Recipe Tea poached eggs and crispy prosciutto

[Hemulen]

Tea poached eggs and crispy prosciutto

Serves 1-2 | Cooking time 10 min

This is a modified version of (breakfast) eggs and bacon.

Ingredients ​

​

✧ 12-15 g/0.4-0.5 oz prosciutto crudo (1 slice)​

✧ 25 g/0.88 oz/0.22 sticks salted butter​

✧ 2 teaspoons chil(l)i flakes​

✧ 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce​

✧ 500 ml strong white tea​

✧ 4 eggs​

✧ two 35x35 cm/13.8 x 13.8’’ pieces of densely woven cheesecloth for poaching​

✧ (a small handful of sprouts or herbs for garnish)​

Instructions​

1. Set the oven to 200°C/390°F/gas mark 6, no fan.​

2. Make "nests" of the cheesecloth by tying all corners into small knots.​

3. Cut frequent (interval 0.5-0.7cm/0.2-0.3’’) dash lines (2.0-2.5 cm/0.8-1.0’’ dashes) throughout the prosciutto slice (as seen in this year’s Master Chef Australia using pork skin).​

4. Turn a small rectangular or round oven dish around and spread the slice on top of the bottom to form a ”net”.​

5. Cook the prosciutto in the middle part of the oven for 7-8 minutes until crispy.​

6. Brew 500 ml of strong white tea (I used four organic tea bags).​

7. Melt the butter on a frying pan on medium/high heat, add the chili flakes and mix.​

8. Pour the tea and soy sauce in the pan and bring to boil.​

9. Place the cheesecloth nests in the pan and break two eggs inside both nests.​

10. Cook for 3-4 minutes, take aside and let the eggs set in the liquid for a further 1-2 minutes.​

11. Drain the nests and place them on a soup dish on top of kitchen paper. Open the knots carefully and turn/pour the eggs on a serving plate.​

12. Garnish with torn pieces of crispy prosciutto and optional greens.​

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

This is really cool! I saw the title, and I thought: "tea poached? You mean...she poached the eggs in tea?"

And, of course you did. I imagine the flavor is subtle, but still recognizable. Now, I'm wondering about various things I can do with tea and eggs...I'm thinking Earl Gray might be a nice compliment to a citrusy plate.

But, to be honest, I'm probably skipping the cheesecloth. What advantage did you see with doing this versus using a slotted spoon to scoop it out of the pan?

 

[CookieMonster]

weighting on baited breath to hear the cheesecloth technique....
fascinating idea....wetted with water or perhaps with oil - which could 'repel' the egg white into being 'retained'....?

 

[Mountain Cat]

.... waiting on the invite for breakfast.... Looks awesome, and a great photo.

 

[Hemulen]

This is really cool! I saw the title, and I thought: "tea poached? You mean...she poached the eggs in tea?"

And, of course you did. I imagine the flavor is subtle, but still recognizable. Now, I'm wondering about various things I can do with tea and eggs...I'm thinking Earl Gray might be a nice compliment to a citrusy plate.

But, to be honest, I'm probably skipping the cheesecloth. What advantage did you see with doing this versus using a slotted spoon to scoop it out of the pan?

Thanks. Yes, the subtle flavors covered the whole eggs (which was the goal in comparison to poaching the eggs in plain tea, then sprinkling chili powder and pouring melted butter and soy sauce on top).

Traditional poached eggs are dropped in a water swirl and lifted with a slotted spoon. In this case, the broth was more flavorful but messy alike. The cheesecloth was supposed to enable the poaching of combined (multiple) eggs and to keep the chili flakes from sticking to the eggs - which it did. On the other hand, some parts of the egg white got stuck in the cloth. I thought that the generous amount of butter in the liquid would act as a "repellent" for the egg whites but I did lose about a third of them stuck to the fibres. One has to practice; this was a first try.

All in all, the flavor combination of tea, chili, soy and butter works well with eggs. It might be easier just to make an omelette with the same condiments. One experiment with cheesecloth (I used sterile, loosely bound cotton baby mull from the supermarket - a denser cheesecloth would work better) could be making a bigger nest for 6-8 simultaneously poached eggs: a real egg slush with a seriously wobbly center. In such a case, you would have to separate the yolks and whites first and add the yolks to the mixed whites. Maybe that could work for traditional poached eggs (without the cheesecloth) as well...

A single slice of prosciutto is very flavorful and delightfully brittle when punched and cooked in the oven. It makes a savory - and fat-free - savory treat for two eaters. IMO, a healthy substitute for bacon.

 

[Morning Glory]

I really love the flavours here - I mean the idea of tea, soy and chilli. I'm not entirely sure why the butter is needed? I've never tasted white tea. I imagine its a much milder taste than, say, Assam and wonder if it stood up to the soy sauce which is a strong flavour. Did the tea taste come through sufficiently?

Traditional poached eggs are dropped in a water swirl and lifted with a slotted spoon. In this case, the broth was more flavorful but messy alike. The cheesecloth was supposed to enable the poaching of combined (multiple) eggs and to keep the chili flakes from sticking to the eggs - which it did. On the other hand, some parts of the egg white got stuck in the cloth.

This is not a technique I've ever seen and I'd have expected the white to get stuck in the mesh. In fact I wouldn't mind seeing some flecks of chilli adhering to the white. I think it might have looked pretty. There is a technique of poaching eggs which combines herbs or other ingredients in a pocket to purposely have them adhere to the egg white. I did something similar to that with this 'egg as a chicken' (it was cooked en cocotte) - just a bit of fun.

 

[Hemulen]

I really love the flavours here - I mean the idea of tea, soy and chilli. I'm not entirely sure why the butter is needed? I've never tasted white tea. I imagine its a much milder taste than, say, Assam and wonder if it stood up to the soy sauce which is a strong flavour. Did the tea taste come through sufficiently?
- - -
This is not a technique I've ever seen and I'd have expected the white to get stuck in the mesh. In fact I wouldn't mind seeing some flecks of chilli adhering to the white. I think it might have looked pretty. There is a technique of poaching eggs which combines herbs or other ingredients in a pocket to purposely have them adhere to the egg white. I did something similar to that with this 'egg as a chicken' (it was cooked en cocotte) - just a bit of fun.

Thank you, Morning Glory, for another dedicated assessment (a trait that understandably eats up time and effort!).

The butter was there just to act as an anti-adhesive (regarding the egg whites) and to give some yummy butter flavor.

White tea tastes less grassy than green tea, slightly floral and lighter than e.g. oxidized Oolongs, Pekoes and Assams (darker or black teas). I've read that minimally processed white tea is healthy and higher in antioxidants than green tea. I used quite a few tea bags, so there was a noticeable hint of tea flavor in the eggs: not overpowered by soy or chili.

Yeah, why not have crushed chili adhering to the whites - I just wanted to keep the whites clean. The poaching liquid looked like a mess. Your "egg as a chicken" looks lovely .

I guess the only benefits of poaching eggs inside a cloth are keeping the flavoring agents/condiments separated and being able to poach several eggs at a time in one cluster (by separating the yolks and whites, combining the whites, adding the yolks one by one and cooking the lot in a pouch/mold made of cloth, steel or else).

 

[garlichead]

I'd need to hire 3 or 4 more people in the kitchen...hehe. It is an interesting method though.