What is Chicken Mayo Rice Bowl?
In Korea we call this dish “Chicken Mayo Deopbap” 치킨 마요 덮밥. Koreans often transform leftover Korean fried chicken into an entirely new dish by serving it over rice.
Unlike many other countries where chicken is typically eaten in restaurants, in Korea fried chicken is often delivered to homes or eaten outdoors during picnics. Sometimes there are a few pieces of chicken left over, and that’s when this dish comes in handy.
With a few simple ingredients like eggs, onions and soy sauce seasoning, this chicken mayo rice bowl comes together in just 15 minutes. It’s one of the most popular home-cooked dishes among Koreans because of its simplicity and deliciousness.
Table of Contents
Why is Chicken Mayonnaise So Popular?
Chicken Mayo Rice is a comfort food for Koreans. It’s also a popular school lunch for many students. Especially for those who live alone, it’s a favorite because it’s easy to make.
- Affordable: The ingredients are simple and cheap – just chicken, eggs and onions.
- Quick and easy recipe: With just one skillet, you can make a perfect meal in 10 minutes.
- Repurposes leftover chicken: Leftover chicken tends to get soggy the next day, but when served with rice, the texture is less noticeable, making it a zero-waste meal.
- Minimal cleanup: Because the dish is cooked in a pan and served in a single bowl, there’s very little cleanup.
- Quick to Eat: Chicken Mayo Rice is a one-bowl meal that combines rice and sides, making it perfect for a quick lunch during a student’s break or a professional’s lunch hour.
- Deliciousness guaranteed: The combination of rice, chicken, eggs, and soy sauce seasoning creates a flavor that’s hard to resist.
Just like chicken rice bowl, there are other easy, quick and affordable comfort foods for Koreans. For example, the Korean Egg Rice recipe can be made in the microwave in 2 minutes, no frying pan required, and it’s a delicious meal in no time!
Alternative Ingredients
In Korea, this dish is often made with leftover Korean fried chicken from the previous day. Many restaurants also use fried chicken and top the bowl with crushed seaweed flakes (gim).
However, if you’re like me and live in Europe or the U.S., where Korean seaweed is expensive and ordering Korean fried chicken for delivery is not common, don’t worry! Even in Korea, not everyone has fried chicken on hand all the time. So what can you use instead?
Chicken Nuggets
- Easy to find: Available in almost every grocery store worldwide.
- Affordable & convenient: Nuggets are crunchy and delicious, perfect for this dish.
- Fun fact: Many Koreans also use chicken nuggets when they don’t have fried chicken at home.
Healthy Option
- Instead of frying, use an air fryer for a healthier option (I’ll explain how below).
- If you want to make it even healthier, swap fried chicken for regular chicken.
- I recommend tender chicken thigh, but if you’re on a diet, chicken breast will work just as well.
- Since plain chicken isn’t seasoned, I suggest simmering the chicken in soy sauce with the onions for extra flavor.
Simple Toppings
- If you don’t have seaweed, don’t feel bad – I don’t either! While seaweed is super cheap in Korea, it’s way too expensive here in Europe.
- Instead of seaweed, try using sliced green onions as a garnish. It helps to balance the richness of the mayo.
- Feeling lazy? Just sprinkle a little dried parsley on top.
- Still too much work? You can also just skip the garnish—it’s totally fine!
How to Cook Chicken Nuggets Perfectly
Pan-Frying Method
If you have a deep fryer, that’s great! But if you find that too much of a hassle, you can also cook chicken nuggets in a frying pan.
Add a generous 6-7 tablespoons of cooking oil to the pan. Heat the pan over low heat and add the frozen Chicken Nuggets. Cook for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally over low heat to ensure they don’t burn.
Air Fryer Method
If you want to avoid using oil, you can easily use an air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 200°C (392°F). Place the frozen chicken nuggets in the air fryer without overlapping. Cook for 6 minutes 30 seconds to 7 minutes 30 seconds until they are crispy.
