When you make shrimp pancakes as an entrée, what do you serve as a side dish? If it is Tapas Monday, you serve egg custard and cucumber salad. The pancakes were the center of the meal, the most filling part around which I built the rest of the menu. The cucumber salad provided something light, crisp, and tangy. The egg custard provided a whole different set of flavors and textures.
What was most amazing about the egg custard was that it was incredibly silky yet light. Its flavors are quite delicate, so I wouldn’t suggest serving this dish with a heartily flavored dish, such as hoisin-sauced meat. The beauty of the egg custard would get lost among those bold flavors. But served with pancakes or a light salad, it shines.
If you’re looking for a different egg-based side to serve, this is definitely it.
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 4 medium cooked shrimp, chopped
- Combine eggs, broth, and salt in a small bowl, and whisk well.
- Grease bottom and sides of 2 1-cup ramekins.
- Pour half of egg mixture through a sieve into 1 ramekin.
- Use the back of a spoon to press down on the liquids. If any of the mixture is too thick to pass through the sieve, discard it.
- Repeat with other half of egg mixture.
- Fill a pot large enough to hold both ramekins with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil.
- Place a paper towel on the bottom of the pot and place ramekins on paper towel.
- Cover with a lid, and simmer for 7 minutes.
- Remove lid; top each custard with half of the shrimp and scallions.
- Cover and simmer for 3 additional minutes.
- Remove from pot, and serve.
