A classic omelette with preserved radish

It has been a really long time since we ate preserved radish omelette aka chye poh neng in Hokkien. I love this dish but was reluctant to buy commercially preserved radishes, due to the dubious handling and list of food additives used to preserve it.

Recently I came across a really nice organic purple radish and thought it would be a great idea to make my own organically grown preserved radish in order to make my favourite chye poh neng again. Homemade preserved radish is preserved with only salt, time and lots of sun, free from nasties and chemical food additives. It is safer and tastier than its commercially produced counterparts.

This preserved radish omelette is worth all the wait, not too salty, very fragrant and most of all, it's made with full effort, time and love. A really added bonus is that I found free range Kampung chicken eggs, so it's double yummy!

Preserved radish (chye poh) - (credit to Makansutra)

• 1 kg fresh radish (or any amount that the radish you have on hand)

• Salt that is 5% weight of skinned and cut radish from above

• Salt that is 1% of the dehydrated radish after 1 day

Method

1. Wash, peel and cut the radish into 2cmx4cm strips.

2. Weigh the cut radish strips. Add salt that's 5%of this weight, rub into the radish strips. For instance, the radish weighs 1.2kg prior to cutting, and after cutting it is left with 1kg in weight, measure 50g of salt to rub into the radish. Leave overnight.

3. The next day, you would find that the radish has reduced in size and weight as most water would leach out. Squeeze dry and weigh again.

4. Add salt that is 1% of current dehydrated radish weight and rub again into the radish strips. For instance, the weight of radish is left with 700g, use 7g salt to rub into these dehydrated radish strips.

5. Do not wash the radish and minimise contact with water to prevent growth of mold

6. Leave under the sun for about 5 days to a week to fully dry the radish strips.

7. Once ready, the radish strips should smell like the chye poh that we know. Keep in an airtight container for future use.

This chye poh neng recipe is added with extra shallots and garlic for increased antioxidant. I like free range Kampung eggs as they do not contain antibiotics, and the chickens are raised in a more ethical manner and environment. You may omit the garlic and shallots, and replace with normal eggs as available.

Preserved radish omelette

• 10g preserved radish

• 2 shallots

• 1 clove garlic

• 3 Kampung eggs

• Pepper to taste

• Olive oil for cooking

• Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

1. Finely chop preserved radish, garlic and shallots.

2. Beat eggs with some pepper.

3. Heat oil in a pan and using medium high heat, stir fry the shallots, garlic and preserved radish till fragrant and brown.

4. Spread the browned mixture evenly on the pan and pour the eggs onto the pan.

5. Once eggs are 70% solidified, flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

6. Serve hot with coriander leaves as garnish.

Hope you will give these 2 recipes a try!