EATING OUR FEELINGS
INSTRUCTIONS To make a slurry, whisk a small spoonful of cornstarch in a mixing bowl with a splash of cooking wine and water. Add the eggs and beat for a minute, until the yellow is to- tally mixed in and bubbles begin to form. Stir in pinches of chicken stock, salt, and pepper, then mix in the sesame oil and peas (yes, from frozen). Since this dish is made with chicken stock, chicken fat is an amazing fat to pair with it if you have some on hand — otherwise, vegetable oil works nicely. Heat whatever fat you are using in a wok to medium heat. Remove the wok from the heat and add the egg mixture. To attain supreme silkiness, the key is not to flip or turn the egg, which will re- sult in in scrambled eggs. Instead, as the egg begins to solidify at the bottom, gently scoop with your spatula and layer on top of other cooked portions, tilting the wok so liquid egg fills in the spaces. Close to an omelette in texture, the ap- pearance of the delicate layers should more resemble the folds of a soft sweater loosely tossed onto a bed. Repeat this process with- out too much agitation, moving the wok on and off the heat. In a few minutes, you’ll have a heap of egg that is cooked through, with a surface that is still slightly wet and shiny. Slide that from the wok and serve over cooked rice, with chili oil if you are so inclined.
food they’re emotionally at- tached to, you can’t be surprised when they name Chinese dishes, and you therefore cannot be sur- prised if those dishes tradition- ally include pork or shellfish. But this dish is less about the addi- tion of shrimp and more about the use of cornstarch and the technique of cooking the eggs, known as Whampoa chao dan . Though often billed on menu as “scrambled eggs on rice,” it’s closer in texture to an omelette. The first time I made this dish, I was not prepared for how familiar it tasted for something I’d never eaten before. That first spoonful of egg, warm and slip- pery, slid down and comfort- ed me as much as any bowl of chicken soup. Maybe it’s the MSG in the instant stock mix, reminding me of the Cantonese food of my youth. If you want to try it without the shrimp, any salty protein would be satisfying. However, I wouldn’t substitute anything else, but instead just focus on the texture of the eggs, a goal that took me a half doz- en attempts to achieve. Blend- ed with a thickening cornstarch slurry and cooked on a low heat to avoid too much colouring, Swatow’s eggs are bright yel- low and saucy, studded with frozen peas instead of the usu- al scallions. They glisten like an oiled bodybuilder, likely the ef- fect of an additional ladle of gra- vy poured over top. “We eat it a lot. It’s very much a tradition for my wife and I, al- most a weekly occurrence. But when Tal and I get sick, like now,” says Schwartz as Hatuka coughs, almost on queue. “She loves it. I love it.”
HUÁ DÀN XIĀ RÉN Scrambled Eggs on Rice SERVES TWO • cornstarch • Shaoxing cooking wine • water • chicken stock powder • 4 eggs • pinch of salt and pepper • sesame oil • scallions or frozen peas • vegetable oil (or schmaltz ) • bowl of cooked jasmine rice • chili oil (optional)
5785 אביב 55
FOOD/PROP STYLING AND PHOTOGRAPHY MARISA CURATOLO
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator