Pickled eggs
Prep 20 mins (plus pickling overnight)
Cook 10 mins
Serves 4-6
Difficulty 1.5
Camille Fourmont of Parisian wine bar, La Buvette brings a Japanese twist to her bars pickled eggs, with added furikake. You’ll need to start this recipe a day ahead to pickle the eggs.
250ml (1 cup) rice vinegar, plus 1 tbsp for cooking the eggs
125ml (½ cup) water
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt
6 eggs (see note)
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, for seasoning
Serve with furikake (see note)
1. Combine 1 cup of the vinegar with the water, sugar, and fine sea salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Fill a separate pot with water and bring to boil with the remaining 1 tbsp vinegar. Once the water boils, gently lower the eggs into the water and cook them for 8 minutes if the eggs start out at room temperature, or 9 minutes if the eggs are cold. While the eggs cook, set up a bowl of ice water to put the eggs in once they’re finished cooking. Remove the eggs, submerge them in the ice water, and let them cool completely, about 10 minutes.
3. Peel the eggs and put them in a jar or a storage container that the eggs fit into comfortably. Pour the brine on top, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 day before serving.
4. To serve, slice the eggs in half and season with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Sprinkle furikake or a topping of your choice on top to finish. The eggs will keep in the brine in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
N O T E
It’s best not to use the freshest eggs from the market, since fresh eggs tend to stick to the shell when you’re trying to peel them. When you visit an Asian market, look for a Chinese spider skimmer, which will make it easier to lower the eggs into and out of the hot water all at once. Buy a furikake mix at a Japanese grocery store or make your own out of nori, toasted sesame seeds, and puffed rice. Wasabi-or yuzu roasted sesame seeds are also fun to mix in, if you can find them. Or roll the eggs in crushed black sesame seeds before cutting them in half for a dramatic appearance. If other ingredients are out of reach, crush a sheet of nori over the eggs instead.
This recipe has been extracted with permission, from the book La Buvette by Camille Fourmont & Kate Leahy (Sep 2020). Image by Eatable.
