Nomlette
I cooked! I ate! I bought some Diamond Crystal kosher salt (the dia-mond standard) and came one step closer to acknowledging that your really can’t get the heat you need from anything other than cast-iron.
This whole chapter on Temperature Management is not only egg forward, but it’s also a strong teaching chapter. I do want to cook these damn eggs again and again, trying to catch a different heat. I want to prep my station in advance: maybe a jug would be better for pouring; where should I put the salt so I can pinch it without contaminating the whole world with raw egg; could this pan or this pan or this pan work better? It is a good feeling to want to redo, without that nugget of failure. I’m not looking to make something perfect - I’m just wondering how to get there. My inner James Hoffman is peeping out with a timer and a scales and that’s pretty fun.
I’m not in a familiar kitchen, nor a familiar routine. I do have more than myself to make eggs for, so this next while will likely take advantage of that luxury. I will likely refrain on repeating recipes (unless curiosity and/or perceived ease takes over) until I have a fuller range of equipment/pantry to play with, but Imma try and use each heat portion to inform the next dish. Does the language call for shimmering again? When did I call it last time? Was that enough, or does shimmer mean something different to Sohla than it does to me? Or does shimmer mean the same, but have different outcomes on different materials?
I made the Frizzled Desi Omelet with Onion & Chilies. I used 4 medium rather than 3 large eggs1, half a medium onion rather than a quarter of a small one, and what I think was a jalepeño pepper rather than a Thai green chili, but otherwise pretty much followed the recipe to the letter of the law2. I used Sohla’s recommendation to triangulate the hard root core out of the onion and feel that nailed the achievement of a thinly sliced onion. Highly recommend said procedure - will picture it in future. In the pan, it took at least double the mentioned time (2 mins +, not 30 secs/1 min) for the top to set enough to flip, but that’s likely because of the excess of ingredients thickening the mixture (batter? liquor? Egg juice?). I also took aaaages trying to fork-whisk the eggs to the point of no whites, but there was still some globules getting caught in between the spokes after five mins, so, meh. Maybe a whisk whisk would do it? Or a bigger bowl?
I was also super wary of the onion (white, not red - God, did I even make this recipe at all?) actually tasting good being cooked in with the egg, rather than browned beforehand, but damn, it worked. The stinging onioniness was softened without enwettening the omelette (something I feared the unspun, unpatted coriander would also contribute to), and the texture was…just…omelette-y. Good work eggs!
It was really super tasty, though I’d put in less onion next time and try and get it super crispy. I feel the quantity of ingredient probs lowered the temperature and a crispy edge would elevate the whole dish. Served with last night’s leftovers and some bitchin’ Maine Miche, it was a treat lunch and a damn good recipe to prepare while FaceTimeing.
