I’ve been branching out with my cooking lately, trying to find a few new recipes to add to heavy rotation and some fun things that are slightly out of my comfort zone (read: not asian.) 😉

Monday night, we tried out a totally new dish for dinner called shakshuka. It’s basically eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce and eaten with crusty bread. It’s of Tunisian origin, but has become a popular dish in many cultures and has endless variations.

It’s pretty simple to put together too. You start by toasting the spices in oil…

Next, add diced onion and garlic and allow to soften in the spices.

When the onions are soft, add a huge can of whole peeled tomatoes and mash em’ up.

While the sauce was warming up, I got some bread ready to toast. I drizzled on olive oil and then seasoned it with salt and pepper before placing under the broiler.

Last step is to poach the eggs. You can crack them right into the sauce and just let them go until they’re as done as you like. I kept them a little runny cuz that’s how we like em’.

The original recipe calls for feta sprinkled on top, but I chose to use goat cheese and a handful of peppery arugula.

Use the toasted bread to scoop it up!

Shakshuka

A north African dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce with crusty bread for dipping.

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 eggs
• 1 28oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
• 5 cloves of garlic (minced)
• half an onion (diced)
• 1 tbsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. red pepper flake
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• salt and pepper to taste
• top with goat cheese and arugula
• bread for dipping

Cooking Directions

1. Toast spices in olive oil. Add in onion and garlic and allow to soften.
2. Add canned tomatoes and mash into sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat through.
3. Crack eggs into sauce and allow to poach to desired doneness, at least 5 minutes.
4. Top with crumbled goat cheese and arugula.
5. Serve with toasted bread for dipping.

Protip: Let the shakshuka cool off a bit before eating. Jeff and I both burnt our hands on runny molten-hot tomato lava. It was totally worth it though, this recipe is delicious!

Who knew I could cook North African food?

What’s your favorite “ethnic” dish?

July 20, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 2 comments

Here’s an awesome lunch Jeff and I had on Sunday. We had very little food in the house but I still managed to make something special out of some basic items that I usually have lying around.

I buy pre-cooked udon noodles that come in a vacuum-sealed package with a packet of soup mix. If you’ve ever had ramen noodles you’re probably familiar with that little seasoning packet it comes with. These are like that except that the seasoning packet is actually full of delicious wholesome freeze dried real food as opposed to just salt, MSG, and bouillon.

Boiled up a few eggs to add on top using the same hard-boiled egg method that I used for the Chinese tea eggs I made recently. I only needed two, the other two became snacks for later.

Liam was perched on top of the refrigerator the entire time. Whenever eggs, fish, butter, or cheese are present, he’s sure to be lurking around nearby hoping for a windfall.

See how he tries to be cute so I’ll give him a boiled egg? Weirdo.

I am so bad at peeling eggs…

The udon only really needs to heat through, if you cook it too much it will get soft and fall apart. Never mind that I did exactly that…

I swear I can get no peace from these two. Liam promptly moved himself directly under my feet as I started to slice the eggs and Lucas alighted to the top of the fridge to glower at me for not giving him any.

Lucas, I realize now that you have yet to have an egg in your life. No wonder you’re so upset! I’m obviously a bad mother.

I am such a sucker for these creamy under-boiled eggs. They tend to soak up the flavors of the broth, so yummy!

Topped it with toasted sesame seeds and shichimi togarashi, a spicy Japanese condiment made specifically for topping soups.

Udon noodles with creamy egg

An instant soup is dressed up with perfectly cooked eggs and fresh scallions.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 package prepared udon noodles with seasoning
• 3 cups water
• 3 thinly sliced scallions
• top with sesame seeds and togarashi

Cooking Directions

1. Hard boil eggs. Peel and slice.
2. Boil noodles in water with seasonings according to package directions.
3. Top with sliced scallions, sesame, togarashi spice, and sliced egg.

This was a great way to make a special lunch out of a bunch of odds and ends. There is no shame in using packaged noodles and instant broth so long as you can find one with wholesome and authentic ingredients.

What is your favorite way to eat noodles?

July 19, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 9 comments

Finally, I got em’ right!

I have been trying to get these Chinese tea eggs to come out beautifully marbled and full of salty smoky flavor and I finally did it!

Tea eggs are a common Chinese snack found in street food stalls and also made at home to eat with a hot cup of tea. The intricate marbled lacework across the white comes from soaking in a marinade of soy sauce, Chinese black tea, and spices. Here’s how it’s done….

If you can boil water, you can make tea eggs. I used this method of hard-boiling eggs to make sure they came out the perfect consistency and it worked marvelously! Place up to 6 eggs in a pot that isn’t too huge for them but also not crowded. Add 1 and a half quarts of water and start heating it up.

As soon as the water comes to a bare simmer (rising bubbles are starting to make the surface bounce and quiver but not yet roll,) remove the pot from the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 10 minutes.

Then rinse the eggs under cool water until they are cool enough to touch.

Now comes the fun part, bashing them up!

Use the back of a spoon to break the egg all over, making a fine meshwork of cracks. There is a membrane just under the shell that will hold all the pieces in place so don’t worry about breaking it apart, just don’t hit it so hard that you jam shell pieces down into the egg!

Add the eggs back to the pot and add just enough water to cover. I use the same water that the eggs boiled in and just pour some out.

Add soy sauce, mirin, cinnamon sticks, anise, black peppercorns, and any style of black tea you can get your hands on, though a traditional Chinese black or pu-erh is best. Heat the marinade just until you can smell the spices infusing and the tea leaves are unfurled and soft. Don’t let it boil or even simmer, it’ll overcook the eggs!

In China it is common to let the eggs sit in the marinade for 2 days to fully absorb the flavor. I let mine sit overnight, on the counter until cool and then in the fridge in a sealed plastic container. If you really wanna eat them sooner, 4 hours should do it.

Then they’re ready to peel. I have not found a good way to do this without half-mangling the egg whites, so if you have a preferred technique by all means use it. One good tip I do know of though is to try to get under the membrane so that you can peel up more of the shell at once.

Serve with tea or any time!

Chinese tea eggs

Hard boiled eggs marbled with fragrant soy, spices, and Chinese black tea.

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 eggs
• 1.5 quarts water
• 1 star anise pod
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. mirin
• 2 tbsp. or 2 teabags of black tea

Cooking Directions

1. Put eggs in cold water in a saucepan that is just big enough for them.
2. Bring heat up to a bare simmer, remove from heat and let sit in hot water for 10 minutes.
3. Run cool water over eggs then crack all over with the back of a spoon.
4. Return eggs to pot and pour out all but enough of the water to just cover eggs.
5. Add seasonings and sauces and turn heat to medium-low to infuse spices and tea into liquid.
6. After the marinade smells fragrant, turn off heat and let eggs sit in the liquid for at least 4 hours or overnight.
7. Peel eggs carefully and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

The flavor is faintly smoky and lightly salty with a slight tickle from the spicy anise. I love to keep of few of these in the fridge for a healthy and satisfying snack in the afternoon. They are perfect to pop right after a good workout for a protein punch! But mostly, I like to savor them in exactly 4 bites, each with the perfect proportion of creamy just-set yolk.

I hope you try them, they’re worth the wait!

July 11, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 11 comments