FoodMayhem

Finally! We moved, but it’s not all smooth sailing yet. We’re living out of boxes and we don’t have a kitchen yet. While our perfect kitchen is being built (which we will be talking about soon), I’m going to have to get crafty. I do have many plug-in appliances (rice cooker, toaster oven, panini press, waffle maker, microwave, etc.) so we’re still going to have a ball here. I think we’re going to be pleasantly surprised with how much I (or you) can do without a kitchen. (Gulp) Determined to eat well every single day without exceptions, here goes…

I don’t often eat out alone. I don’t have anything against the practice or people who do, but I always want to try as many dishes as I can, so the more the merrier. Between a meeting and salsa class, I had to eat dinner so I reluctantly sat by myself at The Green Table 75 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10011 in Chelsea Market. My wonderful waitress found me a seat near a plug so I could do some work on my laptop. As I browsed the menu, the inevitable happened; I wanted at least 6 dishes. I started wishing, if only you were all here eating with me.

As I often do, I relied on my waitress to help narrow the field. When she started describing a burger with kimchee and bacon on it, I was immediately sold. It reminded me of the delicious pork belly and kimchee we had at San & Deul Restaurant, a memory still fresh on my palate.

The combination of kimchee and bacon hits an especially comforting spot for me, perhaps the blend of my taste buds being raised on both American and Asian food. To my relief, it’s also easily achieved. You can cook it together in almost any way you want. In my limited kitchen at the moment, I heated them together on a Forman Grill.

I was going to do a burger, but then decided that I would like it even more with some runny yolk. And there you have it: my new favorite breakfast or brunch. I’ll likely eat it for lunch and dinner too. I’m quite obsessed. The salty fat soaks into the kimchee, which adds that kick and brightens with some acid. Everything is better with a runny egg, natures rich yellow sauce. It’s complete with some fresh toasted bread to sop and carry the flavors to your mouth.

Let’s talk about the eggs, the 6 minute eggs. You may have seen it on Top Chef when Michael Voltaggio made them to showcase some farm fresh local eggs. They’re very soft boiled eggs, where the whites are delicate and just holding together. The yolks are completely running. You can also think of it as an egg poached in it’s shell to hold better shape. For a more in depth and scientific explanation, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt does a great article on Serious Eats. They are my favorite way to have eggs now and all it takes is simmering whole large eggs for 6 minutes (or extra large eggs for 7 minutes). Place them in ice water immediately to stop the cooking, and peel the shells very gingerly.

Bacon, Kimchee, and 6 Minute Eggs
~for one

• 2 large eggs
• 2 slices bacon, each sliced into half the length
• 1/3 cup kimchee
• bread to serve

Instructions –

1. Prepare an ice bath and set aside.

2. Start simmering water. Preheat George Foreman Grill or a cast iron pan on your stove.

3. Add eggs to simmering water and try to maintain at a simmer for 6 minutes (7 minutes for extra large eggs).

4. While eggs are simmering, place bacon on grill or cast iron pan. Cook for 2 minutes.

5. Add the kimchee right on top of the bacon in one layer. (With the Foreman grill, bacon grease will drip out by itself. In a cast iron pan, you will need to pour out excess oil.)

6. When the eggs are done simmering, place in ice bath immediately. Gently crack egg shells, being careful not to bang too hard. The whites are very delicate. Peel off the shells.

7. Serve the 6 minute eggs with the bacon and kimchee. Serve with choice of bread.

posted by jessica at 08:10 AM Filed under Fusion, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.