I have taken two vacation days from work to finish my solo album, (long awaited, by me anyhow). When waking up this morning, on this, the first day of two, I decided I needed a breakfast of real substance, containing large amounts of sustainance, because once I step foot in the studio on a day where I don’t really have a time limit, I often don’t leave until I need to sleep, so food may be few and far between today.

I looked in the fridge and saw some leftover coconut milk, some leftover homemade thai green curry paste, a bevy of vegetables and most freakish of all in my not-vegan-but-not-all-that-into-buying-much-dairy-stuff-anyway house, EGGS. To top it off, I’d just scored a veritable bush of holy basil (a variant of thai basil) the day before at the Civic Center farmer’s market.

Usually I’m not an egg guy, but I like to use them sparingly, as a binder. …and so, it hit me! A frittata would be born, but one which used just one egg. Would it work? Would the barrier hold? Only time, that most capricious of storytellers, would tell.

(’scuse the awful camphone pics, folks- I was caught in the moment with nothing but my phone around. Fie.)

Thai Curry Frittata
Heat a small nonstick fry pan to med-high. Pour in a bit of oil (olive or sesame, depending on your outlook). Chop a medium-sized shallot and a handful of crimini mushrooms and add to the oil. Swish them around a bit to coat.

Add a teaspoon of good thai green curry paste and allow to fry on an area of the pan not covered in shallots and mushrooms for a bit, then mix in. Cube a few ounces of tofu, or a nice veggie sausage (or a real one, if you’re of that proclivity), maybe a new potato (small) or two. Build bulk however you like to, and then toss it all in the pan and mix well with the rest of the ingredients.

Tip in a tablespoon or so of coconut milk, a squirt of thai fish sauce, a little braggs, a little lime juice, a little pepper and such. (wait, are we making breakfast, or a frickin’ curry here? I’m so confused..) Allow all to simmer and flavors to meet and form a merger for a minute or so with the pan covered, then uncover and simmer a bit more until the liquid goes down. Chop a small handful of cilantro and thai basil (or regular, if you’ve not got access to the goooood stuff..) and whack it over the proceedings.

Bungle a perfectly good shot of the pan by trying to flip the pan while taking a shot. Then, add an egg and fold it into the mixture quickly so as to attain maximum coverage. It’s just one egg, alright? We’re gonna have to make it stretch! Once all is nice and coated, push the mixture into a rough half-moon shape, covering half of the pan.

Turn heat up to high and sear for a minute or so. Cover pan with a plate, hold plate and pan together, and flip them both upside down, plating your frittata. Garnish with a bit more cilantro and basil, and a squeeze of lime.

Pace yourself. This is a solid, monolithic (and fiendishly yummy) breakfast food- keep your eating time over 30 seconds, please- think of the children! Won't somebody think of the children?!

Til then, here’s wishing you a fortuitous stumble into an unassuming thai-run stall at your farmer’s market,
-GC

Filed under: Recipes

Leave a Reply