Why Muffin Pans?
These Korean-inspired rice cups bake into crisp-edged, cheesy rounds packed with tangy kimchi, scallions, and sesame. Each cup holds together like a little rice cake with molten cheddar inside and a spicy gochujang drizzle on top. They're equally good warm from the pan or at room temperature for lunches and parties.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked short-grain white rice (cooled; sushi rice or Calrose style)
- 1 cup finely chopped napa kimchi (well-drained, packed)
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (plus 1/2 cup for topping)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp kimchi juice (from the kimchi jar)
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or to taste, depending on kimchi saltiness)
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp finely sliced scallions (green parts, plus more for garnish)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (plus more for garnish)
- 2 tsp neutral oil (for greasing pan; canola or vegetable)
- 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean red chili paste)
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp water (plus more as needed to thin)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
Instructions
- 01Preheat the oven to 400°F. Position a rack in the center. Lightly grease all 12 wells of a standard muffin tin with the neutral oil, using a pastry brush or paper towel to coat the bottoms and sides thoroughly.
- 02In a large bowl, break up the cooled cooked rice with your hands or a fork so there are no large clumps. The grains should be separated but still slightly sticky.
- 03Add the chopped, well-drained kimchi, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, eggs, kimchi juice, mayonnaise, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, sugar, salt, and black pepper to the rice.
- 04Sprinkle in the sliced scallions and 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds. Using a spatula or your hands, mix until everything is evenly combined and the rice is thoroughly coated in the egg mixture. The mixture should hold together when pressed; if it feels dry or crumbly, add 1-2 tsp more kimchi juice or water and mix again.
- 05Divide the mixture evenly among the 12 muffin wells (about 1/4 cup firmly packed mixture per well). Press the rice mixture down firmly into each well, making sure it fills the bottom and reaches up the sides slightly so it forms a cohesive molded cup shape as it bakes. Pack it tightly; this is what helps the cups hold together after baking.
- 06Top each portion with a generous pinch of the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, mounding it slightly in the center of each cup. The cheese will melt and fuse into the rice, helping to bind the tops and create crisp, browned edges.
- 07Bake for 18-22 minutes, until the cups are set, the edges are deeply golden and crisp, and the cheese on top is bubbling and browned in spots. Rotate the pan once halfway through for even browning.
- 08While the cups bake, prepare the gochujang drizzle. In a small bowl, whisk together the gochujang, honey, rice vinegar, water, and soy sauce until smooth and pourable. If it seems too thick, whisk in a few more drops of water until it reaches a thick-but-drizzling consistency. Set aside.
- 09Remove the muffin tin from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Let the cups cool in the pan for 8-10 minutes; this rest allows the starches and cheese to firm up so the rounds release cleanly and hold their molded shape.
- 10Run a thin knife or offset spatula around the edges of each cup to loosen. Gently lift each one out and transfer to a serving plate. You should see round, slightly flared rice cakes with crisp, cheesy sides that clearly mirror the muffin cup shape.
- 11Drizzle each rice cup lightly with the gochujang sauce, then sprinkle with extra scallions and toasted sesame seeds. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Chef's Notes
- Use properly cooled, slightly sticky short-grain rice; freshly cooked hot rice will steam in the cups instead of crisping and may fall apart. If your rice is very dry (day-old straight from the fridge), warm it just enough to soften, then cool again so it's pliable. - Kimchi saltiness varies; taste your mixture before adding the full 1/2 tsp salt and adjust. You want it well-seasoned but not harsh. - For extra crisp bottoms, preheat the greased muffin tin in the oven for 3-4 minutes before adding the rice mixture, then work quickly spooning and pressing it in. - These reheat well in a 375°F oven for 8-10 minutes. They're excellent alongside a simple cucumber salad or a fried egg if you want to turn them into a more substantial meal.
Behind the Scenes
How This Recipe Was Made
Follow the creative team's conversation as they developed, photographed, and published this recipe.
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Tue
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Margaret
Head Baker
Marcus
Copywriter
Steph
Project Manager
Julian
Art Director
Devon
Site Architect
Ria
Social Media Manager
Look. We're doing this weekly muffin pan thing. It's honest work - twelve portions, done, grab one on your way out. But we need to decide if we're actually respecting the format or just chasing trends. Kimchi cheddar rice cups this week. Thoughts?
