Chocolate Chip Dutch Baby

The naming ceremony. Not a formal doljanchi — that comes at one year, the traditional Korean first birthday — but a small, private acknowledgment of Hana's name, held in our living room on Saturday with David, Karen, James, and Jisoo on FaceTime. I wanted to do this because the name was chosen with such intention, such history, such weight, and it deserved to be spoken aloud in a room full of people who understand what it means.

I held Hana. I said, "Her name is Hana. It was chosen by her halmoni Jisoo, who lives in Busan, who gave me up thirty years ago and found me again and gave me the thing she couldn't give me then: a name for my child." I looked at Jisoo on the screen. She was crying. I looked at Karen. She was crying. David was holding Karen's hand. James was holding mine. Hana was asleep, oblivious, named, beloved.

Jisoo spoke from the screen. She said, in Korean, speaking slowly so I could understand: "Hana means one. She is the first grandchild I will know. She is the proof that the thread was not cut. It was stretched across an ocean and thirty years and it held. She is the proof." She paused. She said, "I named her. I was allowed to name her. This is the greatest gift my daughter has given me." Karen whispered, "It is a beautiful name, Jisoo." Jisoo said, "Thank you, Karen. For raising the woman who gave me this gift."

Two mothers on a screen. One in Bellevue, one in Busan. Both crying. Both grandmothers. Both mine. The room was small. The love was enormous. Hana slept through all of it. She will hear this story a thousand times. She will know what her name means. She will know who chose it and why. She will know that she was the first, the one, the proof.

The recipe this week is a simple Korean egg custard — gyeranjjim — steamed and soft and warm, the kind of food you make when you want something gentle in a room full of big emotions. Eggs, beaten with water and a pinch of salt. A splash of fish sauce for umami. Scallions, sliced thin. Steam in a covered bowl for fifteen minutes until the custard is set but still jiggly, like a savory cloud. Eat with a spoon. Eat with gratitude. Eat in a room where a baby has been named and two grandmothers have wept and the thread has held.

The story I wrote above already names the recipe I was thinking of in that moment — gyeranjjim, soft and steamed and gentle — but what I actually made the next morning, when Hana was sleeping and James was still in his robe and the weight of the night before had settled into something warm and quiet, was this Dutch Baby. It felt right: eggs beaten and transformed by heat into something bigger than themselves, puffed and golden, a small miracle in a cast iron pan. There is something about an egg dish — the simplicity, the alchemy — that suits the morning after a ceremony. I scattered the chocolate chips in because Hana deserves sweetness, and because joy, even sacred joy, gets to be a little indulgent.

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Powdered sugar, for serving
Fresh berries or sliced banana, optional for serving

Instructions

Preheat. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet on the center rack of your oven and preheat to 425°F. Let the skillet heat for at least 10 minutes while you prepare the batter.
Make the batter. In a blender, combine eggs, flour, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend on high for 30–45 seconds until completely smooth and slightly frothy. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.
Melt the butter. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven using oven mitts. Add the butter and swirl quickly until it is fully melted and coats the bottom and sides of the pan.
Add batter and chips. Immediately pour the batter into the hot buttered skillet. Scatter the chocolate chips evenly over the top of the batter.
Bake. Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 18–20 minutes, until the Dutch Baby is dramatically puffed, the edges are deep golden brown, and the center is set but still slightly tender.
Serve immediately. Remove from oven — the Dutch Baby will begin to deflate within a minute or two, which is completely normal. Dust generously with powdered sugar and serve straight from the skillet with fresh berries or banana slices if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chocolate Chip Dutch Baby — The Egg Dish for a Room Full of Big Love