Occasionally I've posted about our trips up to Vermont. Aside from the fact that anyone could find a bounty of local food stuff in that region, I've also mentioned that we are lucky to have (currently) Vermont-local family who also greatly appreciate great local products. That family also happens to be the source of my most authentic Chinese recipes. Again, this combination has served me well.
We arrived home from our last Vermont trip laden with a multitude of greens picked right from the family garden and a carton of the oddest shaped (and tastiest!) eggs I've ever seen courtesy of Earl. I've cooked with spinach and arugula a million times, and so these were slotted into familiar recipes. What, however, would I do with the great abundance of Chinese chives?
Chinese chives are also known as garlic chives which should give you a pretty decent sense of their flavor profile. When I took a nibble of the uncooked chives, they tasted like ramps on crack with a heavy dose of garlic. Yes, please! Once cooked, the flavor does become more subtle, but not much.
In the past, I've pretty much exclusively had these lovely greens chopped up in pork dumplings (and maybe once sauteed on their own). Life has been busy and while dumplings are on the list for future adventures, this was not happening in the middle of the week without planning.
Action shot: A shoots while I whisk.Once accompanied by Earl's eggs, the chives pretty much cook themselves. In a traditional family interpretation, I scrambled four of the largest, most golden yolks you have ever laid eyes on with a mountain of chives. Usually a side dish, we ate it as a main course served over rice with a spicy cucumber and radish salad.
It would have been satisfying even without the esteemed provenance of our eggs and chives, but the flavors were elevated to fabulous by keeping it close to home. If you don't have access to my particular purveyors, good farmers' market eggs will do and I have seen the Chinese chives at the Union Square Greenmarket. Give it a try!
Earl's Eggs with Chinese Chives
- 1 large bunch of Chinese chives, chopped in roughly 2 inch lengths
- 3-4 farm-freshest eggs you can find, beaten
- 1-2 tbsp light tasting oil (olive oil is fine, but something light is preferred), divided.
- pinch of sea salt
- Heat half of oil in large pan. Pour beaten eggs into oil and cook about halfway. Remove eggs from pan and set aside.
- Heat remaining oil in same pan. Add chives and stir fry over high heat. When almost cooked and still bright green, add eggs to chives. Sprinkle with salt and cook until just formed, but still moist.
- Enjoy over rice.