From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a reprise of a post that I first featured in 2010. It highlighted one of my favorite recipes, and because it makes a fabulous meal for two, I wanted to include it in my Table for Two recipe collection. The recipe is a Mark Bittman creation and it really is delicious. Here is what I originally had to say about the omelet.
Over the years, I've tried at least a thousand recipes and, of that number, only a hundred or so have survived and regularly appear on my table. This homely and unlikely candidate is one of them. The dish comes from Southern China and has several virtues to commend it. It has wonderful flavor and a play of textures that will appeal to almost any palate. It is also easy to prepare. It uses no exotic ingredients and its beautiful play of pink on yellow can be table ready in about 30 minutes. The two primary ingredients are eggs and shrimp. The Chinese rub the shrimp with a paste of cornstarch and salt to whiten them. If you are in a hurry this step can be omitted. The eggs are flavored with a very small amount of sesame oil. The trick to this dish is in the way it is cooked. In China the omelet is cooked in lard. We'll fore go that and use canola or peanut oil to cook ours, but you'll need a cup or so of oil. Don't stint on that measure. The shrimp are quickly fried in the oil and then drained. Because they have no coating to absorb the oil, you'll find that almost all the oil remains in the pan after cooking. The shrimp will subtly flavor the oil and add a unique taste to the finished eggs. Omelets made in this fashion are easy to assemble because they are not rolled and require no special techniques to get them from the pan to the table. The eggs are gently cooked in a bit of the flavored oil and as they begin to set the shrimp are added to the pan. The only caution is to make sure you can serve these while they are still hot. This is a lovely, light dish that is perfect for those who are trying to cut back on the amount of meat they consume. Here's the recipe for this treasure.
