What is sorrel and where do I buy it?

Garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is a leafy green that looks like mild baby spinach but tastes completely different — it has a bright, natural tartness similar to a lemon-y Granny Smith apple crossed with a mild green. The sourness comes from oxalic acid, the same compound in rhubarb. It is not a specialty ingredient in cities with decent farmers' markets or natural grocers — look for it alongside other salad greens from spring through fall. Whole Foods, Eataly, and any farmers' market that carries unusual greens usually stocks it. If you truly cannot find it: baby spinach + 1.5 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice + 1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest is a workable substitute — the spinach gives the green color and body, the lemon adds the tartness. The flavor will be simpler but the dish still works. Arugula alone is too peppery; watercress too bitter.

Why does Sqirl use day-old rice for the crispy bottom?

Freshly cooked rice contains more surface moisture, which creates steam when it hits the hot pan — the result is a layer that puffs and turns soft-chewy rather than shattering-crisp. Day-old refrigerated rice has dried out slightly at the surface: each grain holds its structure, and when it contacts the hot fat, the crust forms quickly and cleanly. This is the same reason fried rice restaurants use day-old rice. If you don't have day-old rice: spread freshly cooked rice on a sheet pan in a thin layer and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (uncovered) to dry the surface before pressing it into the skillet. It won't be quite as shattering as overnight rice, but it works.

What is preserved lemon and can I skip it?

Preserved lemon is a North African condiment made by packing lemons in salt and their own juice for weeks. The fermentation process transforms the peel from bitter to deeply savory, floral, and briny — a flavor you cannot replicate quickly. The pulp is typically discarded; it's the rind/peel you use, finely chopped. You find it in the olive bar or condiment section of Whole Foods, Middle Eastern grocers, and online. If you cannot find preserved lemon: a teaspoon of fresh lemon zest plus 1/4 teaspoon of flaky salt per serving gives you the brightness and salinity, minus the fermented complexity. The dish without it is still good; preserved lemon makes it exceptional.

What rice does Sqirl actually use?

Sqirl uses short-grain white rice — the variety most associated with Japanese cooking and sushi. Their original specification was Kokuho Rose (a California-grown japonica variety), though the restaurant has used different short-grain rices over the years. Any sushi rice, Calrose rice, or short-grain white Japanese rice will produce the right texture. Short-grain rice has more starch than long-grain, which means the grains stick together slightly — this is exactly what you want for the crispy-rice technique, since the grains adhere into a slab that crisps as a unit rather than scattering. Do not use long-grain, jasmine, or basmati rice — they will not form a cohesive crust.

Can I make any components of this ahead?

Yes, and it makes the dish much easier. The sorrel pesto keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (press plastic wrap directly against the surface to prevent browning) and in the freezer for 1 month — freeze in tablespoon-sized portions in an ice cube tray and pop them out as needed. The rice is best cooked the day before and stored uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. The preserved lemon keeps indefinitely once opened. The one thing you cannot do ahead is poach the eggs — poached eggs hold in warm water for about 30 minutes before the white turns rubbery, so time those for just before serving. You can set up all the components in advance and do the cast-iron crisping and poaching in the last 15 minutes.

Why is the Sqirl line so long?

Sqirl opened in 2012 in a tiny former auto shop on Virgil Avenue in East Hollywood, with just a handful of tables and no reservations system. The rice bowls, ricotta toast, and uncommonly good grain salads built a following from local chefs and food writers, then went national when major food media visited. By 2014, the line regularly stretched around the block before the café opened at 8am. Social media accelerated this — the sorrel pesto rice bowl's green-on-gold color photograph became one of the most reposted LA brunch images. There were also controversies along the way (a 2020 report about jam handling practices that generated significant online discussion), but the food remained consistent and the line remained. The at-home version is the only Sqirl experience that doesn't require arriving before 9am.

Is this dish actually vegetarian?

The rice bowl as described is vegetarian. It is not vegan — the butter in the crisping stage, the Parmesan in the sorrel pesto, the egg on top, and the optional feta are all animal products. To make it vegan: replace the butter with vegan butter or olive oil (the crust will form slightly less richly but still works), use nutritional yeast instead of Parmesan in the pesto, and replace the poached egg with a smashed avocado half seasoned with salt and lemon. The result is a genuinely good grain bowl, though it loses the egg-yolk breaking-on-rice moment that defines the original.

