Weeknight slop. That caught your attention didn’t it? Yes, you read that right. It’s my go-to weeknight recipe. Faithful, tried, and true.
This is not a recipe that is search engine optimized. It is not a recipe that is particularly pretty. It is not going to win you effusive compliments with the dinner party set. But it is a weeknight recipe that is made of just a few ingredients. It’s a weeknight recipe that comes together quickly when you’re juggling a hundred other things. And it’s a recipe that pulls the curtain back on what this food blogger really eats when she is desperate to eat something good and fast.
I’ve been eating some version of this for the past 6+ years, and it has saved me from many a night of eating sad leftovers, ordering disappointing takeout, or just languishing on the couch beset by my own laziness at the end of the day. I walk in the door just a hungry zombie with a singular mission. On auto-pilot, I can throw this together in 15 minutes as long as I have eggs, avocado, and rice on hand (fairly standard millennial staples, yeah?). Bonus if you have a really ace rice cooker like mine that works like lightning with 1 cup of uncooked rice.
So what IS weeknight slop and what does it entail? Grab some rice–probably leftover from the night before, fry an egg, mash an avocado over the top, drizzle with soy sauce, a dollop of chili oil or my preferred #1 spicy bae, chiu chow oil, and toss in a big chopstick-full of jarred chili bamboo shoots (i.e., not actually that spicy, delightfully salty, and kinda smelly in that very particular pickled/jarred Chinese way that I personally love. Pickleheads, please try. Those averse to strong smells, maybe skip this one.).
Sprinkle over some white pepper for some multi-dimensional heat. Mix in earnest with a spoon until everything’s broken up (it’s kind of like the laziest Chinese spin on bibimbap you could possibly conceive), and dig in. (It also makes for a great lazy brunch!)
While it doesn’t sound like much and in fact may be entirely bizarre to just about anyone reading this, the reason why this weeknight recipe has endured in my regular rotation is because it’s really, really, really TASTY. I can’t guarantee that everyone will love it, but if you make it and like it, you may just end up converted. Try it! This is literally the lowest bar we will probably ever set on the blog, so you may want to take advantage now.
You’ll need:
- 1-2 cups cooked rice
- 1 fried egg—to your liking
- ½ an avocado
- A wad of preserved chili bamboo shoots (you heard me––optional, though)
- A dollop of chili oil or chiu chow oil to taste
- A drizzle of soy sauce
- A pinch of ground white pepper (optional)
Make the rice. Put it in a bowl. One that is easily held while sitting in front of the TV or huddled over your computer.
Fry the egg–to your liking! Scrambled or hard-boiled will do just fine too.
While the egg is cooking, grab the avocado. Halve it, seed it, and cut it up. Or just scoop it out over the rice.
Add your preferred concentration of chili bamboo shoots (optional).
Fetch your preferred spicy chili oil agent from the fridge. Add in a scoop of that to taste.
Drizzle the soy sauce over the whole thing. Add a pinch of white pepper.
Stir to break up the egg and avocado, and enjoyyy.
- 1-2 cups cooked rice
- 1 fried egg—to your liking
- ½ an avocado
- A wad of preserved chili bamboo shoots (you heard me)
- A dollop of chili oil or chiu chow oil to taste
- A drizzle of soy sauce
- A pinch of ground white pepper (optional)
- Make the rice. Put it in a bowl. One that is easily held while sitting in front of the TV or huddled over your computer.
- Fry the egg--to your liking! Scrambled or hard-boiled will do just fine too.
- While the egg is cooking, grab the avocado. Halve it, seed it, and cut it up. Or just scoop it out over the rice.
- Add your preferred concentration of chili bamboo shoots.
- Fetch your preferred spicy chili oil agent from the fridge. Add in a scoop of that to taste.
- Drizzle the soy sauce over the whole thing. Add a pinch of white pepper.
- Mix and enjoy!
Patrina Khoo Farquharson says
Dear Kaitlin, I just discovered your family’s blog while looking for a beef noodle soup recipe to cook for my son’s birthday breakfast yesterday. First of all, THANK YOU for the recipe I found “Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup in an Instant Pot”, I didn’t have all the ingredients but it turned out fantastic, it was a big hit with the birthday boy and his sleepover mates. Second of all, THANK YOU for the post on “Starting a food blog or website”, this has been on my mind for a while and your sister broke it down to very non-overwhelming steps and FINALLY, THANK YOU for this post…As a Malaysian transplant who has raised a family in the Bahamas for the last 24 years, I’ve often times been challenged by lack of time and ingredients to properly create the dishes of my childhood. Many nights, I’ve worked late and come home to cold leftovers or ran out of food feeding the hungry hoard. Your weeknight slop gave me a very warm feeling of relief and inclusion. My slop of choice is leftover rice, caramelised onion omelette with pea sprouts if available and a genereous dollop of my mother’s salted fish chilli pickle (all the way from Malaysia – involves 501 ingredients, 259 steps, stirring in a cauldron and secret incantations)…AHHHHHHH maximum satisfaction if enjoyed without 2 men and 2 teenagers saying my name :) Greetings and thanks to your WHOLE family.
Kaitlin says
Thank you so much for the kind words, Patrina! Hope to see you around the comments in the future and that you enjoy getting your own blog up and running :)
Mel Yo says
My go-to fast comfort meal is rice, a soft boiled egg, and an INTENSE sprinkle of furikake. I’m definitely going to have to try it with the chili bamboo and avocado instead, though. I’ve seen that jar at my local Asian food shop, but haven’t had a chance to try it out yet. Tonight!
Kaitlin says
Hey Mel–I like the qualifier of INTENSE sprinkle lol. An excellent oxymoron if I ever saw one. ;) Definitely try out the bamboo shoots! <3
Natalie Ellis says
This dish is kinda alike what I often eat for breakfast and I change ingredients everytime I eat, but advocado and eggs are two things that never lacks in my bowl! Happy meal xD
Kaitlin says
Avocado <3 Eggs 4 eva