Mushroom egg net

24 Oct 2015

This is the perfect dish to impress guests with and make them ‘ooh and aah’ over your culinary skills. Tip: egg nets can also be sliced into bite-sized pieces and served as canapés.

Ingredients

SERVES 4 (as an appetiser)

2 large red chillies

peanut or extra-virgin

olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

130g white button mushrooms, thinly sliced

130g Swiss brown mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 bunch coriander, roots and stems finely chopped and leaves picked

90g bean sprouts

1 tablespoon fish sauce

50g palm sugar

4 eggs

35g roasted peanuts,

roughly chopped

1 spring onion, cut into thin matchsticks (optional) 

Method

Thinly slice one red chilli and seed and cut the other into thin matchsticks, reserving for garnish. Heat the peanut or olive oil and sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, chilli, mushrooms, coriander roots and stems and cook, stirring occasionally, for two minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and turning golden. Add the bean sprouts and sauté for a minute longer. Season with the fish sauce and palm sugar. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Whisk the eggs gently in a medium bowl. Do not overbeat. Pour the egg mixture into a pitcher or use a funnel to pour into a squeeze bottle.

Heat a little more oil in a large frying pan and wipe out leaving a thin coat. Place over medium heat and pour in one quarter of the egg mixture in thin streams from the pitcher or squeeze bottle, making a lattice pattern. Alternatively, dip your hand in the egg mix and move it backwards and forwards across the flat frying pan, dripping the egg so that it drizzles lines in the oil. Do not move too quickly or the strands will be too fine and will break. Circle the perimeter to form a border on the net. Gently cook for 30–40 seconds or until the egg net is cooked through. Turn out onto a sheet of baking paper or a plate. Repeat until the egg mix is finished.

Divide the mushroom mixture down the centre of the nets and sprinkle with the peanuts and coriander leaves. Gently roll to encase. Alternatively, lay out an egg net, spread some mix on the lower third of the net and roll up. Repeat with the remaining nets and mixture. Garnish the egg nets with the spring onion, if using, and reserved chilli and serve immediately. 

This is an edited extract from Lyndey Milan’s Taste of Australia, published by Hardie Grant. RRP $39.95