Corny Beef Brunch

New Year's Eve. The last night of 2024. The year Hana was born. The year I left Amazon. The year I became a full-time founder and a full-time mother and a full-time person who cooks. The biggest year of my life, and I have had some big years — the year I found Jisoo, the year I married James, the year I went to Busan. But this year contains them all because this year contains Hana, and Hana contains everything.

We stayed home. James made tteokguk at 11 PM. Hana was asleep. We ate rice cake soup on the couch and watched the Seattle fireworks from our window — small, distant, celebratory. James said, "Happy New Year. It's 2025." I said, "2025. Hana's first full year of life." He said, "And ours." He meant: our first full year as parents. Our first full year of this version of ourselves. He held my hand. The soup was warm. The fireworks were over. The year was beginning.

2024 in review: Hana was born (January 15). I went on maternity leave (March). I gave notice at Amazon (April). I left Amazon (June). Banchan Labs became my full-time job (July). We bought a house (September). Hana said her first words: dada, mama. Hana took her first steps. Hana ate her first Korean food. The kitchen is almost done. The year was enormous. The year was the hinge. The year was the one where everything changed, not dramatically but permanently, the way the best changes happen — incrementally, daily, one doenjang jjigae at a time.

Jisoo's New Year's letter: "2024 was the year I became a halmoni. I have been many things — a teenager, a mother who gave up a child, a wife, a mother who kept two children, a mother who found a child. But halmoni is the best thing. Halmoni is the thing I did not know I was waiting for. Thank you, Dahee. Thank you, James. Thank you, Hana." She signed it: "Your mother, Jisoo." No qualifier. Just: your mother.

The recipe this week is tteokguk — the same soup, always the same soup, the New Year's soup that ages you, the soup I make at midnight, the soup that carries us from one year to the next. The recipe does not change. We change. The soup holds the changes. This is what a good soup does. This is what a good life does. Happy New Year. Eat the soup. Begin.

James made tteokguk that night, and it was perfect — but New Year’s morning was ours to invent, the first morning of the year that would belong entirely to Hana. I wanted something warm and a little indulgent, something that said: we survived the hinge year, and now we eat well. This Corny Beef Brunch has become that dish for us — the savory, filling, nothing-fussy meal that carries the energy of a new beginning without asking too much of anyone who stayed up watching distant fireworks from a couch.

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

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (80/20)
1 cup frozen or canned corn, drained
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil or neutral oil
Fresh parsley or green onion, chopped, for garnish
Shredded cheddar cheese, optional, for topping

Instructions

Brown the beef. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a spatula, until browned and cooked through, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat and set beef aside.
Sauté the vegetables. In the same skillet over medium heat, add onion and bell pepper. Cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds until fragrant.
Combine and season. Return the beef to the skillet. Add corn, smoked paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes (if using), salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine and cook for 2–3 minutes until everything is heated through and the corn begins to pick up a little color.
Add the eggs. Make 4 small wells in the beef mixture. Crack one egg into each well. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook until egg whites are set but yolks are still slightly runny, about 4–5 minutes. Cook longer if you prefer fully set yolks.
Finish and serve. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar if desired and let it melt over the top for 1 minute. Garnish with fresh parsley or green onion. Serve directly from the skillet with toast, warm tortillas, or rice.

Nutrition (per serving)

Corny Beef Brunch — The Soup That Ages You, and the Meal That Holds the Morning After