Thursday, January 13, 2011

Compensating for something

I had a lunch today that was bigger, greasier, and more expensive than I meant it to be.


Okay, not that bad (although thanks to This is Why You're Fat for the photo). But still. That, plus the fact that I had a Hepatitis Project session today and have meetings from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow, after which I'm immediately leaving for dinner at a friend's house on the Upper West Side at 6, spurred me to repent my culinary sins with a light, extremely quick dinner: Japanese egg crepes, or usuyaki tamago.

These are, as the name implies, very thin egg pancakes. The ingredients? Eggs, soy sauce, and a pinch of sugar. I made sushi rice and used the crepes to make little Japanese burritos of sushi rice, the last of my long-lasting frozen package of edamame, julienned carrots and green pepper, cilantro, and shredded lettuce. They disappeared too quickly for me to photograph them, but the rapidity and ease of making them, coupled with their versatility and healthfulness, means that I might have to give myself the opportunity to do so again in the near future.

Usuyaki tamago
2 eggs
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar (I omitted this because sushi rice is slightly sweet)
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp water
vegetable oil for cooking

Make a slurry of the water and cornstarch, and beat it and all the other ingredients except for the vegetable oil together. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer if you're worried about lumps. Brush a nonstick skillet with a thin layer of oil. Heat it over medium heat, then turn the heat down to low (or medium-low, depending on your stove). Pour about a quarter of the batter in. Swirl it around to coat the pan with batter, then let it cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Carefully, carefully loosen the edges and flip the crepe over to cook for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat, re-oiling the pan if necessary. The recipe should make 3 or 4 crepes that can be used to wrap tasty things like sushi rice and vegetables. Omit the cornstarch slurry (it's just a stabilizer for crepes being used as wraps) and slice the crepes thinly to make literal egg noodles.

1 comment: