on a whim
03.18.2010 As Spring quickly approaches, I’m finding that the evening meal has become a very relaxed affair. With daylight extending itself to an hour that allows for chatting with a glass of wine on the back deck after work, thoughts of dinner don’t start to cross the mind until the sun dips behind the trees and the temperature drops to a point that requires either a move inside or the addition of a lightweight sweater. It is only then that we notice the clock (and our bellies!) telling us that it is past 7pm, and time to pull something together in the kitchen.
I haven’t been planning our meals very far in advance, something that is unusual to my character. Typically our weekly menu is fully laid out by Saturday afternoon, neatly written in bright-white across our pantry doors coated with black chalkboard paint. I consider the menu carefully before finalizing my grocery list, receiving feedback from Brian and swapping days according to the longevity of ingredients to be purchased. The planned meals may vary slightly after Sunday’s trip to the store, when I discover that there are perfect golden beets that I hadn’t counted on calling my name, or that red cabbage has been particularly popular lately, and therefore its typical spot in the produce department is empty save for one sad, wilted purple leaf.
Lately our trips to the grocery have been more rushed than usual, the product of two very busy schedules finding only slivers of overlap in which to make the drive to and wander the aisles of the market. Oftentimes we wind up stopping in on our way to or from other errands, on days not typically designated as ‘grocery days’, leaving me standing in the middle of the produce department, overwhelmed and without a list. And so we rely on stand-by ingredients, items we purchase most weeks religiously, and add in whatever else looks or sounds good at that moment. I quickly assemble meals in my head, substituting ingredients in and out of pastas and soups, making sure that we’ll be able to use whatever we purchase and not be left with a bag full of yellow brussels sprouts at the end of the week. It still happens occasionally, but at least I try.
Which brings me back to the weeknight, post-7pm. Brian and I stand in our kitchen, him ravenous and me a little chilly, peering into the pantry and refrigerator, pulling out ingredients to assemble a spontaneous meal together. Our preferences are changing with the season, moving from heavy and hearty to light and bright. 'Quick' is a new requirement now that we’re getting started on preparation later in the evening, and 'warm' still plays a role for me after having been outside, barefoot and sweater-less, after the sun has set. The results have been fantastic; pasta tossed with leftover chicken, local ham and a light parmesan broth; a mélange of roasted chickpeas, potatoes and brussels sprouts; an on-a-whim creamy soup of potatoes, parsnips and asparagus.
The best part has been creating these recipes, together, according to our own at-that-moment preferences rather than the recommendations of a book, magazine or blog. It is easy, when I have a plan, to lose myself in the kitchen to the preparation of dinner, excusing Brian to take care of one of the many items on his ever-growing ‘to do’ list. But when there is no plan, and the task is to create quickly, we come at it from both sides, each tossing in our own suggestions to make a dish that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
I’ll admit that this egg drop soup is a recipe that has been in our repertoire for years, but it is so simple and satisfying, and we nearly always have its ingredients in our kitchen, that it is perfect for a spontaneous lunch or dinner. It is not enough on its own, which lead to the creation of the vegetable fried rice variation below, on a whim.
Egg Drop Soup
serves 2Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth, divided
- chunk of fresh ginger root, 1/4-inch thick by 1-inch diameter
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh scallions
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
Method
- Reserve 3/4 cup of the broth, and pour the rest into a large saucepan. Add the salt, ginger and scallions, and bring to a rolling boil.
- In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining broth and the cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together using a fork. Drizzle the egg a little at a time from the fork into the boiling broth mixture. The egg should cook immediately.
- Once all of the egg has been dropped, stir in the cornstarch mixture gradually until the soup is the desired consistency.
This dish was nearly spontaneous, the only forethought being that I made extra brown rice a few days prior, so that it would be ready and waiting in the fridge for some version of fried rice that had yet to be determined. It just so happened that the night we decided to make egg drop soup was also the night that the leeks were starting to look a little haggard, and I wanted to use the brussels sprouts before they reached that same state. Thus, a new star was born.
