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Notions & Notations of a Novice CookNotions & Notations of a Novice Cook Archive RSS Need a pen? Q: Just wanted to pop in and wish you all the best with your wedding! I hope you and your loved ones are well. Anonymous Thank you very much! We had the wedding about three months ago and it has been a whirlwind of activity ever since. Here are some pictures from the event: Thank you again! :) 3 years ago 64 Comments Permalink Share Short URL Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google+ Making Shoyu-Tamago (Ramen Eggs) I’ll be honest with you. When I first wrote this post I had a questionably beautiful paragraph of melancholia about this thing and that, about life et cetera. Fast forward 2 hours later and all those have been removed and I am now here to bitch and moan about eggs. Eggs are so deceptive, you see. Seemingly unassuming, but they can be a little bugger to cook and peel. Where I live eggs only come in one size. There are no larges, mediums or smalls so the rule of thumb 6 minutes for a large egg = soft yolk” doesn’t really apply. For these I guess-timated that for medium sized eggs at room temperature I would need to boil them for roughly 5 minutes to achieve firm whites and runny yolk. To help shell them, there is this neat little trick floating about on the internet where you combine ice cold water with some malt vinegar, for the eggs to be put into to chill after they’re boiled. There is only one catch - you have to let the eggs chill for 3-4 hours. Good lord . You could lay your own egg by the time you wait for these to chill the ever loving fudge out. You could knit a sweater by the time you wait for these to chill the ever loving fudge out. You could… You get the point. So I decided to try another trick, which is to use a push pin to make a little hole at the bottom of each eggs, which worked wonderfully! All in all these were a modest success. If you scroll further down you can see that the results range from OOoh pretty egg!” to Holy shit what is that shriveled thing?”. The important thing though, is that they all taste the same. And that taste is pretty good. The salty-sweet soy sauce brine really brings out the richness of the yolk, so do give it a go to add to your ramen bowl or soups. SHOYU-TAMAGO: [ 6 eggs + 1 cup water + 1 cup soy sauce + 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed + 2 scallions or green onion, sliced + 1 ounce ginger, crushed + ½ cup brown sugar ] The majority of recipes I’ve read for these eggs require you to have the eggs cold or refrigerated, and although that may be the norm for most people, in our house eggs never stay around long enough to even make it to the fridge. So, room temperature eggs completely a-okay. Put all the ingredients except the eggs in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiled, turn off the heat and set aside to let it cool down to room temperature. Fill another pan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower to medium-high once the water boils. Use a push-pin to gently poke a small hole at the bottom of each egg. This will help loosen the eggshells when you peel them. Gently lower the eggs into the pan of boiling water. Gently being the key word. Set your timer to 6 minutes and pay close attention to it. From 0 to 2 minutes, grab a chopstick or a spoon and start swirling the water to spin the eggs. You’re going to do this for the entirety of two minutes. The reason for this is the centrifugal force of the spinning water will make the middle the yolk set and harden, while the outer yolk will stay runny - making it the prettiest pretty egg yolk in all the world. Once you’ve reached 6 minutes, pour out the hot water and run the eggs with cold water until cooled completely. Alternatively, you could submerge the eggs in ice water. Carefully peel the eggs. Pour the marinating liquid into a ziploc bag or a bowl and submerge the eggs. If you’re using bowl, then put two layers of paper towels on top of the eggs an gently push until submerged completely. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 12 hours. This will keep for a week in the refrigerator. Bring back to room temperature before serving. Enjoy! #food #eggs #shoyu tamago #ramen eggs 3 years ago 179 Comments Permalink Share Short URL Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google+ Making Ochazuke T o Beverly, Ema and all of y’all patient and supportive human beings, thank you. First things first: during my radio silence…I got engaged! I think it’s safe to say that nobody was as surprised (in a good way) at this development as I was, and between this thing and that, we now have a little more than 5 months until D-day. Scared? Excited? Nervous? Try going through a roller-coaster of all three simultaneously and it’ll almost come close. Seriously, I don’t know how you girls who’ve been through this did it. I feel like I need someone to constantly hold my hand and tether me to the ground or I’ll just float in a charged cloud of nervous excitement. On top of that, I seem to have grown an emphatic bone seemingly out of thin air, so bad that I sometimes can’t watch Say Yes to the Dress without tearing up a little when a bride (finally) finds her dress. Really, it’s all sorts of a nuisance, except for the fact that it’s also maybe more than a little kind of nice. Anyway. I digress. Because whoever said that nothing is like a wedding to motivate you to getting healthy and in shape (does such a saying really exist?), must not be familiar with the saying easier said than done, because all I ever want to do is stuff my face with the greasiest, saltiest food ever known to mankind. The temptation is great, but you must be greater and push through. And, you know, make this. This is comfort food that’s light and all kinds of pleasant. It’s a simple Japanese dish made by pouring hot green tea, oolong, dashi or even hot water over cooked leftover rice. You can eat is as is, or top it with a variety of toppings, making it as light or as indulgent as you like. Common toppings include salted or preserved food like tsukemono (Japanese pickles), umeboshi (pickled plums), nori (seaweed), furikake , sesame seeds, tarako and mentaiko (salted and marinated roe), salted salmon and wasabi. Some of these ingredients are quite hard to get outside of Japan so feel free to change the ingredients and create your own ochazuke recipe. I’m putting kimchi on mine - that counts as something pickled, right? With charred green onions, fried ginger-garlic crisps and delivery-packet bonito flakes from that one time we had takoyaki takeout. Onsen-tamago (hot spring eggs !) too, just because wedding dieting sucks lemons and I like to indulge myself. Also, if you look closely, the editing is a bit of a hodge-podge situation at this point. Part of it is because I’m out of practice, but also because I’ve just downloaded a new post-editing program and I’m having way too much fun trying it out. Possibly maybe will tell you guys about it and maybe do a little tutorial. We’ll see! (EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK) OCHAZUKE (serves 2): [ 4 teaspoon Japanese green tea leaves, but any unflavored and not too strong green tea will do + 2 cups hot water + 1 teaspoon soy sauce + 1 ½ cup warm cooked rice + ½ cup kimchi; storebought or make your own , chopped + 2 green onions, charred in a hot pan with a little oil + bonito flakes + garlic-ginger crisps (recipe below)] Garlic-ginger crisps: [ ½ cup peanut oil + 2 tablespoons minced garlic + 2 tablespoons minced ginger + salt ] In a large skillet, heat ¼ cup oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly. Put tea leaves in the pot. Bring the water to the appropriate temperature for your tea and pour into the pot. Set aside for 1-2 minute (follow the directions on your tea bag). Divide the rice into 2 bowls, top with your choice of toppings. Pour hot green tea over rice. Add a little soy sauce if you want. Serve...