Sunday, February 28, 2010

top chef experiment: take eight (soft scrambled egg with shitake and oyster sauce)

I've been wanting to try this recipe since I saw Anita Lo make it on Top Chef Masters.

Top Chef Masters is, by the way, relatively new to me because I, as a Canadian, am treated to second rate television programming and am forced to wait patiently for my Bravo produced food porn until it is picked up by the Canadian Food Network.

Yes, I realize I could just watch it online. I get some sick pleasure from making myself wait.

So yeah, I watched Anita make this dish - with one hand tied behind her back - and it just seemed so beautiful and simple and elegant. Many of the Masters' dishes have intimidated me but this one just called out to me to try.

...I also tried out Art Smith's fried chicken this week - I'd say it went over pretty well since I had none left to photograph. It even won my dad over!

But back to Anita's egg dish. It was definitely the most simple of all the Top Chef dishes I've attempted thus far and it is definitely one of the tastiest. The slight Asian flavour of the oyster sauce is beautiful in the creamy eggs and the meaty shitakes are a wonderful contrast.
 
A plating explanation: 
I tried to plate the dish the same way Chef Lo did. The problem? Chefs have these fancy tools that seem to just cleanly pop the tops off the eggs and leave you with a nice clean edge and a lovely little egg bowl for you dish. 

I had only a sharp knife a tiny bit of patience. This is what I ended up with - the ghetto egg cup. 

......damn, maybe I should have just tried to play it off like I was going for a rustic plating?

I heartily suggest everyone give these eggs a try. Delicious and simple.

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Shitake and Oyster Sauce
adapted from recipe by Anita Lo found on Bravotv.com

4 eggs (tops removed and bottoms saved if you want to be ghetto-fancy)
1/3 cup heavy cream
*1 tbsp chives chopped
1 tbsp oyster sauce
s&p
3 tbsp butter
4 shitake caps very finely diced

*I couldn't find chives so I used the green parts of scallions.

Whisk together eggs, cream, chives, oyster sauce.
Taste and season with s&p.
In saute pan melt 3 tbsp. butter over high heat.
Add shitakes to butter.
Season with s&p.
Remove from heat.
Add eggs to pan with mushrooms.
Over low heat whisk egg mixture slowly to form curds.
Stop when eggs are still soft and creamy.
Garnish with chopped chives.


5 comments:

PJ said...

It's kinda precious, but those tiny scissors that often come in grooming kits actually work well for snipping eggshells cleanly

Tasty Trix said...

Ah, I remember that dish - it was really cool, you're right - now I want to try it. And when in doubt, just call something rustic - it always works. Not to make you jealous, but there's a Top Chef Masters starting in April ... but hey, there has to be some consolation for my crappy expensive American health insurance, now doesn't there?

Jeannie said...

Hmmm...abit unusual on the presentation but pretty unique, save on washing up too, just eat and throw away the shell:D

Sook said...

What a beautiful presentation!

Heiko said...

Me too, love the presentation! You just have to wait for the TV programs to come around, I have to beg friends coming over from the UK to bring me the more exotic ingredients like Shiitake mushrooms. Italian food is great, but try and make something a bit different and you'll never find the ingredients!

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