This cookbook is no simple ode to the egg. Of course, “The Perfect Egg” by Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park covers egg salad, frittata, deviled eggs and pancakes, dedicating one page to each, listing traditional and not so traditional variations (bacon and chive pancakes, anyone?). But much of the book is filled with less obvious possibilities in which eggs are the glue that binds elegant desserts, as in the thin layers of sponge cake in a dobos torte, or become a showy topper, gracing roasted bone marrow, for example.

Still, eggs are the thing I often turn to when there is nothing left in the fridge. This recipe for the authors’ version of gyeran bbang, a Korean street food consisting of a slightly sweet pancake topped with an egg, seemed to make something out of nothing.

The batter is simple – almost too simple, I thought. When I slipped these into the oven, opting to use muffin tins I had on hand instead of loaf pans, my expectations were low. But the end result was quite good.

The pancake bottom was chewy rather than fluffy, and the touch of vanilla made it interesting. I cooked mine the suggested three minutes longer and the yolks were delightfully gooey.

— CHELSEA CONABOY

Gyeran Bbang

Yields 8 pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon superfine sugar

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

⅔ cup whole milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

9 eggs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil 8 mini loaf pans and arrange on a baking sheet, or lightly oil 8 wells of a muffin pan.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and 1 egg. Gradually whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture until smooth.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared loaf pans or muffin wells, filling each about one-third full. Bake for 8 minutes and then remove from the oven. Crack 1 egg into a small bowl and carefully slip it into a loaf pan or muffin well. Repeat with the remaining 7 eggs. Return the pan(s) to the oven and continue to bake for 5 to 6 minutes until the egg whites are opaque and the yolks are still runny. For a firmer yolk, bake for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.

Let the “sandwiches” cool for 5 minutes before running a thin-bladed knife around the inside of each pan or muffin well to release the sides. Using a small offset spatula, lift each of the gyeran bbang from the pan. Season with salt and pepper, and serve warm.