Mayo Rice Bowl: A Versatile Korean Comfort Food
In Korea, there are many types of mayo rice bowls (mayo deopbap). The chicken mayo recipe I’m sharing today is super versatile – just swap out the chicken and you can make other delicious mayo rice variations.
1. Chicken Mayo Rice Bowl
It’s a chicken rice bowl with mayonnaise. Typically made with leftover Korean fried chicken, but you can also use chicken nuggets or even plain chicken. I recommend tender chicken thighs for the best flavor. If you’re on a diet, chicken breast is also a great option.
2. Tuna Mayo Rice Bowl
One of the most popular dishes among Korean college students. It’s the easiest mayo rice to make!
Just mix canned tuna with mayonnaise and pour it over rice, along with eggs and soy-steamed onions, just like the chicken mayo recipe.
3. Spam Mayo Rice Bowl
Spam mayo rice is a top Korean school food loved by students.. Koreans love to top their rice with a hot slice of Spam, and this dish takes it to the next level with a creamy, savory twist.
Just like Chicken Mayo Rice, add eggs and soy-stewed onions for a quick, easy, and incredibly delicious meal. One bite and you’ll understand why it’s a favorite among Korean students!
Is Mayonnaise Good with Rice?
When mayonnaise is poured over warm rice, it melts into a creamy texture that makes the dish moist and tender. The egg yolk in mayonnaise adds a rich and savory depth to the flavor. Especially when combined with salty soy sauce, the umami is maximized. In addition, mayonnaise has a slight acidity that enhances the overall flavor and strengthens the umami.
What is Deopbap? 덮밥
Deopbap (덮밥) is a Korean word that combines “deopda” (to cover) and “bap” (rice). As the name suggests, it’s a dish in which rice is covered with ingredients such as meat or vegetables. For example, Chicken Mayo Deopbap (치킨마요덮밥) means “rice covered with chicken and mayonnaise”.
It provides a balanced meal by covering rice with protein, such as meat or fish, and vegetables, providing both nutrition and flavor. Deopbap is one of the easiest and most delicious Korean dishes to make and eat quickly, as you can prepare all the ingredients at once, serve them over rice, and enjoy a satisfying meal in no time.
The Difference Between Deopbap and Bibimbap
Deopbap: The toppings are served over rice. You can mix them if you like, or just take a spoonful of the toppings and rice together. Mixed or not, the taste is very similar.
Bibimbap: Typically served with various ingredients and condiments over rice. Bibimbap is all about mixing. Only when mixed do the flavors and textures of the ingredients and sauce harmonize to create a rich and layered flavor.
Here’s a Bibimbap Recipe! Below is a recipe for Dolsot Bibimbap, which perfectly recreates the bibimbap served at upscale Korean restaurants. This dish features crispy, nutty rice with meat and vegetables, all
What Types of deopbap Are There?
- Jeyuk Deopbap (제육덮밥): Spicy stir-fried pork served over rice.
- Bulgogi Deopbap (불고기덮밥): Sweet and savory bulgogi (marinated beef) on rice.
- Hwe Deopbap (회덮밥): Fresh sashimi with a spicy gochujang (red pepper paste) sauce on rice.
Other School Foods Besides Mayo Rice
In Korea, mayo rice(mayo deopbap) is one of the most popular school foods among students. Korean school foods are mostly bunsik (snack-type foods), which are often spicy, sweet, and sometimes tangy. They’re also quick and easy to eat, making them perfect for students. Let’s take a look at some of the more popular school meals in Korea
- Tteokbokki (떡볶이): Many non-Koreans are now familiar with tteokbokki. This chewy rice cake (tteok), typically made with either rice or wheat flour, is cooked in a spicy-sweet gochujang sauce. It’s one of Korea’s signature street and school lunches. Fish cakes (eomuk), cabbage, and eggs are usually added. Nowadays, Koreans like to add cheese for “cheese tteokbokki” or cream for “rose tteokbokki”.
