Appetizers, Seafood

Sriracha Eggs in Purgatory with Sardines

Has anyone else ever had canned sardines in tomato sauce? Growing up in a Vietnamese household, I was more than well aware that our family ate things most American kids never even heard of, let alone dare to taste. Such was the case with sardines in tomato sauce. There was always reliably a can around my house to provide a last minute meal; my mom would toss in some sliced onions and fresh herbs to amp up the flavor and my brother and I would generously spread the tomato drenched fishies atop warm slices of French bread. As per usual, we’d dig in with wide eyes and empty stomachs and never tell a soul for fear of being ridiculed by the white kids. I had always assumed my mom got the goodies an the Asian grocery store until literally about a month ago when I was craving some sardines and lamenting to my mom how my local Asian grocery store didn’t carry it. It turns out, she’d been buying them at the regular American grocery store all these years! Which brings me to my original question – has anyone ever had sardines in tomato sauce? If so, why aren’t we talking about it?! Why have I been left in the dark all these years thinking we were the only people who ate it probably out of happenstance (my dad had a hilarious habit of buying the wrong groceries all the time)?

Well never fear, I’m here to ensure everyone has at least heard of sardines and tomato sauce and has the opportunity to experience its awesomeness. My ace in the whole? Putting some eggs on it. It might be a cheap ploy, but don’t tell me you’ve ever become disinterested in a dish after hearing it has a delicious, runny egg on it. I realized that by throwing eggs into the mix, I ended up crafting up another underrated tomato dish – eggs in purgatory. A brunchtime favorite, this dish features eggs baked in simmering tomato sauce served on crispy bread. As you can see, not a far leap from my beloved sardines in tomato sauce atop toast.

I started by sauteing onions and garlic in olive oil in a large cast iron pan and adding in my canned sardines and tomato sauce. Depending on the can you get, you will most likely need add some additional tomato sauce to your sardines, at least enough to create a nice tomato bath for your eggs. I also like to add in some Thai basil for freshness and Sriracha for some heat (does this make it eggs in hell?). Instead of baking the eggs as with traditional eggs in purgatory, I prefer to let them simmer on the stovetop (covered of course, as bubbling tomato sauce can make quite a mess) so I can more closely monitor the doneness of the eggs. For me, nothing hits the spot like a perfectly medium egg. Once your eggs have cooked to your ideal consistency, you’re ready to dig in with a warm baguette. Trust me, it’ll be your new guilty pleasure that you’ve never even heard of.

Look at that amazing, gooey egg!
Look at that amazing, gooey egg!

Eggs in Purgatory 087

Sriracha Eggs in Purgatory with Sardines

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup Sriracha
  • 1/2 cup Thai basil chopped plus extra for garnish
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 15 oz can sardines in tomato sauce
  • 3-5 eggs
  • 1 large baguette

Instructions
 

  • In a large skillet or cast iron pan, heat olive oil. Saute sliced onions and minced garlic until garlic becomes golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Add in tomato sauce, Sriracha, chopped Thai basil, soy sauce, sugar, and black pepper. Stir ingredients in evenly and carefully add in canned sardines. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently to ensure sardines do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
  • Reduce heat and slowly crack eggs over simmering tomato mixture. Cover with a lid and allow eggs to simmer until egg whites are cooked and egg yolks have reached your desired consistency, at least an additional 10-15 minutes.
  • While eggs are simmering, warm baguette in oven at 250 degrees.
  • Once eggs are finished cooking, garnish with additional chopped Thai basil and serve with warm baguette.
  • Share
Chicken, Soups

Chicken Noodle Miso Soup (for the soul)

I wish I had a better excuse for my most recent hiatus, but to be frank, I simply gave up for a bit. It’s like going to the gym; you miss one day of working out and magically every day thereafter not only do you continue skip the gym, but you also find it in yourself to eat an entire frozen pizza for breakfast (in my defense, it was thin crust). For a few weeks, I felt like a guppy, realizing that my plans on becoming an orca were probably not coming true and questioning if I was even swimming in the right pond. Perhaps it was my upcoming birthday that made me feel like everything I’ve ever wanted to achieve should have been accomplished by now. Funny how birthdays after 21 can cause existential crises via cliche ocean metaphors.

Amid my twentysomething’s sea of self doubt and perpetual reluctance to get out of my PJs, I headed to the kitchen where I knew I could find some form of comfort. In times of heartbreak and ennui, I find nothing more remedying than a big bowl of soup and a hot cup of tea. With some Earl Grey, lemon and honey in hand, I crafted up a hearty miso soup to fill my stomach and added in some chicken and egg noodles to sooth my soul. As I was slurping away under my favorite blanket (sorry Jay I know you hate it when I eat in bed!) I realized that even on my darkest days, I can reliably find solace in my cooking and even more happiness through writing and sharing my kitchen adventures with the world. It suddenly felt so obviously silly that I was on the brink of giving up my short lived blogging career to find a more meaningful job when in fact stepping away from something I care so deeply about was probably why I was in an emotional slump in the first place! Perhaps I’ll never become the next Mark Zuckerberg and I’ll probably never be able to afford my own private island, but I do have a sincere passion for food and writing that I always plan on making time for and that’s certainly something to be thankful for.

In the mean time, give this Chicken Noodle Miso Soup for the Soul a try. I can’t guarantee an aha moment, but I can promise you will be warm. Very, very warm.

