The Food Canon

Steamed egg brings back many childhood memories. Next to milk and milo, it is one of the first foods which we were comforted with.

Quick and easy to make, I can imagine why mothers feed their kids with this. When the rice cooker button pops up, from "cook" to "warm", my mum will put a plate on the rice. She poured a layer of the egg-water mix into a plate, closed the lid, and let it steam-cook for a few minutes. It is an efficient way of cooking, making use of the steam and heat from the cooked rice. Sprinkle some diced spring onions to introduce some veg to the child's diet.

I am currently on Sabbatical leave and will be in Toronto for the next few months.

I wasn't sure I would be blogging about anything as I will be staying in a student hostel. Since arriving, I have found out that they do have a decent pantry which can pretty much do everything.

I am glad I brought my Sous Vide device with me. In the cold of Toronto, a warm set of perfect soft-boiled eggs garnished with some soy sauce will make a good start for the day. The eggs here are fresh and I bought some free-range ones.

This is a simple update post on soft-boiled eggs, a morning breakfast favorite of mine. I don't eat it very often but it is always a treat when I can spare the 45 minutes to do it well.

I have posted about the various methods used to produce a 45 minutes 62C egg. I have yet to add that the humble rice cooker on its own can also do it for you, albeit with some added attention needed.

Good morning.

It is Ipoh time again as my brother drove down south this week.

And he brought along some fresh "Kampung" eggs.

I suppose you can call them free range eggs as this "village" chicken roams about and eats off the ground.

In a recent post, I have mentioned the use of the tap, pot and induction cooker method to maintain the constant temperature needed to make 'perfect' half-boiled eggs. This is a "Manual Sous Vide" method or sometimes called "Ghetto Sous Vide."

Having experimented further, there are other ways of doing the 62C-45M eggs. The length of time (45m) remains, but these methods need less attention. You can "close and forget" - sort of.

Before I proceed, let me show you pics of eggs from a shop in Kota Baru which my brother sent to me. He stays in Ipoh. It looks like those on my post. It has solved a mystery for him. He has always wondered: how did they do it? He may not need to go all the way to KB for these if he can make them at home. :)

Are you crazy over soft-boiled eggs?

If not, you may find this post puzzling and will be wondering what the fuss is all about.

But for the rest of us, wouldn't it be great if we could this at home to look and taste better then those at our fave coffee-shops? Consistently, everytime?

When my daughters were kids, I remember bringing them out for kaya toast and soft-boiled eggs breakfast. My daughter quipped, "Why come all the way here when you can make this at home?" Hmm, why indeed. I found it difficult then to try and explain that places like these get them right - everytime. "What do you mean, dad? Eggs are eggs."

This is my mother's Mother of all Recipes: Auntie Ruby's Fried Eggs.

The secret is out. This is one dish which demands good culinary skills. Succeed with it, and you will know that you have arrived as a chef.

So what do you need to make perfect fried eggs?

Firstly, good eggs. And I mean, really good ones. And the best ones comes from 60-day grain fed chicken, no less. It has to be free range ones and laid within 24 hours. Get it from your local egg seller. Say it quickly in one breath: "Free range 60-day grain fed chicken eggs laid within 24 hours please." If she says "huh?", move on.