Over Easy O O O

BY GENEVIEVE KO Cooking eggs is often considered the basic measure of a cook. (See page ! for Wolfgang Puck’s two cents.) Famously, André Soltner’s interviews for aspiring cooks at Lutèce didn’t involve a resumé. It required eggs and butter and dexterity, because there are two kinds of cooks—those who can competently make a French omelet and those who can’t.

BÁNH XÈO TAMAGOYAKI From Jimmy Tu From Michael Anthony !" Lucky Peach The omelet is an exacting dish to cook, but has DANIEL BOULUD’S FARCIE no limits in its variety. Anyone who’s been trained in French kitchens—or watched Julia Child—has been MAKES " OMELET; SERVES # TO $ told that an omelet must never brown. But the mark of a great Japanese tamagoyaki is the lines of golden aniel Boulud is not happy. Someone forgot to bring brown between the tissue-thin layers, like the rings Dhis omelet pan—the black steel skillet he’s seasoned on an old oak. And the best part of the Vietnamese egg over decades, flipping out thousands of eggs. Boulud had crêpe, bánh xèo, is the nearly burnt crisp edges. And prepped every last detail of this omelet demonstration, even if there isn’t one “right” way to cook an omelet, even though he’s just flown in from Asia, launched his there is a right way to cook each type of omelet. redesigned Manhattan restaurant DB Bistro Moderne, As I watched each of the chefs prepare his ome- and promoted his new cookbook within the last five days. let for this feature, I witnessed the intensity good eggs “I did this with Craig Claiborne twenty-five, thirty require. Even though Jimmy Tu makes his bánh xèo years ago,” he recalls. a hundred times a night, he never takes his eyes o! Boulud’s brow remains furrowed when he starts the pan. The ever-humble Michael Anthony began by setting up his bowl and whisk and explaining why his is emphasizing how his tamago can’t compare to those the perfect omelet. It’s about the fat-to-eggs ratio, and made by many Japanese chefs. Daniel Boulud seemed to get more fat into the omelet, he fills it with creamy haunted by the memory of learning the omelette farcie. scrambled eggs. And more butter. It’s a classic omelette He recalled cooking it for competitions as a young chef, farcie, but the farcie is more eggs. and how harshly the judges critiqued the eggs. I wanted “This is an a!air with a partner,” he says of the wet, to know if he thinks a better omelet exists, if there’s a hot scrambled eggs stu!ed into the taut omelet. “When newer, improved form of the French omelet. He men- they meet…” tioned the thermoblender and siphon, then thought He trails o! when he starts whisking his scrambled about it some more. Gesturing toward his omelet, he eggs in a bain marie. Pulling the pan on and o! the crazy- said, “Could this ever be improved? If I did it ten more hot flat-top to control the heat, Boulud keeps warning times, then it’d be really perfect.” everyone that this will take thirty minutes. Maybe twenty,

OMELETTE FARCIE From Daniel Boulud Lucky Peach !" but it can’t be rushed. His handlers check their watches. whisks in cold butter to stop the cooking. He puts them Boulud’s focused on the bowl, watching for curds. Despite aside, then butters up his hot pan, and pours in more the fact that he has more than a dozen restaurants beaten eggs. around the globe, Boulud now seems as intent as a teen- Up to this point, Boulud’s been whisking with a steady aged apprentice on perfecting his scramble. rhythm as mellow as a straw broom sweeping a patio. He was fifteen when he first made this omelet as an Now, he’s all Stomp!, striking the fork through the eggs apprentice in Lyon. All the young chefs had to dem- with near violence while shaking the pan. He slams the onstrate the technique before judges to advance their skillet against the grate and says, “Now you tap!” His palm careers. flies against the base of the handle, as if he’s trying to kill “You don’t want any part of the eggs to curdle before a fly. The round disk jolts and rolls. Boulud taps again, they can all curdle together at the same time. See how it’s then once more. The egg’s rolled three-quarters of the starting to foam and thicken? This is basically like making way and he quickly spoons a line of the custardy scram- a custard without cream, milk, or fat.” bled eggs onto the remaining unfolded egg before flipping The time- and labor-intensiveness is why Boulud the omelet onto a porcelain plate. doesn’t make ten times a night, or serve it at Boulud drapes a spotless linen napkin over the ome- his restaurants or regularly make it for himself at home. let and tucks in the sides with gentleness usually reserved When he does, he says he likes it with warm buttered pain for sleeping babies. He uncovers the perfectly symmetri- de mie, crème fraîche, and smoked salmon. Or caviar. cal torpedo and slits it down the center and stu!s it with Once the foam dissipates and the eggs get a little more scrambled egg. He lifts up the plate, examines it shiny, Boulud sets a substitute omelet pan over another from every angle with the intense glare of a judge, and flame. He pulls the barely set scramble from the heat and declares, “That is why I’m Daniel Boulud.”

