Montreal Gazette

Hatch dinner plan with Langford

-

JULIAN ARMSTRONG

The new cookbook Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs, by Toronto chef and food writer Signe Langford (Douglas & McIntyre, $22.95) comes at a good time, since eggs are now getting a clean bill of health from nutritioni­sts. The U.S. agricultur­e department’s new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020, which appeared in early January, has removed the warning that, because eggs and shellfish contain “dietary” cholestero­l, they should be eaten with caution. The authors state there’s no evidence eating these foods affects our own cholestero­l. So Langford’s book of more than 100 well-written egg recipes should have wider appeal. She tells a good story about raising your own chickens and enjoying their “freerun” eggs every season of the year. Celebrity cooks have contribute­d to the well-photograph­ed dishes, including Vancouver chef-restaurate­ur Vikram Vij, Toronto food journalist­s Christine Cushing and Laura Calder, and grilling writer Ted Reader.

EGG FOO YOUNG

Serves: 2 4 tablespoon­s vegetable oil 1 dry shallot, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ medium green bell pepper, finely diced 1 celery stalk, finely diced 2 green onions, finely sliced 1 cup fresh bean sprouts, washed, dried 10 medium-large shrimp, peeled, deveined 4 free-run eggs Sauce: ¾ cup chicken stock 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon oyster sauce 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar 1 tablespoon mirin or Chinese rice wine 1 teaspoon coconut sugar or granulated sugar 2 teaspoon cornstarch Heat 2 tablespoon­s of the oil in a medium frying pan over high heat. Fry shallot, garlic, green pepper, celery and most of the green onions (reserving about 2 tablespoon­fuls), stirring, for one to two minutes, until just softened. Add bean sprouts and continue frying another minute.

Add shrimps and fry just until pink and opaque. Transfer shrimp mixture to a plate and let cool.

Sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the chicken stock, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sugar and cornstarch, blending well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs with a fork until well beaten and stir in the cooled shrimp mixture. Heat remaining 2 tablespoon­s oil in the medium frying pan over mediumhigh heat and pour in the egg mixture. Fry for about two minutes or until edges begin to turn golden.

Either flip or turn the egg mixture and cook the other side, or place pan under a preheated broiler until top is set. Transfer to a platter and pour sauce mixture into the pan. Turn heat up to high and stir constantly to thicken sauce, from three to five minutes.

Trim egg foo young with the remaining green onions and serve with the sauce on the side. A finely minced hot chili is another optional trim.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada