Friday, December 26, 2014

Master Sauce Eggs - a Chinese Variant on Hard Boiled Eggs 鹵水

Yummy eaten alone.

Here is my second batch of Lu Shui eggs. They were given as a Xmas gift to my bicycle repair shop owner, Deborah Xu of Tender Loving Cycle.

Deborah is from Guangzhou China and I love the fact that she can give me an honest opinion about my Chinese cooking.

My Master Sauce recipe is here:

Lu Shui

This recipe is a blending of Julia Child's and Ms. Xu's Father's method.

Julia Child's Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Rule #1: Water should cover the eggs by 1 inch, so use a tall pan, and limit cooking to 2 dozen eggs at a time.

Rule #2: Take the eggs, directly from the refrigerator, do not bring them to room temperature. It is not absolutely necessary for this recipe.

Set over high heat and bring just to the boil; remove from heat, cover the pan, and let sit exactly 17 minutes.

CHINESE Addition/Improvement:

Bring the Lu Shui and eggs to a boil. Turn off the heat. At the 6 minute mark, remove the eggs, recover the pot. Gently crack the eggs. They will be too hot to touch, so use the back of a heavy spoon, or similar tool. I use a pestle. A quick sharp blow is all that is necessary. The yolks will not yet be set, but the whites nearest the shell will be set. Return the eggs as quickly as possible to the covered pot of lu shui. Allow the eggs to cool in it until the lu shui returns to room temperature. Or overnight. In winter, here in California, where it does not freeze, I leave the pot on my porch to cool overnight. 

The next morning, or when the pot is room temperature, remove the eggs, allow the sauce to drain and return the eggs to the refrigerator.

Ms. Xu has said she likes the flavor of my eggs. By the bye, the men of Guangzhou Province, are the family cooks.