Chinese Tea Eggs

Undoubtedly the idea of tea and eggs in one product will be a deterrent to most Western people. Don’t knock it til you try it, though - for one, tea is not the dominant flavour, and two, they are delicious. One & a half billion people can’t all be wrong, right? (Although I do draw the line at scorpions and century eggs.) They’re sold on the street all over China, and in convenience stores in Taiwan, and you can find them simply by following your nose - the fragrant spices used in soaking are unmistakeable. 

Pretty, right? Basically, you boil the eggs, crack the shells and then soak them in spices overnight. When you’re done, peel them and find a uniquely beautiful marbled pattern in each one. You can eat them as you would normal boiled eggs - as is, in salads, with ramen... you could even make some scrummy deviled eggs out of them.

Even pretty while soaking!

Ingredients:

2 - 6 eggs

1 cup soy sauce

2 tea bags / 2 teaspoons tea leaves (I used Five Roses, because it’s my favourite. You can use whatever you like)

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

1tsp sugar

Optional extras: Orange/lemon rind, Szechuan peppercorns, cloves, fennel, etc

Method:

1. Boil the eggs for about 3 minutes.
2. Remove eggs from water, leave to cool.
3. Once eggs are cool, gently crack the shell with the back of a spoon. The more cracks you make, the more marbled the eggs will be. Be careful not to make any big holes in the shell, or you’ll just end up with brown splodges.
4. Empty about half of the water from the pot, add the rest of the ingredients.
5. Bring to a gentle simmer and add the eggs. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Make sure you watch the pot, as soy sauce tends to overboil very quickly.
6. Remove from heat and transfer everything to a large bowl. I recommend using a black bowl or a cheap one you don’t care about - this mixture can stain. Also make sure you wipe up any spills immediately.
7. Cover bowl with clingfilm and leave overnight. The longer you leave the eggs in the mixture, the darker the marbling will be - I left the one on the left in for about 24 hours. The one on the right was in for about 8.
8. Remove, rinse and peel, revealing the pretty marbling. If you like the spice mixture you used, you can freeze it and use it again.

Cambodian-style Iced Coffee

One of the things I fell head-over-heels in love with when I was in Cambodia last year was the iced coffee. Our over-enthusiastic guide had insisted on taking us to at least three temples before stopping for lunch, so by the time we arrived at the tiny outdoor restaurant next to one of the temples in Siem Reap we were completely exhausted, grubby, sweaty and in dire need of refreshment. This freshly-brewed coffee, sweetened with condensed milk, combined with the hammocks that the restaurant-owners kindly let us melt into (I don’t think they really had a choice in the matter, to be honest) meant that post-lunch we were reinvigorated and ready for the next set of temples.

The picture is awful, but the coffee was heavenly - so good I forgot to take a picture until I was halfway through. 

We know, though, that things this good do not go unpunished, and the ice in said iced coffee was probably what led to me contracting the infamous SE-Asian stomach bug and being out for the count for the next three days or so. Now, however, I appear to have worked out the formula, and can enjoy this magnificence without the after-effects.

In South Africa now it’s probably a little ridiculous to be drinking iced coffee, but it’s just as easy to have hot - just omit the ice and stick the milk in the microwave. I’m sure I don’t even really need to write a recipe for this, but at least the pictures are pretty.

Ingredients:

1 shot freshly-brewed espresso

2T condensed milk (or to taste)

100ml milk

A few ice cubes

Method:

1. Pour the espresso into a cup over a couple of the ice cubes to cool down.
2. Pour milk and condensed milk into a glass. Stir and add ice.
3. Pour espresso over the top.
4. Stir it all up and drink it down.

Of course, everyone will have their own coffee preferences. I like mine strong and sweet. You could add more milk, more coffee, or more condensed milk. I hear in Vietnam a lot of people like to drink the Vietnamese coffee super strong with a few tablespoons of condensed milk. Play with it and find the deliciousness that suits you best.

Raaaaamen!

I felt that, with this blog having a Japanese-food bias, there was no better food for me to start on than the ubiquitous ramen.

Ramen is a type of noodle, originally hailing from China and the inspiration for the South African culinary atrocity, 2-Minute Noodles.

In Japan you can find a ramen shop in any corner, selling the noodles in a variety of broths with toppings as diverse as seaweed, eggs, ham, shellfish and an array of different vegetables. In any grocery store you’ll find at least one full shelf dedicated solely to instant ramen, and convenience stores have special limited-edition varieties, and a hot-water urn next to the counter for businessmen to indulge in a quick lunch.

It’s a crying shame that someone hasn’t yet got hold of the idea in South Africa, as I believe they would make a killing from a decent ramen store catering to South African tastes.

However, thanks to the many Oriental stores here, we can at least partake in a bowl of decent instant ramen.

The best one I’ve sampled from any of the stores in Joburg and Pretoria (and it can be found at almost any of them) is Nissin’s “Demae Icchou” (出前一丁) ramen. 

 They come packaged similarly to 2-Minute Noodles, and the way you make them is similar too, except the part where you empty the broth (and thus all the flavour) out at the end.

They come in myriad different flavours. Some of the ones we currently have at home include Kobe Teriyaki Beef, Shoyu (soy sauce), Miso, Chicken, Prawn, Roast Beef and Satay. There are at least 20 different flavours, though, so get to a shop and check them out yourself, although you may end up like us, just going down the aisle and throwing two of each into the basket. They only cost about R5 each, so it’s a perfect post-latest-petrol-hike meal.

The directions are written on the back of each packet, but it’s simply a matter of dumping the noodles in a bowl, pouring in 500ml of boiling water, sticking it in the microwave for 3 minutes and then pouring in the flavouring packets and stirring.

After that, though, you can make it truly special. For inspiration, follow the packet images as to what to put on top, but really, only your imagination limits you. I’ve done it before with strips of teriyaki chicken, ample slabs of caramelised pork belly and blanched fresh Chinese cabbage.

Today I made a simple lunch of the Kobe Beef Teriyaki flavour (my favourite, although, to be honest, it is a very long way from a Kobe steak) with added fresh coriander, sesame seeds and boiled egg.

Two warnings, though:

First, make sure you gobble it up right as it’s done. Don’t leave it standing or else the noodles will go soggy.

Second, as delicious as it is, it’s not exactly heart-smart. As with a large proportion of pre-packaged “done in 2 seconds” food, it contains a high amount of sodium. So try not to over do it.