Wallet Eggs
Nov 1st, 2010 by Selina
A man seldom thinks with more earnestness of anything than he does of his dinner. – Samuel Johnson
There are days when you crave nothing but simple comfort food for lunch or dinner. For some, that could mean a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch or cereal for dinner. It usually starts after a long day of work or school — you come home, open the refrigerator, and the usual suspects appear: milk, eggs, condiments, and perhaps a partial loaf of bread. In my house, it would be pretty normal to also find leftover rice. If my mood points me in the direction of quickly escaping back to the familiarity and comfort of my mother’s kitchen, I reach for the eggs. My mother used to (and still does, if I make a special request) prepare what she calls “wallet eggs,” which is literally translated from Cantonese to describe fried eggs with runny yolks. The yolk, if you will, is the money! Needless to say, the fried egg white is the tasty wallet to keep it all inside.
This easily becomes my effortless, go-to food for the hectic days, which is becoming more frequent now that school is in full swing! At the same time, I still get my protein, starch, and vegetables if I plan accordingly. Sounds like a winner to me 
Wallet Eggs Recipe
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 generous tablespoon canola oil
- Freshlycracked black pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1 stalk scallion, thinly sliced (optional)
- Small handful of cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
- 1 cup steamed rice (optional)
Preparation
- Heat saute pan to medium high heat. Add oil and tilt pan to spread evenly.
- Crack eggs individually on opposite sides of the pan to avoid contact with each other. Allow egg to solidify and brown on one side, about 1-2 minutes. Add black pepper during this wait. Flip eggs when bottoms are solidified; allow to cook for an additional minute, but adjust according to your preference of how runny you prefer your eggs to be.
- Serve immediately over white rice. Garnish with oyster sauce, scallions, and cilantro as desired.
Tools
- Saute pan
- Spatula
- Chef knife
Selina’s Notes
- Regular oyster sauce can be substituted with vegetarian oyster sauce (mushroom based). If using regular, I prefer Lee Kum Kee
- To create a drizzle effect with oyster sauce, use a plastic squeeze bottle or create a makeshift piping bag using a sandwich bag and simply snip off the end to dispense!
- To make this a full meal, serve with salad or stir-fried leafy greens, such as bok choy or Chinese broccoli
