Daikon Omelette, Fried Egg with Daikon
Have a vision in mind - just how strategic management preaches. I started with that, knowing that I will be just half way there since I hardly use any type of flour at home. Without flour, making Fried Carrot Cake (Chai Tow Kueh) is impossible. But my friend made something similar for me at her home the other day which I thought - good gracious, it tasted like Fried Carrot Cake (sorry, no picture)! She sliced fresh daikon, added some green onions and fried them like an omelette! Of course, the texture is no way near to Chai Tow Kueh - as the use of flour in Chai Tow Kueh gives its pillowy yet firm texture. But really, the taste is near...the vision.
Then I made mine...
How strange is that when I tried to make the same dish my friend made for me, my dish turn out very differently from hers and tasted like another classic. What I have done differently was how fine I grated/sliced my daikon. I sliced it to finer strips, thinking: hey, I may make it more like Chai Tow Kueh (how naive!) but NO! It does not work this way. But I am happy. Errr....but wait? What makes me happy?
My "omelette" tasted like Fried Egg with Preserved Turnip/Salty Radish (Chai Po Omelette). Now, this is not preserved in any way (which is good for me since I don't buy any preserved food at home.) and I have Chai Po Omelette by using fresh daikon. How good does this get? Woo hoo.....very good!
So to my friends and you all, who does not have any idea how the Teochew-famed Fried Egg with Preserved Turnip/Salty Radish (Chai Po Omelette) taste - here is your chance. Get some fresh daikon, green onions, eggs, salt and you are on your way...to taste this Asian classic.
Fresh Daikon Omelette
Ingredients: 1/3 of a medium-size daikon, peeled, then finely grated or thinly sliced (refer to photo for size); 1 green onion, finely diced; 1 egg, lightly whisked; salt and white pepper.
Directions: Add some oil to the pan and when oil is heated, add in green onions and daikon and fry briskly. Allow the daikon to cook (about 5-8 mins) in the pan, moving them around in the pan, to prevent strips from sticking together. Add about 2 pinch of salt and dash of white pepper to the daikon and fry well in the pan. When daikon strips start browning in the pan, add in the whisked egg evenly around the pan, to form a round omelette shape. (Note: If you have a non-stick pan, it is easier to get a perfect round omelette shape without much control of the heat. If you are using a stainless-steel wok like me, it is ok, just don't move the omelette so much and make sure the heat of the pan is maintained at medium, NOT low). Wait till the underside of the egg is slightly browned, then flip the egg over, or break the omelette into several big pieces in the pan to get the other sides get cooked evenly and thoroughly)
This also goes to My Meatless Mondays
Tag: daikon, turnip, radish, egg
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