Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches

2023. New year. We stayed home for New Year's Eve and ate tteokguk — the rice cake soup — at 11 PM because neither of us made it to midnight. Jisoo had sent me a version of her mother's recipe earlier in the month; I had folded it in with my own. Beef broth, sliced rice cakes, egg strands, dried seaweed, a drizzle of sesame oil, scallion greens on top. We ate in bowls at the kitchen counter. James said, "Another year older by Korean count." I said, "Yes, James-ah." He laughed.

New Year's Day: I did not work. I had promised myself one day off. I cooked an elaborate breakfast (kongnamul bap, a Korean soybean sprout rice bowl with soft-boiled egg), read a novel, walked in the rain, took a long bath, read more, slept early. It was restorative in the exact way I had needed.

Monday I told Dr. Yoon about James's baby conversation. She said, "What do you want?" I said, "I think I want it. I'm scared of it." She said, "Of what?" I said, "Of not being a good mother because I do not know what a mother looks like up close, except as an adult. I know Karen. I know Jisoo. I did not know Jisoo when I was small. I want a child to have both of me in them at once, and I do not know how to be both." Dr. Yoon said, "Stephanie. You are already both. You have been both. You have been building yourself into both for years. You will be a mother to your child out of the self you have built. That is enough." I wrote it down. "That is enough" is the sentence I carry into 2023.

Tuesday I told James I was in. He cried. We held each other for a long time. We are not starting trying this week — I am allowing myself to finish the launch first. But we are starting. Maybe March. Maybe April. We are starting.

Jisoo wrote her January 1 letter. She sent a photo of her tteokguk. Her bowl. Her kitchen. The small dish she had set on her counter for me — for the ghost of me, the ritual acknowledgment, the symbolic seat she always sets. I sent her my bowl. She wrote back: "Our bowls are the same bowl."

Banchan Labs: two weeks to launch. The final recipe cards are at the printer. The ingredients are sourced and sitting in the SoDo kitchen refrigeration. The boxes and labels are ready. Mina and Grace come in next Monday to begin full packing. 300 boxes to ship on January 16. I have a 200-person waitlist on standby for Box Two. I have an email newsletter scheduled to go out Sunday night with the sign-up-now-or-wait-for-February message. I am a founder. I am also still a writer. I am still a daughter. I am adding up.

Work expansion: I hired a third part-time person this week — Tess, a Korean-American single mom of two who lives nearby SoDo and needed the flexibility. She will handle customer service and help with packing. She started Thursday. She already fits.

The recipe this week is tteokguk — rice cake soup, New Year's style, Jisoo's version folded into mine. Beef broth simmered with beef brisket, soy sauce, garlic. Sliced rice cakes soaked for thirty minutes then simmered in the broth for three minutes. Egg whisked and poured in to make strands. Dried seaweed soaked and added. Sesame oil drizzle. Scallion greens. Eat at midnight or 11 PM or any time a year is turning. Age a year. Begin.

The tteokguk was for midnight — for the ritual, the year-count, the bowl I shared with James and the one Jisoo set on her counter for me. But New Year’s Day morning belonged to something quieter, something I had promised only myself. I had one day off, and I wanted breakfast to feel like I had planned for it, like I had taken care of future-me the way I was learning to take care of everyone else. That’s what these freezer breakfast sandwiches are: the version of care you give yourself in advance, wrapped up and waiting on a morning when the year is still new and the only thing on the schedule is rest.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 8 sandwiches

Ingredients

8 English muffins, split and lightly toasted
8 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 breakfast sausage patties (pre-cooked or frozen, thawed)
8 slices sharp cheddar or American cheese
Cooking spray

Instructions

Cook the sausage. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage patties 3–4 minutes per side until browned through and cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside.
Scramble the eggs. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl until fully combined. Melt butter in the same skillet over medium-low heat. Pour in egg mixture and cook, folding gently with a spatula, until eggs are just set but still slightly glossy — about 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat immediately.
Portion the eggs. Divide scrambled eggs evenly into 8 portions. A greased muffin tin can help you pre-portion and lightly set eggs into rounds if you prefer a neater sandwich stack; bake at 325°F for 8–10 minutes as an alternative to stovetop scrambling.
Assemble the sandwiches. On the bottom half of each toasted English muffin, layer one sausage patty, one portion of scrambled egg, and one slice of cheese. Press the top muffin half on firmly.
Wrap for freezing. Let assembled sandwiches cool completely — about 10 minutes — then wrap each one tightly in aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Place wrapped sandwiches in a zip-top freezer bag, label with the date, and freeze for up to 2 months.
Reheat from frozen. Remove foil or plastic wrap. Wrap sandwich loosely in a damp paper towel and microwave on high for 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes, flipping halfway through, until heated through. Alternatively, reheat foil-wrapped in a 350°F oven for 20–25 minutes.

Nutrition (per serving)

Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches — The New Year’s Morning That Belonged Only to Me