Beat # eggs with a fork eggs will foam on top, then eggs will start to thicken and This process will take !" to ! to blend, season with salt the foam will subside and the become opaque and creamy. #" minutes. You will whisk and pepper, and beat again to them steadily and constantly mix. Don’t beat any foam into the entire time. the eggs. Set aside. Once the scrambled Bring $ inches water & eggs coalesce and form $ to a steady simmer in a tiny curds—they’ll resemble saucepan that will hold a large a loose porridge—remove metal bowl snugly. the bowl from the sauce- pan and immediately add Whisk % eggs in the ! T cold butter to slow the metal bowl to break, % cooking. ( Boulud added in then whisk in a pinch of salt more butter than he originally and a twist of pepper. Set planned because “extra fat the bowl over the simmer- brings sexiness.” If only that ing water and whisk continu- were true about my waistline, ously, adjusting the heat to too.) Whisk in the butter until keep the water just simmer- melted, then fold in the chives. ing and to prevent the eggs Set aside. from curdling too fast. The

INGREDIENTS FOR OMELETTE FARCIE

" large eggs # T cold unsalted butter, cut into $⁄%" cubes + kosher salt # T chives, super finely sliced, plus more for + freshly ground white pepper garnish (for better presentation) + clarified butter

!" Lucky Peach Daniel Boulud photos by Colin Lane Jimmy Tu photos by Gabriele Stabile sides, then add the remaining until the egg has rolled three- ! T butter. As soon as it melts, quarters of the way. Spoon add the reserved beaten eggs. a line of the scrambled eggs Swirl to coat the bottom and onto the open flap, leaving !" ½" up the sides of the pan. on all sides. Tap the pan again Let stand until the edges are for the final roll, then flip the just set, then immediately pull omelet onto a dish, seam side in the edges with a fork and down. beat the eggs by moving the Drape a clean kitchen fork in a circular motion while towel over the omelet vigorously swirling the pan in " and gently encourage it into a the opposite direction. When torpedo shape. With a sharp the eggs are barely set but knife, cut a slit down the center, still runny, slam the pan flat leaving #" uncut on both ends. against the stove grate. Use the tip of the knife to Use an open palm to carefully open the slit an inch % forcefully rap the pan’s wide, and spoon the remaining handle near where it meets the scrambled eggs in and on top of Heat a !$-inch black until hot. Add enough clari- pan. The egg should slide and the slit. Garnish with chives and steel omelet pan or fied butter to the omelet pan # roll a bit. Repeat the tapping serve immediately. nonstick over medium heat to coat the bottom and the

faraway train station for the much-Yelped-about bánh JIMMY TU’S BÁNH XÈO xèo. Some call it an omelet, others a crêpe, but Tu’s is the Siamese-twin version: a sheen of egg fused to a MAKES ! CRÊPE; SERVES ! OR " crisp, thin rice pancake. unker is like a hipster food fantasy: seasonal authen- Though he travels regularly to Vietnam, Tu says he Btic Vietnamese in a may-never-gentrify industrial hasn’t had a better bánh xèo than the one his mom border town straddling Queens and Brooklyn, on a block makes in Elmhurst—three miles away. He throws a little of low-slung scrap metal yards that make the sun freak- turmeric into his crêpe batter for its curried edge, and ishly bright and give the sky a Nebraskan feel. It also serves some of the best Vietnamese food in New York. Chef-owner Jimmy Tu never meant to open a restau- rant here. He was looking for the cheapest rent to start a seafood distribution business. His wife, a kindergarten teacher, was expecting their first child and they decided non-chef hours would be better for their family. Then Hurricane Sandy hit, destroying the cheap space. Without insurance or the upfront cash needed to start importing seafood, Tu and his partners decided to turn it into a restaurant instead. He’d done it before, with Tigerland in the East Village. He was also one of the opening chefs at Eleven Madison Park. This time around, with nothing to lose, Tu decided to focus on the Viet- namese street food he grew up eating. Tu cares primarily about making good, real Viet- namese cuisine. “I like to stay traditional,” says Tu. “My partners push me to throw soft shell crab and lobster on the menu, but I don’t unless I feel I can improve on tradition a lot.” The people have responded. City folk hitch rides out to this no-man’s-land or trek from the