Sqirl Sorrel Pesto Rice Bowl (Crispy Cast-Iron Rice + Poached Egg)

Name: Sqirl Sorrel Pesto Rice Bowl (Crispy Cast-Iron Rice + Poached Egg)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Short-grain rice (the base):; 2 cups short-grain white rice (Kokuho Rose, Calrose, or sushi rice) — day-old preferred; rinse 3 times until water runs clear before cooking; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 tablespoon neutral oil (grapeseed, sunflower, or avocado oil); 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt for the crisping stage; Sorrel pesto (makes 3/4 cup; serves 4 generously):; 3 oz (about 4 cups loosely packed) fresh garden sorrel leaves, thick stems removed; 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted in a dry skillet until light golden (3 to 4 min, watch carefully); 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 cup (1.5 oz) Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated on a Microplane; 1 small garlic clove (not more — the sorrel's acidity amplifies garlic; a small clove is plenty); 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste; Eggs:; 4 large eggs; 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (helps whites hold together); To finish:; 6 to 8 breakfast radishes (or regular radishes), very thinly sliced — use a mandoline if you have one; 2 tablespoons preserved lemon rind, finely chopped (see FAQ); Flaky sea salt (Maldon or fleur de sel); Cracked black pepper; Optional but good:; 2 oz sheep's milk feta, crumbled; 2 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias; Small handful of microgreens or pea shoots

Prep time: 20 min | Cook time: 35 min (plus overnight rice cooling, or 1 hr) | Serves: 4

The Sqirl rice bowl is why people stood in a 45-minute line in East Hollywood for a decade. The format sounds simple — rice, pesto, egg — but each component is built on a technique most home versions skip: the tahdig-style crispy crust, a sorrel pesto that no other green can replicate, and a perfectly poached egg whose yolk becomes a sauce the moment you break it.

The Crispy Rice: A Tahdig Applied to Brunch

The key to the bowl is the bottom. Sqirl presses day-old short-grain rice into a hot cast-iron pan with butter and oil and then leaves it completely alone for 10 to 12 minutes. The result is a slab with a golden, shattering crust underneath and fluffy, steamed rice above — the same principle as Persian tahdig, where a crust of rice forms at the bottom of the pot.

Two things make it work. First: day-old rice. Fresh rice has too much surface moisture and steams rather than crisps when it hits the pan. Spreading rice on a sheet pan and refrigerating overnight (or for at least an hour, uncovered) lets that surface moisture evaporate, so each grain holds its structure when it contacts hot fat. Second: do not touch the rice while it cooks. Any stirring breaks the crust before it sets. Medium-low heat and patience produce the slab; impatience produces scrambled rice.

To serve it correctly, scoop wedges of rice crust-side up into each bowl. Some of the golden crust will lift as an intact slab; some will break into individual crispy bits. Both are the right result.

Sorrel: The Ingredient That Defines the Dish

Garden sorrel looks like mild baby spinach but tastes nothing like it. Its flavor is tart and bright — somewhere between lemon and green apple — from oxalic acid, the same compound that makes rhubarb sour. Made into a pesto with pine nuts, olive oil, and Parmesan, sorrel produces a sauce that is simultaneously herby, nutty, and genuinely citrus-like without any added citrus. No other green does exactly this.

Look for it at farmers’ markets, Whole Foods (it’s often with the specialty greens, not the salad greens), and Italian or Middle Eastern grocers. If you can’t find it, the FAQ below covers the closest substitute — but the dish loses something real without it.

The pesto requires no cooking. Blend the leaves, toasted pine nuts, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, and salt. Pulse rather than blend continuously — you want some texture, not a liquid. The color fades within a day or two, which is normal; the flavor holds fine.

The Poached Egg

The egg on top is not decorative. It breaks during eating and the yolk — together with the sorrel pesto — becomes a second sauce that coats the crispy rice. A soft-boiled egg or fried egg will not achieve this; the poached egg’s soft white and fully runny yolk are what the dish is built around.

Poach the eggs in the last 3 minutes of the rice’s crisping time so everything finishes together. The vinegar in the water helps the whites hold their shape around the yolk rather than spreading into wisps.

Sqirl is a trademark of its owner, used here only to describe the dish this recipe recreates. This is an independent copycat written in our own words — Copycat Spices is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Sqirl.

Sqirl Sorrel Pesto Rice Bowl (Crispy Cast-Iron Rice + Poached Egg)

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