America's Test Kitchen showed a different way of "poaching" eggs recently. They refer to it as Sous Vide (but that is technically incorrect because there is no vacuum involved). The link here (at around 20 minutes in) shows how it is done. I won't go into the details here, but encourage you to look at the video. I had no expectation that the method would work. But I was wrong. Not only did it work, it was spectacuar.
This dish was intended to show off the technique, and to make the eggs an integral part of a light supper.
This dish was intended to show off the technique, and to make the eggs an integral part of a light supper.
Ingredients (For 2 people)
4 Large eggs at refrigerator temperature.
3 oz Soba noodles.
1 lb Asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces.
1T vegetable oil
2 oz dried exotic mushrooms (reconstittued, reserve the liquid), chopped finely
1T sesame oil
4T soy sauce
1t hot sauce (Habanero vodka in our case).
Salt to taste
Method
Start the eggs in the circulator at 167F for 11 minutes. Meanwhile bring a pot of water bring to the boil and cook the soba noodles according to the directions. Drain the noodles and leave to stay warm in the pot.
While the noodles are cooking, heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat until smoking. Cook the asparagus stalks over high heat for 1 minute. Add the asparagus tips and cook for a minute longer.
Add the mushrooms. Mix the sesame oil, soy sauce, and hot sauce together with 2 or 3T of the reserved mushroom liquid. Add the mixed liquids to the skillet and cover to steam for 2 minutes. Toss in the soba noodles and mix thoroughly.
Divide the noodle mixture into 2 bowls. Break the eggs over the dish and serve immediately.
