Travel: it inspires you. Airplane food: it does not inspire you. Exception: I flew to and from Southeast Asia on Korean Air and became obsessed with Korean chili-bean paste (gochujang), a rich, spicy, umami-laden sauce which they served with everyhing. Gochujang: like the best spicy ketchup you’ve ever had. Sriracha: not as good as gochujang. <br />This dish was a riff on Mark Bittman's fried rice with crispy ginger and garlic. I’ve merged fried garlic and ginger and sauteed leeks with some of the key elements of bibimbap: raw sliced veggies for crunch, deliciously chewy sauteed shiitake mushrooms, and, of course, the great gochujang, tying everything together with richness and heat. Both Mark and the geniuses (genii?) from Seoul include a delicious, barely fried egg with a creamy yolk that breaks all over the fried rice.

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