How to Take Your “Breakfast for Dinner” to the Next Level

Image for article titled How to get your

Photo: Boontoom Sae-Kor (Shutterstock)

When I was a rambling kid growing up in New Jersey, it always surprised me when friends laughed at my descriptions of having egg-centric meals for dinner. Apparently “eggs were for breakfast”. But for me, they were one of the best dinner options, and there was no way anyone would talk me out of eating my favorite dishes. Even as an adult in New York, a place where you can find a wide variety of foods, I find that eggs are still limited to brunch menus, and occasionally found on a burger (that’s a start, I Assumed). By restricting eggs this way, we are missing out on several protein-rich opportunities. Eggs are a legitimate party protein, just as legitimate as chicken or ground beef.

I would never say that the humble egg shouldn’t glow during the morning hours – I’m the first person to opt for eggs and toast over pancakes and fruit – but this low key orb has a noticeable amount of protein , and is far more versatile than meat. Eggs don’t beat meat in the protein department when it comes to grams per serving (about 12 grams versus 18 gramsrespectively), but they take gold as far as complete, well-balanced and rich in nutrients impact for your body, and tIt’s a wonderful thing to have in any meal. They also complement a wide range of flavors, from sweet to savory, depending on the preparation.

The eggs have comic-book-level superhero powers. They have powerful binding and thickening abilities, they can be foamed to double or triple their original size, manipulated to make thin tortilla wrapsdried to a crisp, cracker-like consistency, and may be pickled or cured. Eggs are shapeshifters. Use them to your advantage.

Inspirational egg dishes

Compared to parts of the world, it seems America lags behind in the use of no-breakfast eggs (the “breakfast for dinner” themed parties aren’t exactly what I mean, but I salute the effort). Let’s take inspiration from some beloved dishes from around the world to inspire our next meals. As I mentioned before, some of my childhood comfort meals are egg-based. If you’re looking to explore different meal options to end your day, Thai cuisine embraces the egg in its various forms. Kai pa lo is an earthy, deeply savory dish braised with three main ingredients: pork, whole boiled eggs and puffed tofu. In khave yad sai, eggs are used as packaging for other savory ingredients; in kaijiao Crispy meets chewy in a semi-fried scrambled egg. The high heat from the howling oil causes the egg to swell into a steep cloud that’s perfect for cupping a splash of fish sauce.

Eggs have their place in soups, too. Japanese ramen is synonymous with cozy comfort, cradling a gem boiled egg at the top. Chinese Egg Soup spotlights our hero with hundreds of wispy egg pieces swirling all over the place. Greek avgolemono uses eggs as a thickening agent for this lemony chicken soup. If you’re looking for a dinner that easily feeds a crowd, there’s the tortilla de patatas, or Spanish tortillawhich combines eggs with potato and onion in a fluffy yet filling construction that I find myself craving from time to time.

All of these options are fantastic for lunch or dinner, and maybe even breakfast. There are plenty of other inspirational meals you can end your day with strong (check out this list of 25 egg dishes around the world), and you can experiment with your own recipes with eggs. Try poaching some eggs in your next batch of soup, or make thin pancake-like wraps to rock crispy salad bites. Next time you open the fridge thinking about your utensils, don’t count take out the superheroes in the box right in front of you.

Comments are closed.