or Sriracha. Korean Street Toast typically includes ketchup. But I like sriracha for that little bit of extra heat and spice. Ketchup adds more of a sweet tang. Sriracha adds smoky heat!

Instructions:

1. Toast bread. Head a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp of unsalted butter. In the melted butter, toast bread on both sides until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
2. Prep egg mixture. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg with a pinch of salt and few cranks of black pepper. Add finely shredded cabbage, carrots, and green onion. Mix well. The egg should completely coat the veggies.
3. Cook. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Pour egg mixture into the pan. Shape into a square with the edge of a spatula, about the same size as the toast. Flip and cook on the other side.
4. Add sugar. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle sugar directly on top of the eggy filling.
5. Add ham and cheese. Add ham and slice of cheese on top. If you prefer, briefly heat the ham on the skillet before transferring to the vegetable mixture.
6. Drizzle Mayo and Ketchup and/or Sriracha. Be generous!
7. Assemble sandwich. Transfer to buttered toast, adding more cabbage on top for freshness. Top with the remaining slice of bread. Cut in half and enjoy!

PRO Tips:

• Make sure the egg mixture is fully cooked. Cook the egg mixture longer than you think — about 3-4 minutes per side over medium to medium-low heat. Look for the egg mixture to be fully cooked all the way to the middle, not just on the edges. Otherwise, it will be raw in the middle.
• Add lots of veggies. My recipe uses a ratio of 1 large egg for 1.5 cup veggies. That’s for 1 serving. But adjust the egg-to-vegetable ratio to your liking. The egg should barely hold all the vegetables together.
• For 2+ servings, use a grill pan. This recipe easily duplicates. If cooking multiples, I recommend using a large, rectangular grill pan for faster cooking.

Watch how to make it:

Helpful Kitchen Tools:

• Large Skillet. A large-sized skillet (at least 11″) makes it easier to cook everything in one pan. Stainless steel, carbon steel, or non-stick skillets (like cast iron or teflon-coated skillets) all work great.
• Large Metal Spatula. Makes shaping and flipping the egg filling easier. The larger, the better. I recommend the Oxo fish spatula (affiliate), which is an essential cooking tool in my kitchen.
• Cooling Rack. Transfer toasted bread slices to a cooling rack. Prevents bread from becoming too soggy. Or, make a tent out of the bread by leaning two pieces against each other so the steam can escape.
• Vegetable Shredder/Julienner. Not necessary but helpful to quickly and finely shred cabbage and carrots. I recommend the Oxo Julienne Peeler (affiliate) to make quick work of hard vegetables such as carrots.

Variations:

• Make it vegan. Leave out the ham and cheese. Swap out the egg with egg substitute and Kewpie mayo with vegan mayo. A complete plant-based meal.
• Make it sweeter. For a sweeter variation, add drizzles of sweetened condensed milk (from a can) instead of the mayonnaise.

More breakfast recipes:

• Korean Egg Drop Sandwich
• Air Fryer Hong Kong French Toast
• Buttermilk Waffles + Black Sesame Whip
• Gyeran Bap (Korean Egg Rice with Butter)
• Korean Tornado Egg Omelette with Ginger Fried Rice

Tags

Dairy-free Eggs healthy

One Comment

1. 

   Holly

   March 1, 2021 at 5:45 PM ·Reply

   
   Although I was born and raised in Korea, but I never had this toast until just a few years go. It was an unusual taste sensation for me. My daughter loved it, though. You made it beautifully. Love all the fillings you put in.