Sometimes Simple is the Best!

I'm always looking to cook simple dishes that have just two or three ingredients to make my life easier cooking stress-free in the kitchen.  Such dishes are also excellent on days when you don't feel like cooking or have an appetite for something light.

If you're tired of cooking after slaving in the kitchen over the holidays for your makan gatherings, this simple pick-me-up dish is just what you need! ;)  I actually found this through a food blog I follow which gave me a new insight as in a new way to treat this humble ingredient that I never thought of.  I'm talking about a fuss-free dish of fried eggs over rice.  It can't get any simpler than that, right?  But with a twist! ;)

How often have we cooked....and eaten fried eggs with rice?  Very often, I reckon.  Kids (and some adults alike) will welcome fried eggs with open arms when they see it at the dinner table.  Even the pickiest eaters will not refuse eggs.

The way I've prepared it have always been to just fry the eggs, either with the egg yolk still runny or totally cooked with frizzy sides, and have it with rice until I chanced upon a new twist cooked up by The Woks of Life, who happens to be a Chinese family of four (residing in US) writing a food blog of Chinese food recipes which I follow to ogle at their delicious-looking food photos and gather (food) inspiration from.  They have since come up with their cookbook last month (which I'll probably end up owning too).

This plate of food is so fast and quick to dish up that if you blink, you'll miss it.....lol! ;D  First, we fry up two eggs (or three, if you need more) and put them over a bed of hot, fluffy white rice.  You can make your eggs sunny-side up, over easy or completely cooked through...whatever rocks your boat as to how you like your eggs done! ;)

I prefer mine sunny-side up or over easy.....but over easy eggs aren't the easiest to nail as the yolks could break when you try to flip them over or get overcooked when you wait for the eggs to brown.  My attempt at over easy eggs was obviously not very successful as the yolks were cooked through. >.<  Not a problem though since my son likes his egg yolks completely cooked.

In the same pan that you fried your eggs, throw in some long strands of spring onions and let them char in the residual oil.  Once wilted and charred, drizzle in some soy sauce and pour the scallions and sauce over the egg and rice (you have to do this real fast before the soy sauce has a chance to dry up, adding a little water can help you in this regard especially if your brand of soy is on the salty side).  You can drizzle in a bit of Shaoxing wine too if you like but that's totally optional (you don't really need it if you ask me).

Now, sunny-side up eggs are a lot easier to get right...hehe!  The key to having the yolks still runny is, of course, to let it ooze out onto your rice to double up as a sauce.  You can drizzle a bit more soy on top to reinforce that savoury flavour.  Of course, mine must have a dash of (white) pepper too. ^_~

Partnering creamy eggs with softened, charred, salty spring onions (which also acts as the vegetable in this dish) is just unbelievably good! ^o^  I like to cut my spring onions in long strands to mimic picking up a long-stemmed vegetable with my chopsticks...hah..hah!

Eggs is a staple in every household...and I almost always have spring onions (or coriander) in my fridge (some even have them growing in their gardens).  Spring onions keep quite well in the fridge for at least a week to 10 days if treated right and stored properly.  I wash them and let them dry completely in a colander before cutting them into two (or shorter strands) and storing them wrapped in paper towels in an airtight container.

When you had plans to eat out, tapau or weren't planning to cook and it's suddenly raining cats and dogs outside, this quick and easy dish will come to your rescue every time.  I've had this many times over since learning about this new twist with just soy sauce and scallions.  Good (and, more importantly, simple) things are meant to be shared!  Sometimes the simplest things are the most satisfying, don't you agree? ^_~