Stole that one from this dude.
Soft-boiled brown "pickled" eggs are typically one of the best parts of local bentos and ramen dishes. Also available in threes or twos or ones in any grocery stores (long-stored, floating in liquid). But, you know, preservatives, not to mention the not overly attractive prices. So, as a result of random brain neuron firing in strange directions (today a similar occurrence made me make burgers, for eggsample), tried a diy eggsperiment yesterday. Didn't bother looking up any recipes, just improvised.
Soft-boil eggs, cool down to peeleable (is that a word?) level, remove the shell, and fully submerge/soak in a mix (relative amounts here, I needed x2 to cover eggs in a small bowl) of:
- shirodashi 1
- mirin 2
- soy sauce 2
- dry white wine 2
Side pro tip: after taking eggs off the stove, crack the shells immediately when putting them into cold water, and when cool enough to touch, make sure to make a hole in the inside membrane, so that water gets between it and the egg - HEAPS more likely to be easy-peel, not the everything-is-f*ing-stuck result. (Shocking eggs with cold helps, using old eggs helps, adding salt to boiling water doesn't, in my eggsperience.)
"Pickling" (no real acidity or strong vinegar or eggstra salt involved here, but don't really know how to call the process otherwise) for 30 minutes at room temperature gave the surface some slight taste, but nothing much changed deeper in the egg. However, soaking for half a day resulted in an egg uneggspectedly similar to those sold pre-made, just a little less brown.
Future plan is to test overnight pickling and maybe some other marinade flavours. And, of course, getting even softer eggs. (Have only recently come to understand, how overcooked eggsactly most of the egg-dishes have been for most of my life - it's a b*tch of a habit to fix...)
Cheers,
Hedi
