Dazed and confused? Not me. I’m just Lost in the Cheese Aisle.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

THE INTERNATIONAL BREAKFAST TABLE

Not that I don’t enjoy a plain old bowl of cereal now and then, but this morning’s breakfast had a sort of international flavor.

The Missus fixed herself some scrambled eggs. That, in itself, is remarkable, as She Who Must Be Obeyed has never been a big fan of the egg. As a well-hidden ingredient in a dish, no problem; but right out there in your face, saying, “Hello there! I’m an egg! Right out of the chicken’s ass!” not so much. But she has learned to appreciate the joys of egg whites, whether scrambled or in the form of an omelette. Today she scrambled them with some Monterey Jack cheese for a tasty, nutritionally balanced American-style breakfast.

Along with the Mistress of Sarcasm, I took the Eastern route... all the way to the Land of the Rising Sun. Nihon-no tamago - scrambled eggs, Japanese-style - are easy enough to make. You beat a few eggs (I used a couple of whole eggs and a couple of egg whites) with a tablespoon of shiro dashi, fold in a handful of hanakatsuo (shaved, dried bonito flakes, the inspiration for the title of John Lennon’s Shaved Fish album), toss ’em into a hot pan with a little oil, and scramble away.

Nihon-no Tamago
Nihon-no tamago: Scrambled eggs, Japanese style.

By way of decoration (and seasoning), I sprinkled a little aonori - powdered seaweed - on the finished product, along with some nanami togarashi, a piquant concoction of chili pepper, orange peel, black sesame seed, white sesame seed, Japanese pepper, ginger, and seaweed.

Meanwhile, Elder Daughter built herself a Mediterranean breakfast, an uncomplicated bowl of Greek yogurt, sliced fresh figs, and honey. I would’ve envied her, but I was enjoying my nihon-no tamago way too much.

Breakfast: It isn’t just cornflakes any more!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOOK! a baby wolf! LOL!

LeeAnn said...

Okay, I had a very good comment about furikake and how it just makes everything better... but the comment before this one has me totally brainscrambled. Is it an omen? A message from beyond? A prescient visitation?
Still, let's stick to the facts: Those look like some extremely yum eggs.

Elisson said...

@LeeAnn - That wasn't you? Weird...

Ahh, grasshopper! You walk in the way of the Gourmet.

Most amerika-jin are unfamiliar with furikake, the dry seasoning mixture that Japanese sprinkle on rice. (Maybe they think it sounds too much like a certain sexual practice... I dunno.)

But I keep a shaker jar of it handy. Perfect for kicking rice up a notch, to use an unfortunate Emerilism. I suppose I could've put some on those eggs, but furikake is supposed to go with rice, not eggs.

Perhaps, if you make it to the Hysterics at Eric's this year, we should bring some Japanese condiments and go wild.