More than just salad

I got some romaine hearts that were on special at Fresh & Easy.  I wasn't thinking salad.  I wasn't thinking grilled.  I was thinking about sauteed.  I was thinking about the way my friend's husband made them.  He is Taishan and an excellent chef, which is good news for my friend because I don't think I've ever seen her cook anything that wasn't Top Ramen.  She does make a very good sou chef, gotta give her credit for that.  When I was visiting one evening, she started washing and chopping 10 minutes before he walked through the door.  After cooking at the restaurant all night long, he started throwing together a simple, yet delicious late night dinner.
The one dish that I still remember is the simplest.  Romaine hearts sauteed with fermented tofu, which tastes kinda like blue cheese made from tofu.  I was skeptical as I watched him prepare this dish.  Up to that point in my life, the only way I've seen romaine hearts prepared has been raw or lightly grilled in a salad.  Plus, fermented tofu???  Really?
He convinced me to give this homestyle dish a try and I was became a convert.   It was light and refreshing.  The fermented tofu added just the right hint of savoriness (I could go fancy and call it "umami") that highlights the seared edges of the romaine.  I am salivating whilst thinking about romaine hearts. Whowouldadunkit?

Umami Romaine Hearts
1 Romaine heart
1/4 cube fermented tofu
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Step 1: Slice the romaine heart lengthwise into 8 pieces.

Step 2: Heat wok or frying pan with 1 tbsp vegetable oil.

Step 3: Add romaine hearts and garlic to pan.  Cook until leaves are just starting to wilt, turning every now and again.

Step 3: Add fermented tofu.  Just 1/4 cube will do, this stuff is potent!

Step 3: Continue cooking until fermented tofu is melted, about 2 minutes.  De-glaze the pan with about 2 tbsp of water in the final 30 seconds if you want some sauce for that rice to soak up.

Onsen Tamago

I have always loved eggs.  In my opinion, the yums factor will almost always be raised 2 fold when topped with an egg...3 fold if the yolk is runny...4 fold if the runny yolk is a fresh, free range, golden orangish hue.  Well, you get the idea.
I have recently decided to take my egg addiction to a heightened level.  I am talking about being able to enjoy an occasional onsen tamago without trekking all the way to the hot springs of a japanese spa.  Although, if anyone wants to sponsor me for a trip...
"Onsen" means "hot spring" in Japanese, so "onsen tamago" literally translates into "hot spring egg." The temperature of the hot springs are perfect for soft poaching an egg in it's shell so that the whites are cooked and opaque, but still runny and the yolks are set, but still soft.
Since I live no where near a hot spring, my newfound obsession has been to replicate the onsen tamago method in a home kitchen.

I researched the internet and found some recipes for making onsen tamago in the rice cooker.
Cooking an egg is really a scientific endeavor.  Adjustments had to be made based on the size of the egg, temperature of the egg, the number of eggs and the elevation I live in.

• I found that large eggs are easier to work with than jumbo eggs.  
• Always use the freshest eggs possible.
• Rinsing the eggs with tap water to bring them to room temperature prior to cooking helps minimize cracking and helps the egg cook evenly.
• Cooking more than 3 eggs at a time has huge effects on the temperature and cooking time.
• And did I mention, use the freshest eggs possible?

After 2 attempts with the rice cooker method, I was finally able to crack open an egg with runny whites and a softly set yolk over some fluffy white rice drizzled with soy sauce.
I also wanted to try to achieve a runny yolk with the the runny, yet opaque whites.  That proved to be harder to do with a rice cooker.  Either my whites were undercooked or my yolks were overcooked.  The temperature of the warm setting on my rice cooker was not up for the task.
So I decided to come up with my own stove top method for cooking a runny yolk onsen tamago.  This was even more trying than experimenting with a rice cooker.  I went through 5 eggs before I finally perfected the temperature and timing.





Stove Top Onsen Tamago Method:

Stove Top Method - 23 minutes 

Bring a pot halfway with water and bring to a boil.  Take pot off heat.  Bring egg to room temperature by running it under tap water.  Place egg in a bowl small enough to fit inside the pot with the lid on.  Place the bowl inside the pot and cover.  Depending on your elevation, the timing might have to be adjusted.  I found that cracking open the egg after 23 minutes works perfectly for me.  Add about 2 minutes for every additional egg, but do not try to make more than 3 at the same time.

Runny whites and runny yolk

Rice Cooker Method:

Rice Cooker method drizzled with soy sauce afterwards - 50 minutes

Cook rice in rice cooker.  Once rice cooker switches over to the Warm setting, rinse the egg under tap water to bring to room temperature and place on top of cooked rice in rice cooker.  The yolk should just start to set after about 50 minutes, but the whites should be cooked, yet still runny.

Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta

Pasta is almost always my default ingredient when I don't know what I want to eat for dinner.  It can be a really dressed up or simply tossed with olive oil, chili pepper flakes, parsley and parm.  Sometimes I like to make an in-between effort.  I made this sun-dried alfredo pasta for a friend of mine who was visiting.  I started to make plain chicken alfredo but then spied a jar of sun-dried tomatoes.  I've used the Classico Sun-Dried Alfredo sauce before and really loved the flavor that the sun-dried tomatoes gave to the sauce.     I figured that creating a similar recipe from scratch wouldn't be too difficult. 

Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta

8 oz of your favorite pasta

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 cup broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1 tsp minced garlic

1 roma tomato, diced

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 pint heavy cream

1 tsp olive oil 

Boil a large pot of water.   Add chicken breast to water and boil until cooked.  Remove chicken from water.  Slice the chicken and set aside.  

Add pasta to the chicken water and cook according to directions on package.  In the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking, add the broccoli to the pot.  Drain, but do not rinse.  

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce.

In a large sauce pan, sautée the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil over low heat for about 1 minute.  Blend the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic with the heavy cream until smooth.  Add the cream mixture back to the pan and turn heat up to medium.  Stir frequently until sauce barely starts to simmer, about 10-15 minutes.  Turn off heat.  Add the pasta, broccoli, diced tomatoes and chicken to the sauce and stir.  Add parmesan and toss thoroughly.  Serves 3-4.

Not exactly as quick and easy as the Classico sauce, but close enough and it was yummies.