Tofu Fries and Chicken Noodle Miso Soup 070

Tofu Fries and Chicken Noodle Miso Soup 051

Chicken Noodle Miso Soup

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 10 cups water
  • 1 sheet dried seaweed or dashi kombu
  • 2 cups dried shitake mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup miso paste
  • 1/4 cup hondashi granules
  • 1 lb egg noodles
  • 4 chicken breasts sliced into 1/2 inch strips
  • 2 cups firm tofu cubed
  • 1 cup carrots chopped
  • green onions thinly sliced, for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Bring water, dried seaweed and dried mushrooms to a boil.
  • While miso soup base is coming to a boil, slice chicken breasts into 1/2 inch slices, chop tofu into small cubes, and chop carrots.
  • After soup base has boiled, add in miso paste, hondashi, egg noodles, sliced chicken, chopped tofu and chopped carrots. Make sure miso paste and hondashi dissolve in soup evenly. Boil for an additional 5 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
  • Remove from heat and garnish with chopped green onions.
  • Share
Appetizers

Baked Noodle Bird Nests with Quail Eggs

Whenever my family has a celebration of any magnitude, it will reliably be held at a fancy Chinese restaurant. My parents and all of my aunts and uncles got married at the same banquet hall in Chinatown and every birthday, anniversary, going away party, boyfriend meeting has taken place at our favorite local dim sum place. There are certain high end dishes that often make an appearance at these fancy Chinese banquets, including ourfamily favorite the seafood birdnest. The birdnest, an edible, deep fried latticework of noodles or taro, holds a decadent stirfry of fresh veggies and fancy seafood.

While adulthood and many trips to an Asian grocery store have taught me that not everything translates perfectly from Chinese to English, it always did bother me that there was nothing birdlike about the birdnest. Living alone, I also hate that this dish is more of a family sized meal and the crispy noodles don’t make the best leftovers. I decided to address both these qualms by creating mini noodle birdnests using muffin tins and featuring some soft boiled quail eggs instead. Not only are these baked bite sized noodle birdnests simple and healthy, but they’re great appetizers for a dinner party. Try them with different toppings and fillings!

filling noodle cups


Bird Nest 011

Bird Nest 040

Baked Noodle Bird Nests with Quail Eggs

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 nonstick muffin tins
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil or cooking spray
  • 1 12 oz package of thin wonton noodles
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 dozen quail eggs
  • 1 bowl ice water
  • green onions chopped, for garnish
  • sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Boil noodles and 1 tsp salt until noodles are soft, about 10 minutes. Strain and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat the inside of one muffin pan and the bottom of the other muffin pan with vegetable oil.
  • Fill each muffin cup of the muffin tin greased on the inside with boiled noodles past the rim.
  • Place the muffin tin with greased bottoms over the muffin tins with noodles and press down as firmly as possible. You should be able to see the noodles overflowing over the cups from the sides.
  • Place both muffin tins in tact in the oven and bake for 60 minutes or until noodles are completely crispy. After noodle cups are finished baking, carefully remove them from the muffin tins. If you've thoroughly greased both pans, tapping the tins with a spoon should do the trick.
  • Bring water to a boil and soft boil quail eggs for 2 minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and place into an ice bath. Peel eggs and place 3 in each baked noodle cup. Garnish with chopped green onions and sesame seeds.
 
  • Share
Desserts

Asian Pear and Ginger Galette

Those who know me well know that I love doing things myself. I’ve never gotten my hair done, hired movers and painters or taken an article of clothing to a tailor. I would much rather bake a fresh loaf of bread from scratch (mostly for the smells) than pick out a pre-packaged, processed loaf from the supermarket. That being said, I certainly appreciate when taking the scenic route ends up being surprisingly easy. Enter the galette. This freeform French tart uses all the delicate flavors of typical French desserts without any of the fuss. No need for perfectly shaped dough or complicated fruit arrangements or countless hours combing through painfully technical steps. Think of it as the Easy Mac of fruity desserts – at the end of the day, it’s still damn delicious.

I started with some leftover pre-made pie crust and added in some sliced Asian pears and ginger. I personally prefer using Asian pears over regular Bartlett or Bosc pears for desserts because they are naturally sweeter and less gritty, resulting in an exquisite melt in your mouth texture once cooked. The ginger adds a warming kick, perfect for a chilly autumn afternoon. And the best part of all – it took me less than a minute to fold in the crust. The freestyle crust gives the galette a rustic feel without the painstaking effort, which of course is perfect for a hipster millennial like me. Half an hour later, my apartment is perfumed with sweetness and my stomach is filled with delight.

How to fold galette

Asian Pear and Ginger Galette 1

Asian Pear and Ginger Galette 2

Asian Pear and Ginger Galette

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 premade 8 inch refrigerated pie crust
  • 1 Asian pear
  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger minced
  • 3 tbsp butter melted
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg whisked

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Use a rolling pin to flatten pre-made pie crust into a large circle, about 8-10 inches in diameter. Set aside.
  • Remove core and seeds from Asian pear and slice into thin half-circle slices.
  • In a bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Add in sliced pears and minced ginger to butter mixture.
  • Place coated pears into center of pie crust, leaving a 2 inch edge of crust.
  • Fold in crust edges. Brush entire galette with whisked egg wash.
  • Bake for 30 minutes.

Notes

Use a cheese grater or a vegetable zester to finely mince ginger.
Feel free to make a design with the pears or just dump the whole mixture in the center. Either way, it will still turn out beautiful and delicious!
 
  • Share