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The Cheat's Guide - Tea Eggs

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

I stewed a batch of tea eggs the other week. Not too many, only ten, as the consumer was a grand total of one person - me. These traditional eggs, typically sold by street vendors and eaten as snacks, are one of my comfort foods. And I must have needed lots of comfort for as soon as the eggs were done, I gobbled down three. It's funny how certain foods trigger off memories. In between eggs one and two, I was five again.

While I have a few 'from scratch' tea egg recipes, here I've decided instead to try one of those ready mixed spice bags from the local supermarket.

For the next hour or so, my kitchen was a heady mixture of five spice powder, aniseed, cinnamon, liquorice and a whole bunch of other aromatics, including the all important black tea leaves. Can't have tea eggs without the tea leaves. Where would we all be then.

Tea Eggs

You need:

10-20 eggs
1 bag of ready mixed spices
4-6 cups of water
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
splash of hua tiao wine
salt
sugar

You do:

Cook eggs in boiling water until hard-boiled. Drain and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Tap eggs on work surface or with a spoon to get cracks all over, taking care not to break open the shells itself. This step is to achieve the pretty marbling effect of the eggs.

In a medium sized pot, add in water, bag of spices, light and dark soy sauce and hua tiao wine. Bring to a boil.

Season with salt and sugar and do a taste test. Add more soy sauces if needed.

Gently place the eggs into the mixture and let boil for 10 minutes.

Lower the flame, cover the pot and leave the eggs to simmer slowly for 1 - 1.5hrs.

Turn heat off and let eggs cool slightly before eating.

Tea eggs can be eaten hot or cold. I personally prefer them warm, with a cup of Pu-erh tea. And just between you and me, I get a childish kick when peeling the eggs. I love discovering the patterns on the egg whites underneath their shells. Today, I had a spider web thing going. How purdy!

Labels: asian food, she cooks, small bites, tea, the cheat's guide

The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 8:27 pm

3 calories

The Cheat's Guide - Bearnaise Sauce

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Last month, I made an entry on Bearnaise Sauce but somehow, forgot to put down the instructions.

So here it is, in all it's simplified glory.

Bearnaise Sauce

You Need:

1 package of Hollandaise sauce. Not just any kind. After several experiments, I found it only works with this brand of sauce. For best results, choose this or similar:

Tarragon, a pinch or according to taste.

You Do:

Empty sauce into saucepan. Heat gently.

Add in tarragon. With a whisk, stir for dear life, making sure that all this time, the sauce, while gently cooking, is not boiling furiously. You don't want that to happen as the fat will start to separate and you get a lumpy mess.

Serve hot on steak or fish.

Labels: the cheat's guide

The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 6:12 pm

0 calories

The Cheat's Guide - Ravioli in Lobster Broth

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

This is not so much a recipe than a set of instructions. It's really fuss-free, doesn't take up too much time and best of all, easily modified to suit your personal taste or whatever was available at the supermarket that day.

The quality of this broth depends on two things: the lobster stock and the seafood. For the former, get the best you can lay your hands on and the latter, buy the freshest. The appearance of your broth also depends on the kind of stock you use. Mine comes rather thick and slightly reddish because of the herbs and spices that were already in it. With that disclaimer of sorts out of the way, let's get a move on.

Ravioli In Lobster Broth

You need:

ravioli (if you can't get lobster stuffed ones, the cheese variety will also do)
1 bottle of lobster boullion / stock
langoustine or lobster meat
cod, or any sort of firm white fish
prawns
1 medium sized bay leaf
a few sprigs of flat leaf parsley
cognac or sherry
salt and pepper to taste

You do:

Cook ravioli according to instructions. Arrange them in soup plates. Cover and set aside.

Empty contents of lobster boullion into a saucepan and follow the water to stock ratio instructions if any. Add in bay leaf and parsley. Bring to a soft rolling boil.

While the stock is heating up, prepare seafood. Cut lobster and fish into chunks. Shell and devein prawns. Make a slit down the middle of the prawn body so it 'flowers' prettily during cooking.

Let the boullion boil for a minute or two and then lower flame. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Cover the saucepan so the broth doesn't dry out.

Bring it up to a soft boil again and add in the lobster/langoustine, fish and prawns. Add in a few tablespoons of cognac to taste. Season with salt and pepper if neccessary.

Once the seafood is cooked, ladle out immediately onto the cooked ravioli and garnish with leftover parsley. You may give it a drizzle of double cream if desired.

Note: I didn't specify the amount of seafood required as you can use as much or as little as you want, it doesn't really matter.

*****

By the way, I've started what I call The Cheat's Guide. It's a collection of short cut method recipes I've devised when I'm pressed for time, feeling lazy or busy with ~~hobbies~~ housework to spend copious hours in the kitchen over a meal.

Labels: she cooks, soups, the cheat's guide

The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 3:46 am

2 calories