Spicy Omelette Sushi

It is time for another Royal Foodie Joust over at the Leftover Queen's excellent Foodie Forum. The object of this monthly cooking challenge is to come up with a tasty recipe featuring three ingredients selected by the previous month's winner. For the July Joust, Peter of the Greek recipe blog Kalofagas, selected cilantro, seafood and sesame as the inspiring ingredients. Cilantro is certainly in harvest mode in our garden, so I was delighted with the idea of coming up with a new dish to feature its grassy, lemony taste.

I ransacked the cookbook shelves for inspiration and was taken with a Thai-inspired "Chilli Egg Roll" recipe in "The Complete Book of Low Carbohydrate Cooking", by Elaine Gardner (London: Hermes House, 2004). Mostly I am taken with the food porn photos in this lovely cookbook, but I managed to wipe away the drool long enough to actually focus on the recipe. I swapped around some of the ingredients to incorporate more cilantro, some sesame oil and sesame seeds and fiddle with the seasonings, so here is my version of:

Spicy Omelette Sushi

3 medium eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp. plus 3 Tbsp. soy sauce (be sure to check to see if it is gluten-free)
3 scallions, trimmed and sliced thin
1 Tbsp. chili garlic sauce
1 medium bunch cilantro, finely chopped (makes about 1/2 cup)
2 Tbsp. black sesame seeds
1/2 cup cooked shrimp, chopped (I had leftover grilled shrimp which lent a nice smoky taste, but canned small salad shrimp would be a good substitute)

1 Tbsp. peanut oil

Juice of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp. sesame oil

Mix eggs with 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, scallions, chili garlic sauce, cilantro, sesame seeds and shrimp.

Heat peanut oil in skillet over medium heat. Add omelette mixture and turn heat to low. Cook until omelette is cooked through, shaking the pan now and then to slide the omelette around, about 3-4 minutes. I used a 9 inch skillet so my omelette got a bit browner on the outside than I would have liked. I think my larger 14 inch cast iron skillet, "Big Mama", would make for a thinner, CRISPIER at the edges, lighter-colored omelette next time.

Take omelette out of the pan carefully and place on a large plate. Roll omelette up into as tight a tube as possible. Let cool.

Meanwhile, mix up a dipping sauce of 3 Tbsp. soy sauce, lime juice and sesame oil.

Slice rolled-up omelette into 1 inch sections and drizzle with a little dipping sauce. Garnish with a few snippets of cilantro.

Makes a spicy breakfast for 2 or appetizers for a few more.