Jimmy Tu photos by Gabriele Stabile Lucky Peach !" swaps her raw pork belly slices for heritage Berkshire your oil in a squirt bottle to easily lube up the edges of bacon. But otherwise, he hasn’t messed with her version. the crêpe as it cooks. “You need a lot of oil here to get What makes the Tu family bánh xèo killer is its crispness. it crisp enough,” advises Tu, “but it gets drained at the It has the crackle of fresh tortilla chips, but the inner egg end so you don’t have to worry about eating it.” And layer keeps it moist inside. you have to eat it fast. The nearly burnt edges of bánh The tools are the secret to success here. Tu says he xèo are as elusive and critical to the enjoyment of this prefers a carbon steel pan but concedes a nonstick will dish as the quavering golden shell is to a French omelet. work even if it won’t get as hot. You should also keep Worlds apart but just as satisfying.

NUOC CHAM over high heat until smoking and swirl to lightly coat the tossing, until the shrimp start hot. Add enough oil to coat the sides too. Add the bacon and to curl but before they become Pound the garlic and bottom of the pan generously shrimp and cook, stirring and completely opaque, about ! ! chili in a large mortar minute. with a pestle until pasty. Whisk the batter again Whisk in the sugar, fish % to mix in any flour that’s # sauce, lime juice, and ! C settled on the bottom and ladle water until the sugar dissolves. a spoonful into the pan. Swirl Transfer to a serving bowl for the pan to coat the bottom dipping. and an inch or so up the sides with a thin layer of the batter. BÁNH XÈO Repeat two more times. Let the Whisk the flour together batter set, about #$ seconds. ! with the scallion, turmeric, salt, and ¼ C cold water in a Drizzle the egg over bowl until completely smooth. & the crêpe and swirl the Set aside. pan to evenly coat the crêpe with egg. The crêpe should Heat a well-seasoned have released from the sides # $" carbon steel skillet of the pan; squirt oil between

INGREDIENTS FOR BÁNH XÈO

FOR NUOC CHAM: + vegetable oil ! garlic clove, peeled ! strip thick-cut bacon, cut into "⁄$" pieces "⁄# red Thai bird’s eye chili % small (&'/()-count) shrimp, shelled "⁄# C sugar and deveined "⁄# C fish sauce ! large egg, beaten ! T fresh lime juice "⁄$ C bean sprouts ! C water * green and red lettuce leaves + shiso leaves + fresh mint, cilantro, basil, and dill "⁄# C Thai rice flour* sprigs ! small scallion, very thinly sliced

pinch ground turmeric * Be sure to buy regular rice flour, ground from long grain kernels, and pinch fine sea salt not sweet rice flour (aka flour or mochiko). Tu uses Thai- land’s Erawan brand, labeled R,-. F/012. The lettering is all red, unlike "⁄# C water the very similar looking green-labeled glutinous rice.

!" Lucky Peach Michael Anthony photos by Gabriele Stabile the crêpe edges and the pan. Cook the crêpe, oiling folded omelet against one side herbs, and nuoc cham. Tear o! Gently shake the pan to keep # and shaking until the of the pan and tilt the oil out a piece of omelet with a bunch everything moving. Poke holes egg has set on top and the the other side into a heat-safe of bean sprouts and tuck it into in the crêpe with a fork or bottom of the crêpe is dark bowl. Discard. a lettuce leaf with a shiso leaf. spoon to keep it from bubbling brown around the edges and Pluck a few fresh herb leaves Lift the omelet out of up—you want a flat crêpe. Oil in speckles on the bottom. and stu! them in there, too, the pan with the spatula should be sputtering at the Pile the bean sprouts on one $ then roll it up and dip into the and immediately serve with edges of the crêpe. If it isn’t, half and fold the other half nuoc cham. Eat. Repeat. the lettuce and shiso leaves, add more. over with a spatula. Hold the

