Oyster Pancake

Oyster is one of my favorite seafood. If sea urchin contains the spirit of the sea, oyster contains the essence of it. Eating raw is my preferred way to enjoy this gift from mother nature. It is like the best butter slip down your throat and flavors explode everywhere it goes. You could feel the waves from the sea inside you and the sounds calling you to the food heaven. Besides eating raw, pancake is the second choice I would make to enjoy oysters, especially when fresh oysters are not accessible. I usually use tapioca flour to make the pancake but I had some leftover brioche bread yesterday (from making tuna sandwiches lol) and decided to give it a try. Here you go, my newly created brioche bread oyster pancake.

1. Objectives

   Create a new version of oyster pancake

2. Precautions

   Wear proper personal protective equipment (apron) and try not to burn the kitchen or cut the fingers

3. Materials and Equipment

   4 oz quick frozen oysters

   3 eggs (Publix #4141500466)

   4 oz brioche bread

   4 tablespoons of vegetable oil (Wesson #2700061216)

   1 red copper pan

   2 bowls

   1 plate

4. Procedures

   4.1 Thaw the frozen oysters in running water

   4.2 Stir the eggs in a bowl

   4.3 Put thawed oysters into the stirred eggs

   4.4 Put the bread into the other bowl

   4.5 Put the oyster and egg mixture onto the bread and mix all them well

   4.6 Put the vegetable oil onto the pan and heat it up

   4.7 Put the mixture into the pan and cook it until golden brown

   4.8 (Optional) add some veggies to it (I used some alfalfa sprouts this time)

   4.9 Take out the pancake to the plate

   4.10 Put your favorite sauce on the top of your pancake (ketchup is mine lol) and enjoy!

5. Notes

   5.1 Could use some salt but would not recommend since seafood already has the salty taste.

   5.2 Use a pan lid to prevent hot oil spill and cook the pancake more thoroughly.

It actually tasted good! Like a combination of french toast and oyster pancake. Would recommend it for a brunch lol

Next time!

Nopalitos con Huevos Protocol

When i was in Phoenix two years ago for a conference, my sister-like friend Sam took me to this great Mexican restaurant (Comedor Guadalajara) for a brunch. I was curious whether people in desert actually ate cactus at that time, so she recommended this one amazing dish, nopalitos con huevos, to me. I would admit that I fell in love with nopal cactus after that one single dish and got totally addicted to it since then. After being back to Gainesville, I wanted to recreate this dish, and luckily, I found fresh nopales in the local market (La Aurora). So here we go, my experimenting protocol for nopalitos con huevos.

1. Objectives

   Recreate a simple version of nopalitos con huevos without burning it or turning it to something else

2. Precautions

   Wear proper personal protective equipment (apron) and try not to burn the kitchen or set anything on fire

3. Materials and Equipment

   1 fresh nopal pad (La Aurora)

   2 eggs (Publix #4141500466)

   2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (Wesson #2700061216)

   A touch of salt (Publix #4141500131)

   1 red copper pan

   1 cooking pot

   1 bowl

   1 plate

4. Procedures

   4.1 Remove all the spines from the nopal pad. Be careful with the knife and the spines. There is a high chance you could hurt your fingers (based on my experience…).

   4.2 Wash the pad and cut it into strips.

   4.3 Boil a pot of water and cook the nopal strips in the boiling water for 3 minutes.

   4.4 Cool down the strips in ice water for 5 mins and drain the excess water from them.

   4.5 Scramble the eggs in a bowl.

   4.6 Heat up the copper pan and put the vegetable oil in.

   4.7 Cook the scrambled eggs in the pan until they are 80% cooked through.

   4.8 Put the nopal strips into the eggs and stir fry them smartly until fully cooked.

   4.9 Transfer the food from the pan to a plate and enjoy!

5. Notes

   5.1 Could use butter instead of vegetable oil.

   5.2 Could use some other seasonings, such as black pepper and garlic.

It wasn’t a disaster in the end so I will conclude this protocol is feasible.

Next time lol