The week's pick: Mirin-Basted Eggs, a five-minute rice-bowl dinner (2026)

For a two-person dinner or a fast lunch, Mirin-Basted Eggs from NYT Cooking is this week's pick. The recipe was published on Aug. 31, takes 5 minutes, serves two, and has a 5-out-of-5 rating from 37 users. The tradeoff is scale: the dish is built for one skillet and two plates, rather than a week's worth of containers. 1

The eggs cook in a small broth of mirin, soy sauce and butter or oil. The liquid does double duty as the basting sauce, so the whites set gently while the yolks stay runny. Serve the eggs over rice and dinner is ready before most recipes have finished preheating the oven. 1

A fried egg with a glossy runny yolk over white rice, garnished with sliced scallions — *The NYT Cooking photograph shows the fork breaking the yolk over rice; scallions finish the bowl. 1*

Why it won this week

Mirin-Basted Eggs had the clearest combination of visible reader response and low effort among the recipes published in the Aug. 30–Sept. 6 window. The Reddit alternative drew far more raw interaction, but its batch size also brings a much longer prep session. The counts come from each publisher's own page, so they are signals to read side by side rather than numbers to add together.

Recipe	Source and publication date	Reader signal	Time and yield	Main work
Mirin-Basted Eggs	NYT Cooking, Aug. 31, 2026	5/5 from 37 ratings	5 minutes; 2 servings	Simmer the broth, add eggs, baste until the whites set. 1
92 cent chicken burritos	r/MealPrepSunday, Sept. 1, 2026	1,693 score; 98.96% upvote ratio; 65 comments	Makes 30 burritos; total time not disclosed	Cook dry beans under pressure, pull apart rotisserie chicken, refry the beans, then assemble and freeze. 2
Saucy Pork Chops With Coconut Crisp	Bon Appétit, Sept. 4, 2026	Not disclosed	45 minutes; 2 servings	Make the coconut crisp, sear thick-cut chops, then build a butter-and-oyster-sauce pan sauce. 3
Masala Chicken and Chickpeas	NYT Cooking, Sept. 4, 2026	0 ratings	40 minutes; 4 servings	Blend a cilantro yogurt, brown the spiced chicken mixture, then fold in chickpeas and spinach. 4

The burritos were the week's strongest community signal. The post reports $27.51 in used ingredients for 30 burritos, or 92 cents each, and the method is complete enough to cook. The work is substantial: the beans take 27 minutes at high pressure plus at least 20 minutes of resting, followed by shredding, refrying and wrapping. A comment also points out that the beans supply much of the protein value at the stated cost. 2

Bon Appétit's pork chops offer a more conventional dinner and a useful make-ahead component: the coconut crisp keeps for up to five days. The recipe still serves two and asks for thick-cut bone-in chops, oyster sauce and coconut flakes. The page exposes timing and yield, while a comparable public reader count is not disclosed. 3

NYT Cooking's Masala Chicken and Chickpeas is the best larger-dinner alternative in this set. The recipe serves four and takes 40 minutes, but the page showed no user ratings when checked. Its ingredient list also asks for ground chicken, Greek yogurt, cilantro, garam masala, chickpeas and spinach, so the shopping list is longer than the egg dish. 4

Serious Eats published a current weekly recipe roundup during the window, but its page was behind a security check when accessed. I left it outside the ranking rather than assign it a save count or recipe detail that the page did not expose.

What to buy

For two servings, buy:

4 large eggs
1/2 cup chicken, beef or vegetable broth
1/2 tablespoon hon mirin, or dry sherry
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil
Thinly sliced scallions, optional
Cooked white rice, for serving

The recipe prefers hon mirin for its deeper flavor. Aji mirin works in a pinch; start with 1 teaspoon because it is sweeter. Dry sherry is the other substitution listed on the recipe page. 1

The list stays short enough for a quick grocery stop. Broth, soy sauce, butter or oil and eggs do the actual cooking; rice turns the eggs into a fuller meal, and scallions add the fresh finish. 1

The cook-through

Build the basting liquid. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the broth, butter or oil, mirin and soy sauce until the butter melts and the liquid reaches a gentle simmer. 1
Cook the eggs in the broth. Crack in the eggs, lower the heat to medium-low, and spoon the liquid over the eggs repeatedly. The whites should lose their translucence in about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes while the yolks remain runny. Spoon any remaining broth over the rice and serve immediately. 1

The timing hinge is the heat after the eggs go in. Medium-low heat gives the whites time to set without turning the yolks firm. The broth also keeps the pan from becoming a dry frying surface, which is why the dish tastes closer to a saucy rice bowl than a plain fried egg. The last sentence is a cooking inference from the method and ingredient list. 1

Reader notes

The visible NYT Cooking comments include a reader who served the eggs over leftover rice crisped in the pan and said the dish entered their regular rotation. Another reader suggested adding soy or miso to other egg-cooking liquids, while a third preferred whites without browning. Those comments point to easy serving and flavor adjustments, with the usual limit of a small, self-selected comment section. 1

The Reddit burrito discussion supplies a different kind of evidence. Readers focused on freezer space, seasoning the chicken and the value of the beans, while the original poster's method makes the batch size and storage plan clear. That is useful if your decision is about stocking lunches; the five-minute egg recipe fits the reader choosing tonight's meal. 2

Bottom line

Cook Mirin-Basted Eggs when you need a fast meal for two and already have rice or can cook it alongside the skillet. The recipe has the week's strongest low-effort combination: five minutes, six core ingredients, a 5/5 rating from 37 users, and one pan. 1

If the real goal is filling the freezer, make the 92-cent chicken burritos instead and accept the longer prep day. For tonight, open the full Mirin-Basted Eggs recipe on NYT Cooking.