韭菜蛋 (Jiu Cai Dan)

Garlic chives are a vegetable commonly found in East Asian markets. [1] When compared to their onion and garlic cousins, garlic chives have a more subtle flavor, especially when cooked. Garlic chives pair well with eggs, and this omelet is a simple, homestyle preparation of these two ingredients.

Ingredients

4 eggs
4 oz garlic chives
1 tsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Chop the garlic chives into ¼ inch pieces, discarding the tough stem end. Crack four eggs into a bowl, and add to the eggs the chopped garlic chives and salt to taste. Heat about a teaspoon of vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. While the oil is heating, beat the eggs and chives together until the mixture is uniform.

When the oil comes up to temperature, pour the egg mixture into the pan. Swirl the skillet if necessary to distribute the egg evenly across the skillet’s surface. We are looking for a final thickness of about ¼ inch, so if you have a smaller skillet or pan, consider cooking in batches. Unlike French-style omelets, which are soft and custardy all the way through, East Asian omelets tend to be crisp on the outside. However, we still want the center of the omelet to be tender. To accomplish this we are going with a relatively high heat, fast method, allowing us to brown the exterior without overcooking the center of the omelet.

Cook the omelet for about 3 minutes without moving or flipping it, until the egg has mostly set and the bottom side is browned and crisp. Flip the omelet over, and cook the second side for about 2 minutes. If you aren’t confident about flipping the entire omelet at once, you can break it up with a spatula and flip the pieces individually.

Remove from the heat and cut the omelet into wedges. Serve with chili sauce if desired, and consume with rice or congee.

Substitutions

For a more savory flavor, you can substitute the salt for some soy sauce. If you prefer a softer texture, you can prepare these eggs in the style of scrambled eggs, forming soft curds instead of a crisp omelet.

[1] Garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) are sometimes referred to as Chinese chives or Chinese leek. They are native to southwest China, and are considered an invasive weed in some other parts of the world.

Recipe

Prep Time: 2 min Cook Time: 5 min Total Time: 7 min

Difficulty: 1/5

Heat Sources: 1 burner

Equipment: nonstick skillet

Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 eggs
4 oz garlic chives
1 tsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Chop garlic chives into ¼ inch pieces. In a bowl, beat the eggs together with the garlic chives and salt.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, pour the egg mixture into the skillet. Swirl the skillet so that the egg forms an even layer.

3. Fry for about 3 minutes, until the egg is browned and set. Flip the omelet and cook the other side for 2 minutes.

4. Cut into wedges and serve.