I waited a whole year (and a bit!) for the second season of Culinary Class Wars to come out on Netflix.

It has been one of my favourite cooking shows to watch because of the creativity and challenges the Chefs are put through. I also resonate with the cuisine/ ingredients more, so it’s piques my interest!

If you haven’t watched it yet, do yourself a favor and go binge it right now!!

Obviously I was super eager to try my hand at recreating some of the dishes from this season, because it was SO much fun when I did it last year for season 1.

However, after watching the first few episodes I was a little intimidated. It seemed like the recipes were even MORE convoluted than I remembered.

After much thought, I decided to try my hand at making Chef Choi Kang-Rok’s “Green Onion Universe” Steamed Eggs.

But even so, these were not simple at all LOL!
They still contained 5+ components… and I didn’t even use Uni!! (The Elanne Show doesn’t have as much funding)

I did some of the dirty work haha, so if you’re insane like me, you can try making them for yourself! Good luck!

*For best results, weigh your eggs and broth when making the steamed eggs. Ideal ratio is 1 part egg, 2 part liquid.

Recipe:

Makes 2 bowls

Special Equipment:

Steamer
Sieve
Wok

Dashi Broth:

6 cups water
3 dried shiitakes or oyster mushrooms
4 strips dried radish
1 green onion
3 small anchovies
1 piece kombu

In a small pot, add all of the above dashi broth ingredients.

Place the pot over medium heat and bring it to a simmer.

Let the broth simmer for 25-30 minutes. It should have turned a light brown colour but has remained clear.

Remove from the heat and set aside to make the following broths.

Green Onion Broth 1:

5 large green onions
2 tbsp high smoke point oil (peanut or vegetable)
2 cups dashi broth
coarse salt, to taste

Roughly cut the green onions into 3” segments. Place a wok over open flame, medium heat.

Once it just starts to smoke, add your oil, rotate to coat the wok.

Add the green onion. Saute for 30-40 seconds to give them some colour and help develop an aroma.

Add the dashi broth. Let everything simmer in the wok for 20 minutes. Salt to taste.

Strain the liquid through a sieve and into a measuring cup. Discard the solids. Set the broth aside.

Green Onion Broth 2:

4 Large green onion, whites only
2 cups water
coarse salt, to taste

Cut the green onion whites (only) in half segments.

Add them to a pot along with 2 cups of water. Bring the contents to a simmer.

As the mixture cooks, use a spatula or spoon the mash the green onion whites up. This will release a sort of milky liquid from the onions and help develop the broth to become an opaque white. Salt to taste!

After about 15-20 minutes of simmering, remove from the heat.

Strain the contents through a sieve and into a measuring cup. Discard the solids. Set the broth aside.

Braised Green Onions:

2 large green onions
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
1 cup dashi broth (can sub water)

Cut the large green onions into 2” long segments. Set the dark green tops aside, and use only the middle/white parts.

Use either a blowtorch or a broiler on high heat to char the exterior of the green onions. Make sure all sides have developed colour.

In a small saucepan add the charred green onions, light soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and dashi broth to a saucepot.

Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, and the flame to the lowest heat. Rotate and baste the green onion segments gently for the first couple minutes of cooking.

Then, use an aluminum cartouche to cover the green onions. Let it braise for 8-12 minutes or until soft and tender.

Gently as to not break them, transfer to a baking tray or plate, and let them cool slightly. Before serving, remove the outermost charred layer, and cut them in half lengthwise for plating.

Green Onion Sauce:

2 tbsp green onion braising liquid
1/2 cup green onion broth or dashi broth
2 tsp corn starch
1 tbsp water
large green onion, green tops only

With your saved green onion tops, cut small squares to use in your sauce.

In a small saucepot, add the 2 tbsp green onion braising liquid, 1/2 cup of broth and the green onion squares. Bring it to a simmer.

In a small bowl, add 2 tsp of corn starch and 1 tbsp of water. Mix to get rid of lumps.
While whisking, add the corn starch slurry to the saucepot. Stir to combine.

Allow the sauce to thicken slightly and cook out the corn starch— about 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat.

Crispy Fried Green Onions:

2 large green onions, whites only
1 cup neutral oil, for frying

Add oil to a heavy bottomed saucepot. Preheat the oil in preparation to fry, to about 325 degrees.

Cut the white parts of the green onions in half lengthwise.
Separate the layers and flatten them out. Stack about 5 layers. Slice the stacks of green onions into super thin strips.

Prepare a baking tray lined with paper towel for landing your fried green onions upon.

When ready to fry: Add the thinly sliced green onions to the hot oil. Fry for about 1 minute or until they just start to turn golden. Remove from the pot quickly, as they will continue to cook. Place them on a baking tray lined with paper towel.

Store in a cool dry place. Will keep for up to 4 days.

Steamed Eggs: *1:2 ratio eggs to liquid

4 eggs, room temperature (6oz)
3/4 cup Green Onion Broth 1 (6 oz)
3/4 cup Green Onion Broth 2 (6 oz)
pinch salt
water, for steaming

Before steaming the eggs, place a bamboo steamer basket (or a metal steamer basket) in a large pot.

Add 2-3 inches of water. Place it over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to the lowest setting: The water should not be bubbling. Only steaming.

Weigh your eggs and broths for the best final texture! In a bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, 3/4 cup of both green onion broths, and a couple pinches of salt.

Use a fork or chopsticks to beat everything together until no streaks of whites remain.

Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and into a large measuring cup. Getting rid of any remaining solids ensures silky smooth eggs.

Pour half of the egg mixture into a heatproof bowl. This mixture should make enough for two portions! If your steamer basket is big enough, cook both bowls at the same time.

Place the bowl with the egg into the bamboo steamer basket. Make sure it is not tilted. Pop any bubbles that may have formed. Cover with a lid.

Let the the egg cook from the steam for 20 minutes. Low and slow will result in a smooth custard. Too high of heat will cause the egg to souffle— not ideal!

After 20 minutes, check to see if the egg has set. It should not wobble in the center when the edge of the bowl is tapped.

Turn off the heat completely and let it rest, covered, for an additional 2 minutes to let it set up.

To Plate:

Place a row of your braised green onions on top of the steamed eggs.
Pour over a couple spoons of your Green Onion Sauce.
Top with a handful of crispy fried green onions.
Enjoy while warm!