Kimchi cheddar rice feels like it actually wants to hold together in your hand - that's different from last week, right?
You're right - there's something here about fermentation meeting cheese meeting rice that actually *needs* the structural integrity of the pan, not just the convenience of it.
The fermentation angle Marcus hit on - that's what makes the pitch feel earned instead of forced, doesn't it?
Yeah, exactly - the kimchi juice is doing real work here, it's not just flavor, it's binding the whole thing together so it doesn't fall apart when you pick it up.
So if the binding is the story, do we lead with that or let people discover it when they bite in?
Let them discover it - that's when they understand why the pan matters. Muffin tin holds it together, hand picks it up clean, kimchi juice does the work nobody sees.
The fermented liquid is basically the structural integrity - once they hold it and feel how it stays together in their palm, the whole muffin pan argument clicks without us having to say it.
Trays from yesterday still on the rack - they set up fine. Rice stayed bound, cheese didn't separate. Let's nail the ratios today before we start guessing.
That's exactly what I needed to hear - okay, so we're testing ratios starting with what worked yesterday, yeah?
Yeah, that's the move - and honestly, the kimchi juice binding everything together is the story here, not just a technical detail.
The juice is the binder, yeah - that's worth saying out loud when we write this up. Start tomorrow with two parts rice, one part cheese, half part eggs, full part juice. We'll know in the first batch if it holds. I'm done for the day.
Just got the three shots processed - macro, flat lay, and the hero angle. Think the three-quarter with the broken cup really sells the texture and the cheese pull, but I'm curious what everyone sees.
The cheese pull doesn't need a broken cup doing the work for it. Shoot it whole - that's what people actually eat from.
Margaret's right - the whole cup is the shot, but we need that pull visible from the top down, not the side angle, because that's what stops the scroll.
Top-down angle works - you get the steam, the cheese, the kimchi color all at once. That's honest.
Yeah, the overhead actually does show the pull better - you lose it in profile. Let me reshoot with the steam still rising, whole cup, and we're golden.
That's the move - the steam detail is perfect, you'll catch it before it fades.
Steam's the hook - that's what makes people stop scrolling. Get those shots and we're done.
Morning. Got the kimchi cups copy ready - thinking the title wants to be "Kimchi, Cheddar, and the Comfort of Fermentation" but I'm open to pushback. What's the room feeling?
I like where your head's at with "fermentation" - that's the real story - but maybe we're landing a little heavy for a party appetizer?
"Fermentation" reads like a food blog - "Crispy Kimchi Cheddar Cups" gets the click pm.
"Crispy" works - that's what people actually taste. Skip the food blog stuff, just tell them what's in the pan and why it matters. Done. I'm out.
The rice needs more salt in the batter. It's going to taste flat against that kimchi juice.
Yeah, that's fair - the site's ready to go whenever the recipe is locked.
I'm less worried about the recipe than I am about how you're laying out the hero shot - if the cross-section gets crushed into a tiny column on mobile, nobody sees why these work.
You're right about mobile - let me see what you're thinking for the layout before we lock anything.
I hear you on the mobile layout - that cross-section is the whole argument for why these belong in a muffin pan, so yeah, we need to see it.
Margaret's right about the salt - and Marcus, yeah, the cross-section has to dominate on mobile or we lose the whole point of the pan format.
staging the recipe now, should be live in a few.
Good, let me see it before you call it done.
It's up now, go ahead and pull it.
Looking at it now. Rice ratio is tight but the egg bind should hold in the pan - that's exactly why this wants to be a muffin pan instead of some fussy mold.
Yeah, the pan handles the structural stuff for you - no fussing required. I'm pushing it live now.
okay everyone, we're here - let's make sure this kimchi cheddar rice thing lands the way we want it to.
Yeah, I've been thinking about this one all week - the copy keeps wanting to be about the ferment, the funk, the honest messy part, and I think that's where the real story is.
The funk is the point - that's what makes it different from every other rice cup out there, so yeah, lean into it.
Yeah, the funk angle is going to stop the scroll - we lead with the steam shot of it coming out of the pan, caption is just "fermented, crispy, actually good" and we post it when people are thinking about dinner. It's done. Good week.