Recipe: Perfect Soft-Boiled Eggs

I used to think making soft boiled eggs were so difficult - in fact, I was so bad at making soft boiled eggs, I used to go all the way to Himawari Ramen in San Mateo just to get my fix of soft boiled eggs.

This is no longer the case!

We have been enjoying perfectly cooked soft-boiled eggs for a year or so now - and it is literally perfect each time as long as we follow this very simple recipe. The key is in the timing, so a timer is definitely a necessity.

Here is how it goes:

1. Place cold eggs in a pan or pot with apx 1 cm of cold water. Yup, that's right, the eggs will not be fully immersed in the water. One cm deep of water is plenty for this method. Put the lid on the pan/pot and don't take it off until the very last step.
2. Bring water to a boil on High Heat.
3. As soon as the water boils, turn heat down to Medium.
4. Cook at Medium Heat for 4 min.
5. Immediately after these 4 min, remove from heat and let eggs sit in hot water, 3 min.
6. Quickly chill eggs in cold water briefly to cool down the eggs for easy peeling.
7. Peel and enjoy!

I swear by this recipe. As long as the timing is followed carefully, the eggs come out extremely consistently. The decadent creaminess of the soft boiled yolk is beautifully maintained while the outside white is firm enough to contain the goodness.

Needless to say, I have not had those violent urges to head over to San Mateo in a while!

***The original recipe/idea was found in Japanese here. We shortened the cooking time to modify the recipe to soft-boiled eggs from hard-boiled eggs.

Terms: Mekabu

We Japanese eat a lot of seaweed. The more standard ones that are fairly well known these days are Nori (which is used in sushi) and Wakame (which is frequently in soups and salad). The konbu I used in the Dashi post is also a commonly used seaweed. But there are many, many more exotic seaweeds in our arsenal, and today's post is about one of my favorites - Mekabu.

The characters for Mekabu literally translates to Japanese Cloth Radish, although the common understanding is that it means Budding Radish. I am not entirely certain as to what part of Mekabu resembles a radish, but Mekabu is the root of the same seaweed that Wakame is made from - hence, the Budding association comes from the Mekabu portion of the seaweed being where the seaweed buds and grows.

The defining characteristic of Mekabu is its stickiness. It is slimey in the most delicious and satisfying way to those of us who love okra, natto, and yama-imo. It dances in the mouth and slithers down the throat, while maintaining a crunch to it with firmness only possible in seaweed and other plant-like foods. There is a brine-y scent that usually begs to be toned down with some citrus or ginger as to not overpower the palate.

Mekabu is sold either in dried form waiting to be reconstituted or "fresh", packed in liquid. I usually buy mine in liquid, packed with ginger. I take extra caution to get the ones without food coloring in it, because Mekabu is notoriously dyed with food coloring to give it an unnatural (and to me, unappetizing) green color.

My most frequent use of Mekabu is to mix Mekabu with natto and yamaimo in a side dish/salad. Simply mixed with a touch of ponzu, this salad is a goo-ey lover's dream dish! I will definitely post this as I get through natto and yama-imo terms post too. Although this mixture is great alone, it is also wonderful as a dipping sauce for noodles or folded into freshly boiled spaghetti for a unique sauce.

I also like to use Mekabu in salads with avocado, cucmbers, and greens. I simply mix all the ingredients, tie it together with a dash or two of ponzu, and voila! One dish done for parties!

Mekabu works great as a warming thickner for soups too. It adds viscosity without requiring starches, and it also gives off a wonderful deep richness to broth due to its high content of "umami".

Today, I discovered a new use: Mekabu-Kimchi. I chopped kimchi into small pieces, mixed it in with Mekabu, and served it as a palate cleanser - I know, it sounds weird, but we JPs use anything with a drastically different taste from the rest of the menu as a palate cleanser for meals.

If you have a great Mekabu recipe, I'd love to hear it!