Fried Rice with Leeks and Brussels Sprouts
serves 6Ingredients
- 2 tbsp peanut oil, divided
- 2 medium leeks, sliced thinly
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, ragged outer leaves removed, sliced thinly (a food processor is a wonderful tool for this task)
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 cups steamed brown rice, cold (ideally, leftover from the night before)
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced leeks and brussels sprouts, and saute' until tender and bright green, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Wipe skillet clean, then heat over high heat, until a drop of water vaporizes upon impact. Add the remaining 1 tbsp peanut oil, swirling to coat pan evenly, and heat until just starting to smoke. Add eggs, tilting pan and swirling eggs to form a thin, even layer, and cook for 30 seconds. Add rice and stir-fry, breaking up eggs and letting rice rest several seconds between stirs, until rice is hot, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the brussels sprouts and leeks, stir-frying to combine and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Reader Comments (21)
I first tried homemade fried rice last week, in my new wok — my favorite step was swirling the eggs in the hot pan. Your vegetable-laden version sounds like a step up from the simple scallions-only recipe I made.
Kudos on being spontaneous with weeknight meals! That's a skill I'm trying to obtain, but I've found that it comes slowly as you gain more and more experience in the kitchen.
Nice cooking on a whim! I played around with fried rice one night when I had some leftovers. Now I make extra rice everytime :)
I'm definitely going to do this soup, it looks really lovely. Gorgeous photos! I'm really enjoying the extra hours of daylight here in Ireland too, such a lovely fresh time of year.
I've never tried making egg drop soup at home, but now I want to! I've got some homemade stock in the freezer that would be perfect. Thanks for the inspiration.
I feel spoiled by this post as it boasts a few of my faves. Can't wait to tackle these recipes!
These both look so simple and satisfying. And I love the idea of whizzing up the brussel sprouts and adding them to fried rice! It's always good to have new ways to eat brussel sprouts :)
That egg drop soup looks amazing!
I've yet to make egg drop soup. Your soup looks so delicious, as well as the fried rice. Wow.
Egg drop soup reminds me of my Mom at the stove, making a similar big pot on foggy winters in San Francisco. She used to put peas in her soup, too. The yellow of the egg with the green of the peas was a reminder that spring was near. ;)
I love that spoon! I like that you added brussel sprouts to the fried rice.
This soup looks wonderful. I never realized egg drop soup is so easy. I have everything to make it, so I'm gonna try it...
Your egg drop soup looks perfect, with the fried rice.
Egg drop soup is such a soothing soup. It's my go to soup on a cold rainy day. It looks great!
What a perfect dinner of Chinese food!
Do you know that I've never made egg drop soup? No, scratch that. That I've never even considered making egg drop soup? Thanks to you, that's about to change. Thanks, Andrea!
Your photos are really gorgeous! and egg drop soup looks great!! And I'm wondering where did you get that little, cute soup bowl. It is perfect for egg drop soup :)
I am such a huge egg drop soup fan, but I've never even thought of making it at home. You've inspired me!
Thanks everybody! I hope you'll all let me know how you like the soup! :)
Katie - I got toe bowl on Etsy, from a vintage store. Do a search for 'tulip' bowls or 'lotus' bowls on Etsy and Ebay, and you'll find one. :)
Nice looking egg drop soup! I really like the texture that eggs add to a soup like this.
This looks soooo yummy! What a talent you have for cooking. Wish dinner at my house was this tasty!!
I absolutely LOVE egg drop soup. I have never even tried to make it myself. Yours looks delicious. I am wondering what do you do with that piece of ginger that was listed as one of the ingrediants???? Do you just drop it in the soup???? Do you chop it up?? I am not sure about that??? Can ground ginger be used instead of the whole ginger??? Thanks in advance for your reply::)