Shiitake Mushroom and Scallion Frittata

Shiitake Mushroom and Scallion Frittata
Adapted from Martha Stewart, Everyday Foods

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms*
12 whole scallions (aka green onions), including green parts, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces (about 5.7 ounces)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper as specified in direction
8 extra-large eggs (about 15.3 ounces)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (2 ounces, then set aside about 1-1/2 tablespoons for topping)

*NOTE: Baby bella or cremini mushrooms can be substituted for the shiitakes, but will release a lot of liquid during browning. Saute until browned and all liquid have evaporated before proceeding with rest of recipe. Shiitake mushrooms are most reasonably priced at Asian food markets. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven rack to center position.

Wipe shiitake mushrooms clean with a damped cloth or paper towel. Cut off entire stems and discard (too woody to consume). If mushroom caps are large, cut in half and then sliced, crosswise, 1/4-inch thick. You will now have approximately 7.6 ounces of sliced mushrooms. Set aside.

In a medium-size bowl, mix together the eggs, about 1.5 ounces (or about 3/4 portion) of the Parmesan cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon salt with a fork or whisk. Set aside.

Heat a 10-inch cast-iron or ovenproof non-stick skillet on medium-high heat (8.0 on induction cook top). Wipe some olive oil around bottom and sides of pan. Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and swirl around the bottom of the pan. Add mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Saute until browned, about 8 minutes. Add more olive oil if pan becomes dry. When mushrooms are browned, transfer to a dish and set aside.

In the same skillet, add another 1 tablespoon olive oil and swirl around the bottom of pan. Add the scallions and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Saute until browned, about 4 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium (5.0 on induction cook top). Return mushrooms back to the pan with the scallions and cook together for another minute.

Add the egg mixture to the pan and gently give a brief stir to evenly distribute the eggs.When the edges are starting to set, sprinkle with remainder 1-1/2 tablespoons (about 1/4 portion) Parmesan cheese.

Transfer skillet to the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes before servings or transferring to a serving dish.

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Garlic Chive with Eggs

Garlic Chive with Eggs

Garlic chives are also known as Chinese chives found in most Asian stores. Do not substitute regular chives for garlic chives. The flavor are very different. Garlic chives has a sweet, garlicky flavor while regular chives have a mild flavor of green onion or scallions. Garlic chives are great cooked with eggs. Such a simple and inexpensive dish to cook and delicious eaten with rice.

4 ounces of garlic chives
6 extra large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt

With the garlic chives, trim off about 3/4 inches of the root ends and discard. Cut the remainder of the chives into 2-inch length slices. Chives are very dirty so it is necessary to wash the chives thoroughly in 2 to 3 changes of cold water: I dump the chives in the bowl of a large salad spinner and fill the bowl with cold water. Swish the chives around with my hand. Transfer chives to the colander of the salad spinner to drain and repeat this process one or two more times or until water is clear of sand and grit. Drain chives and spin dry using the salad spinner. Set aside.

In a medium-size bowl, beat the eggs with salt until well beaten. Set aside.

 

Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat (7.0 for induction cook top). When oil is hot, but not smoking, add all the chives to the pan. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until chives are soften, about 3 minutes.

Add all the eggs to the pan and reduce heat to medium heat (5.0 for induction cook top). Let it cook without disturbance until eggs have started to set around the edges. With a wooden spoon or a silicone spatula, push the eggs that have set around the edges towards the center of the pan. Repeat this cooking process until most of the eggs are mostly set, but it's okay if some areas may still be wet (uncook). With a spatula, flip eggs over in small portions to cook the top sides, especially where the eggs are still wet. Keep flipping until all the eggs are completely cooked through, but do not overcook. Total cooking time from the time the egg is added to the pan is about 2 minutes.

 

Transfer garlic chive and eggs to a serving dish. Delicious eaten with brown or multi-grain rice. I have made a sandwich with these eggs once before and it is delicious eaten as a sandwich.

 

Yield 2 to 3 servings



 

Poached-Fried Egg

Poached-Fried Egg

I am so excited to share with you a way to "poach-fry" an egg, sunny side up. I learn this from watching The Chew. One of the host, Daphne Oz (Dr. Oz's daughter), was demonstrating how to poach an egg using a nonstick frying pan. So easy and it really works. I have already tried this method of "poach-frying" an egg twice and has not failed. Not only is it easy, but clean up is easy-peasy. To watch Daphne demonstrate this on video, watch it here and fast forward the video to 2:32. This cooking method is somewhat poaching...or steaming...or frying?!? Whatever cooking method this is categorized as, this is an INGENIOUS and HEALTHY way to poach-fry an egg! Here's how:

1 teaspoon olive oil
One egg (any size)
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons water

Place an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat (4.0 on induction cook top) and wipe the inside surface with olive oil to sheet-coat the pan. Let the pan heat up for about 5 minutes or until hot (remember it's only on medium-low heat). Smelling the fragrant of the olive oil is another indication. Add one egg into the heated pan. Sprinkle with some salt to taste. Add the water to the pan and cover immediately. What is happening is the water will steam up and cook the egg.

Let the egg continue to cook, undisturbed, for 2 to 3 minutes or until the egg white is completely cooked, but the yolk is still runny. Transfer egg to a plate and it is ready to eat.

