Egg foo yong or kanitama?

Just like with fried rice, the Chinese make good use of leftover meat, seafood, and vegetables by adding them to beaten eggs and making an omelet called egg foo yong. It appears, however, that if the omelet contains crab meat, it is more of a kanitama or Japanese omelet with crab meat.

Whatever its name, this is a delicious omelet with real crab meat, not crab sticks (or kani kama), the imitation crab that one often finds in kani salad. Heat the peanut oil in a pan. Saute the garlic and shallots for about 30 seconds. Add the chopped tomato, if using, and continue cooking for another 30 seconds, stirring often. Add the crab meat. Season with salt, sugar, soy sauce, and pepper. Cook for about a minute. Add the onion leaves. Stir a few times then tip the mixture into a plate.

Pour a third of the beaten eggs into the pan (you may need to add more oil if you’re not using a non-stick pan). Sprinkle half of the crab meat mixture over the egg. Pour in another third of the beaten eggs then sprinkle the rest of the crab meat mixture. Finally, pour in the rest of the beaten eggs. Drizzle with sesame seed oil. When the eggs are almost set (should still be wet at the center), fold the omelet in half or just slide onto a plate and serve.

Wilted spinach and fried egg

There’s this spinach and tofu dish we had at Miyabi a couple of months ago that I’ve been itching to replicate at home. One time, I had spinach in the fridge but no tofu. Then, I saw a recipe for fried eggs and wilted greens in a blog that focuses on the South Beach diet and I decided to do my spinach dish with eggs instead of tofu. The result was a very tasty and filling brunch.

In a small pan, heat the soy sauce, black vinegar, and rice wine. Stir in the ginger. When the mixture starts to bubble, add the spinach. Cook over high heat, uncovered (the spinach will expel water and you want to let as much of the water evaporate) until the spinach wilts, about five minutes. Transfer the spinach and liquid into a shallow bowl, top with the fried egg, and drizzle with light soy sauce and sesame seed oil. Enjoy while hot.