Inspiration: The Hazel Room

I just got back from a three week stint in the pacific northwest. I spent the first week in Seattle at the Nutrition and Health Conference, then two more weeks rotating at Swedish Family Cherry Hill and the Seattle Indian Health Board. The weekend in between I spent in Portland with a dear old friend. I had a great time, I love the city of Seattle and everyone in the residency was amazing, but it is really nice to be home.

I basically went on a culinary tour of both cities. My clinics were so conveniently located that I could walk/bus to so many wonderful restaurants. I've listed some of my favorite places I visited below:

Seattle:
Macrina Bakery
Serious Pie
Cascina Spinasse
Sitka and Spruce
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Ba Bar
Salumi
Canlis
Paseo
Maneki
Saigon Deli

Portland:
Pok Pok
The Hazel Room
Broder
Olympic Provisions
Tasty n Sons
Boxer Sushi

Wow, looking at that list, I realized how much I ate. All of those places are absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend all of them. One of the dishes I really enjoyed and was simple enough I thought I could create was at The Hazel Room. The restaurant is a cute little place with boozy tea drinks, baked goods, and a fantastic brunch menu. I had a skillet dish with two sunny side up eggs, fennel, onions, bacon, baguette, arugula, fleur de sel, and gruyere. It was so simple, yet so yummy. I was determined to make it at home.

I stopped by the restaurant supply store today and picked up a cute mini cast iron skillet, perfect for making over easy eggs. I omitted the bacon in my dish, just because I didn't have any, and it tasted just as delicious. The only thing my version is missing is the scrumptious homemade buttermilk biscuit on the side. This dish is so simple and perfect for brunch or dinner. It's very filling and definitely a recipe I will keep on file.

Egg Skillet with Fennel and Arugula
inspired by The Hazel Room

• Oil to grease skillet
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• One bulb fennel, sliced
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• large handful of arugula
• grated cheese (gruyere, parmeasan...)
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• a few slices of toasted baguette

1. Heat skillet on medium-high. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Add the two eggs and flip when ready to make two perfect over easy eggs. 
2. Add the butter to a separate pan. Heat until the butter stops foaming then add the sliced fennel and onions. Mix in the brown sugar. Continue to toss until the onion and fennel are soft. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the fennel/onion mixture on top of the eggs in the skillet. Top with the rinsed arugula and grated cheese. Sprinkle some extra salt and cracked pepper on top and serve with the crusty baguette. 

Hawaiians Love SPAM

This is a go to staple in my house. I have vivid memories of my mom cooking fried rice on a Saturday morning for breakfast. I think this was probably one of the first things I learned how to cook. I remember my mom teaching me how to measure and wash the rice. How to scramble eggs. How to test the oil to make sure it was hot enough. How to add ingredients and keep tasting until it was just right. This dish is so simple and easy to make, plus it only requires one pan. It is also incredibly versatile, you can literally add whatever you shave in your fridge. I usually make it breakfast style with eggs and bacon/SPAM, but you could easily add some frozen peas, carrots, or other veggies too. I always make sure I have the three ingredients for fried rice in my cupboard--soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. That's it. And of course, given I'm Asian, I always have rice on hand.

Now, you will notice that I use SPAM in my fried rice. I need to preface this recipe that this is not the same fried rice you'll get from your neighborhood Chinese takeout joint. This is Hawaiian style fried rice. It has a very different flavor and has the addition of the miraculous wonder meat SPAM. I know most of you have already started judging me because I east this mystery meat. I bet many of you are thinking "what is that stuff anyway," "is it even meat," "why is it shaped in a cube," "how does it have such a long expiration date?" These are all very legitimate questions, but if they stop you from trying the stuff, I think that's a huge loss. Don't judge it until you tried it. So far, my record is converting three haters/skeptics to lovers. I'm being serious, you need to try the stuff, prepared in the right way, and I promise you won't think it is half as bad as you expected.

Enjoy this breakfast fried rice for a hearty start to the day!

Hawaiian Fried Rice

• 3 c. rice, cooked
• 3 eggs
• 1 can SPAM (I like to use the lite version)
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 c. light soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 3 tsp sesame oil
• Salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Sriracha (optional)
• Chopped green onions (optional)

While your rice is cooking, scramble and cook your eggs. Set aside in a medium bowl. Cut the SPAM into bite-sized cubes and fry in the same pan. Once finished, mix in with the eggs in the bowl. Heat the vegetable oil in the pan, you know it is hot enough when you add a few grains of cooked rice and they begin to sizzle. Once the oil is hot, add the rice and stir to coat. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and sriracha if you'd like (the measurements I listed are rough approximations, I just add to taste). Once all the sauces are mixed, stir in the eggs and SPAM. season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on some chopped green onions and serve.