- Gimbap (김밥): This is a convenient and quick meal for students. It consists of rice, vegetables such as spinach, ham, and eggs, all rolled in seaweed. It’s a go-to food for students who need a quick meal before going to their classes after school. Among all the gimbap varieties, tuna gimbap is one of the most popular among Koreans.
- Sundae (순대): This is something that might make foreigners gasp. Sundae is a Korean-style sausage made of pork intestines stuffed with glass noodles and vegetables. Koreans love the soft and chewy texture of sundae, and it’s often eaten with tteokbokki. Dipping sundae in tteokbokki sauce is a popular combination that Koreans love.
- Ramen (라면): A simple yet versatile food, ramen is commonly eaten by Korean students, especially at convenience stores. While they eat packaged ramen at home, they mostly consume cup noodles from convenience stores. Unlike Japanese ramen, Korean ramen is known for its instant noodle style and spicy broth.
- Dakgangjeong (닭강정): Dakgangjeong can be considered the original version of Korean fried chicken. However, the key feature is the sticky sauce. Small pieces of chicken are deep-fried and then covered in a sweet and spicy sauce, making the outside crispy and the inside juicy. Students often share a box of dakgangjeong with friends or buy a cup for themselves.
- Bap Burger (밥버거): A bap burger looks like a hamburger, but it’s made with rice instead of bread. It was one of the most popular school lunches for Korean college students. The rice used in the burger is seasoned with sesame oil and seaweed, and toppings such as spam, cheese, tuna mayo, and eggs are added. One of the most famous brands of bap burgers was Bonggus, although it’s less common today. If you’re in Korea, try this affordable and simple meal for about 4,000 KRW!
Get Ingredients here
- Soy Sauce (Jin Ganjang): You should use Jin Ganjang (dark soy sauce). Guk Ganjang (broth soy sauce) is for soups, and Yangjo Ganjang (brewing soy sauce) is best not used for cooking over heat.
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- Rice: It’s best to use Korean rice, but if you don’t have it, sushi rice is a good substitute.
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- Matsul (Korean cooking wine)
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If you make the chicken mayo rice and tag me on Instagram, I’ll be so happy! Instagram: @blondekimchi_. If you want to learn more Korean home-cooked dishes, leave a comment below!!
Korean Chicken Mayo Rice Bowl with Chicken Nuggets
Equipment
- 1 Pan
- 1 Knife & cutting board
- 1 Spoon
Ingredients
- 8 pieces chicken nuggets
- 2 bowls rice
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise
Scrambled Eggs
- 2 pinches salt
Soy Sauce Onions
- 1/2 onion
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp matsul (cooking wine)
- 1/2 cup water (90ml)
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- Thinly slice 1/2 onion.
- Chop green onion for garnish.
Make Scrambled Eggs
- Whisk 4 eggs with 2 pinches of salt until well mixed.
- Cook scrambled eggs in a pan until soft and fluffy. Set aside.
Fry Chicken Nuggets
- In a heated pan with cooking oil, add frozen chicken nuggets. Fry on low heat for about 5 minutes until crispy.
- You can also cook the chicken nuggets in an air fryer. The air fryer cooking method is mentioned in the text above.
- Cut the cooked nuggets into small cubes.
Soy Sauce Onions
- In a pan with oil, sauté the sliced onions until slightly translucent.
- Add 1/2 cup water, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, and 2 tbsp sugar.
- Simmer over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and the sauce is reduced.
Assemble the Chicken Rice Bowl
- Place cooked rice in a bowl and add caramelized onions in the center of the rice.
- Arrange scrambled eggs around the onions and top with cubed chicken nuggets in the center. Drizzle mayonnaise on top.
- Finish with chopped green onion as garnish. (optional)
Korean Chicken Mayo Rice Bowl
- Jal meokgetseumnida!
- 잘 먹겠습니다!
Did you make this recipe?
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