Asian Style Eggs in a Cup
HERE’S TO HATCHING A NEW YEAR!
Oh, hi there! Long time no see 🙂 Fine, I was taking a long break. Please don’t make me feel any more guilty. It’s a new year. “Oh, Happy New Year guys!”
Let’s get to it, shall we?
You know, the second I was born, I was hungry. I love food and fortunately, I can eat ANYTHING! And I sure exercise that power. Growing up I wasn’t really a ‘dream’ child for any parent, or an inspiring little girl with big dreams for others. I never won any awards, unlike my awesome and naturally competitive brother and sister, whom I am so proud of and loving to pieces. But, I sure won an eating contest! No trophy, since eating heaps of shrimp crackers was considered a reward already. Imagine that…
Eric – my PIE used to say, “Dude, you eat like a dude. I love that about you,” some twenty years ago. Yep, romantic, right? Nothing compares to being called dude by your boyfriend.
Well, throughout the years things have mildly changed. I for one cannot eat like a trucker, I mean a ‘dude’ anymore. And two, I unfortunately started to have violent reactions to some beloved grub. And three, I am most possibly becoming one of those people who are considered “high maintenance” to have over. Ugh… that last point… I was dragging that vision, for… ever! I don’t want to be somebody’s guest who brings their own container and says, “Uh, sorry. I can’t eat that,” to something they make / serve / slave on for hours (or may be days.)
However, this new year, I have to – for pete’s sake (well… for my sake) – be okay with my inability to consume ingredients that induce inflammation in my body. Having said that friends, the focus of this blog will slightly change. We’re going to not only make flavorful meals, but we’re going to make flavorful+clean+healthy+happy body & mind dishes! I would like us to find this site to be a home where our body is nourished and our soul is nurtured. If you’re looking for extreme, super-specific health oriented recipes, this isn’t it. If you’re searching for magical recipes to lose tons of weight, you’re in a wrong place. Or if you’re looking for super easy, semi-homemade, full of unknown ingredients, then this is really not your ‘home.’
So, let’s reboot. Not just for the new year, but for better years ahead. Are you game?
First on my mind is breakfast. Who has time to ‘cook’ breakfast, right? Stop it. Reboot. You can do this. Baby steps. It’s the weekend, so do you really have any excuse not to make breakfast? 🙂
This is one of those anti-inflammatory dishes (I’m going to start abbreviating it, heads up! … The word for it is “AID.”) Asian Style Eggs in a Cup: EASY, check. SATISFYING, check check. FLAVOR EXPLOSION, heck yeah! (I thought it’s kind of over the top to say ‘check’ 3 times.) One of the many reasons why I love Asian cooking is the fact that a lot of its ingredients are layered to bring out their best potential, a.k.a Full-blown Flavor! Garlic and ginger intermingle with shallots, crushed red pepper flakes anchored in a bed of greens, giving an oomph to the otherwise mundane taste of egg.
It’s the weekend you guys. Claim back the liberty of sleeping in and chilling out, spending some quality time with those you love, starting with this guiltless breakfast (or lunch, if you slept in.) What a concept!
- 1 tablespoon grape seed oil, divided, plus more to greasing cups
- 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons shallots, finely diced
- a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 cups baby spinach, washed and tightly packed
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce (I use Red Boat)
- 4 eggs
- Sea salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, to garnish (*optional)
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Into a sauté pan add ½ tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic, cook until fragrant and be careful not to burn. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Place the pan back on the stove, and over medium high heat, add the remaining oil, sauté shallots and pepper flakes until shallots appear a little more translucent. Add spinach and fish sauce. Cook until spinach is wilted and tender, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat.
- Into a lightly greased cup, spoon in ¼ of the spinach mixture. Add ginger garlic mixture on top. Crack an egg and lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