Repeat the same cooking process if you are cooking more than one egg.

To change note here, our dinner tonight, I "poached-fried" three eggs to be served with Soybean Sprout Bibimbap, a Korean rice dish from maangchi.com website.

Soybean Sprout Bibimbap is a Korean rice dish cooked with meat and soybean sprouts. It is served with an egg cooked sunny side up or over-easy. To eat, you will break up the egg into the rice; then mix the rice mixture and the egg together with a few spoonfuls of homemade seasoned sauce (yangnyeomjang) which will then look like the photo below:

This dish is so amazingly delicious and healthy! The soy beans from the soybean sprouts has a nice delicate crunch and the seasoned sauce mixed together with the rice is so flavorful and addicting. I'm sure the seasoned sauce alone will be delicious eaten with baked tofu, fish, noodles, etc. It is amazingly delicious!! Maangchi also has a you-tube video demonstration (take a look below):

I modified the Soybean Sprout Bibimbap recipe to be cooked with a combination of brown and Thai red cargo rice and substituting ground turkey in place of ground beef. I am real close to perfecting Maangchi's recipe to be cooked with the multi-grain rice. Brown rice takes longer to cook which makes the cooking process different from Maangchi's version so that is why I want to perfect the brown rice version before posting. As soon as my modified version is perfect, I will be posting my version using multi-grain rice, ground turkey and plus doubling the recipe since a few of Maangchi's readers have inquired whether the recipe can be doubled.

UPDATE: My doubled recipe of my version of Soybean Sprout Bibimbap cooked with multi-grain rice and ground turkey is finally posted here: Soybean Sprout Bibimbap with Multi-Grain Rice and Ground Turkey. Check it out!

Savory Steamed Custard

Savory Steamed Custard
Adapted from Migi's Kitchen

This is a savory steamed custard that is eaten with rice. The delicate silky texture is achieved from the art of steaming. Thanks to Migi's Kitchen website where I learn to master steamed custard. I like my savory custard simple and plain. You can substitute the water for vegetable stock, chicken stock, or even seafood stock or dashi. You can add a few fresh shrimp or shitake mushrooms  (Japanese version), salted shrimp sauce (Korean version) or dried shrimp and Chinese sausages (Chinese version), but I just like it plain. This is such a simple, quick and healthy dish to make.

1-1/2 cups cold water (12 ounces)
1-1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
3 large or extra large eggs, beaten (5.4 to 6.0 ounces)
1-1/2 teaspoons finely chopped green onions

In a medium-size bowl, combine the water, salt and sesame oil. Strain the beaten eggs into the water mixture through a fine sieve. Whisk until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Steam on medium-high heat (7.0 on induction cook top) for 10 minutes; then reduce heat to low heat (2.0 on induction cook top) and steam for additional 8 minutes. Custard is firm on the sides and slightly jiggly in the center.

Yield 3 to 4 servings

 

 What's for Lunch?

Brown rice topped with Savory Steamed Custard, Steamed Spinach and sprinkled with roasted sesame seeds.

Zucchini-Tomato Frittata

Zucchini-Tomato Frittata

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods magazine. I love this frittata. It's healthy and full of flavor. My coworker saw me eating this for my lunch (two days in a row) and took a picture with her iPhone. She said she is going to put this photo on her facebook page. She also sent it to me so I can include this image on my blog. Thanks B for sharing your photo! I gave B a bite of my frittata and immediately she wanted a copy of this recipe. I made this frittata for dinner the other night along with my Smokey Roasted Potatoes and Farinata (both recipes posted on this site). I have made this frittata numerous times already. Sometimes I substitute Herbes de Provence for the thyme. I am addicted to Herbes de Provence. Either herbs will work great.
2 pounds zucchini, unpeeled, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (about 5 medium-large zucchinis)
1 medium-size onion, finely diced (9.0 ounces)
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped or 2-1/4 teaspoons dried and cumbled
1 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon salt, separated
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 large eggs, beaten (approximately 1:8.0 to 1:8.2 pounds)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened plain soy milk or reduced fat milk (3.0 ounces)
1-1/4 cups shredded Gruyere cheese or white cheddar cheese (2.5 ounces)
1-1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes, cored and thinly sliced crosswise (about 7 medium-size tomatoes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position oven rack to the center of
the oven.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring often, until zucchini are nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

In a separate 12-inch nonstick ovenproof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon
olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about
2 minutes more.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and
1/2 teaspoon salt until well blended. Using a fork, stir in the cheese.

Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables, gently lifting the vegetables to let the egg mixture coat the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low heat and continue to cook, undisturbed, until sides are set , but top is slightly runny, about 10 minutes.

While the frittata is slowly cooking, arrange tomato slices on top, slightly overlapping tomato slices in a circular pattern on top of the egg mixture to cover it entirely, starting from the outer edge of pan and ending in the center of the pan. Sprinkle with a few pinches of crumbled dried thyme just to give some color.

When frittata is finally set on the sides, transfer frittata to preheated oven. Bake frittata until center is firm and not jiggly, about 25 minutes.

Remove frittata from the oven. Change oven temperature to broil. Reposition oven rack to the top rack and broil the the top of the frittata for about 2 to 3 minutes to slightly brown the tomato slices. Let frittata cool for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Yields 6 to 8 servings