match the legendary French chef-tyrants. Then she MICHAEL ANTHONY’S TAMAGOYAKI pushed him out so that he could continue learning, advising him to attend her culinary school in France. MAKES ! OMELET; SERVES " TO # Anthony moved from the best kitchens in France to the ichael Anthony, chef of New York City’s acclaimed best in New York City, tracking eggs along the way. MGramercy Tavern and author of its eponymous “I became infatuated with savory egg dishes,” cookbook, is the poster child of all that’s good about Anthony says. “They were the benchmark for any good American food today. His style is seasonal and vege- cook and an easy, direct connection to the farm.” Over table-centric, his flavors clean and intense, his dishes the years, he went from making a French rolled ome- flawless in execution. But he actually started cooking on let stu%ed with lobster to a new American soft-boiled the other side of the globe. He studied Japanese in col- version crusted in almonds and panko; he’s now experi- lege and hopped a plane to Tokyo the day he after he menting with smoking them. But he’s got a soft spot for graduated. He ended up in Saitama, a semirural satellite tamagoyaki. suburb north of the city. O$cially, he was there to teach The ingredients are simple—eggs, soy, , sugar. English. And he did, trading language classes for cooking Anthony worked to get the balance just right. These lessons with a group of middle-aged women. days, he adds extra yolks for richness and uses white soy “I was interested in learning how people ate at home, sauce because it’s saltier and more savory (!) and from a cultural perspective as well as a culinary one. paler (better presentation). Every Friday morning, I’d go to my friend’s house and As for equipment, Anthony admits a lightweight she and her friends would teach me the basics of home nonstick skillet would be easier to maneuver than his cooking. Tamagoyaki was the first dish they taught me.” makiyakinabe. Nowadays, Japanese markets sell lighter At its best, tamagoyaki (aka dashimaki tamago) is a square nonstick pans for the weak of arm. To aid with rolled log made from numerous golden-brown layers of the egg-rolling, Anthony flips the finished omelet onto a savory-sweet egg cooked in a traditional heavy copper mat and gently presses it into whatever you call a square pan called a makiyakinabe. rectangular cylinder. Watching him maneuver the ome- Anthony moved on from those lovely ladies to a let with wooden chopsticks—extra long and tapered like “tough old mean lady” in Tokyo. Shizuyo Shima trained supermodels’ legs—I wonder if this great American chef Anthony in her tiny bistro kitchen with a brutality to isn’t a Japanese cook at heart.

Lucky Peach !" DASHI Cook the eggs, ta pping to let the wet egg run under it. #" slices. Transfer to a serving down any bubbles with Once this layer is set, repeat dish. Tamago also tastes good Simmer the and ' the chopsticks, until the bot- the rolling and rotating tech- cold or at room temperature, ⅔ C water in a small # tom is completely set and nique. Keep adding egg and though it is best hot. saucepan for !" minutes. golden brown and the top is rolling until all the egg is used Remove from the heat. To garnish, grate the glossy. Pick up one far corner up. Be warned: the rolling gets on a Japanese Discard the kombu, and of the egg and pull it in !" harder with each layer as the * grater or fine microplane. add the . Stir and fold it over. Repeat on the roll gets heavier. ! Squeeze out any excess liquid well and let stand for #$ min- other far corner so that there’s When the roll is com- then press into a little snow- utes. Pour through a sieve. a !" strip of golden brown plete, carefully turn it hill on the dish and drizzle with egg folded over the remain- ) TAMAGOYAKI out onto a sushi mat. Wrap . Cut the radish into ing omelet. Let it set for a the mat around the roll and paper-thin slices and the tur- Mix the eggs, yolks, second, then grip the center press it gently, squaring o% nip into wedges. Arrange on sugar, and salt in a of the fold with the chopsticks # the edges. Transfer the roll to the plate like a zen garden with medium bowl with chopsticks and gently lift and roll it over a cutting board and cut it into the greens and serve. until well blended, but not while pushing the pan away foamy. Mix in the dashi and soy from your body and bring it sauce until incorporated, then back more gently in a circular stir in the mitsuba or parsley. motion. So, you’re simultane- ously pulling the egg toward Heat a well-seasoned you while rotating the pan &-inch-square cop- ! away from you. Repeat until per makiyakinabe pan over the omelet is fully rolled and medium heat. To check if snug against the handle-side the pan is ready, draw a line of the pan. of beaten egg in the pan. It should coagulate on contact. Gently scooch the roll When the pan’s ready, soak a ( to the far side of the pan paper towel with oil and rub a and press it firmly against generous coating all over the the side. Soak the oiled paper bottom and sides of the pan. towel again and lube the pan, Pour in enough egg to form a letting oil seep under the roll. thin layer, swirling the pan to When the oil’s hot, add another evenly coat the bottom. thin layer of egg. Lift the roll

INGREDIENTS FOR TAMAGOYAKI

FOR DASHI: & t kosher salt !⁄"" square dried kombu '⁄( C DASHI !⁄" C water % T white soy sauce # T loosely packed katsuobushi (dried % T fresh mitsuba leaves or flat-leaf parsley bonito flakes) leaves, finely chopped + grapeseed oil + daikon, peeled $ large eggs + baby green radish, peeled # large egg yolks + baby white turnip, peeled and trimmed % T sugar + microgreens

!" Lucky Peach