Nurungji (Scorched Rice)

By Eric Kim

Published July 30, 2025

Nurungji (Scorched Rice)
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini
Total Time
5 minutes
Rating
5(8)
Comments
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People forget that rice isn’t just a blank canvas; it has a unique flavor all its own, whether it’s jasmine, basmati or sushi rice, or any other kind you and your family love. Scorching it helps you taste its nuance. Also known as socarrat in Spanish cuisine (when it crisps on the bottom of a paella pan) or tahdig (in Persian households), among many other names, scorched rice is a natural byproduct of cooking rice in a pot over fire. This simple recipe extends the life of leftover rice to achieve that crisp, tender rice, a lovely treat that doesn’t require the time it takes to tenderize uncooked grains.

Featured in: The Rice Hack That Fuels My Family

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Ingredients

  • Fresh or day-old cooked short- or medium-grain or sticky white rice
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

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5 out of 5
8 user ratings
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Comments

Ali

I do this with leftover risotto. It comes out delicious and crunchy.

Alfonso Bedoya

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.

Alfonso Bedoya

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.

Ali

I do this with leftover risotto. It comes out delicious and crunchy.

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