Spain vs Korea Recipes Face-Off: The Scotch Egg: UK vs Japan!

Will the classic and hearty UK version or this fresh and light Japanese version of the favorite Scotch Egg win?

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THE RAMBLE: Who is your winner?

LET’S TALK ABOUT Eggs. It seems like every country in the world has some great version of the egg. The Japanese have the soy sauce egg, popular in ramen; it is a constant staple in meals across Latin America, fried or over easy; in the Philippines, they have their balut; the Koreans have their great steamed version, like in my Spain vs Korea Recipe’s post Travel without Moving: My Yobo’s Favorite Korean Suana Eggs, and I just learned about the Indian version of this recipe with a duck egg and ground lamb. I would give that a try and throw that recipe into this competition, BUT I currently live in Utah Valley where finding a duck egg has proven very difficult…so someone send me a duck egg! In any case, the egg is such a delicious and versatile ingredient. The great Ferrán Adria and El Bulli spent two years breaking down the egg and studied all they could do with it. It is essential in our modern baking to achieve, what we consider, the best baked goods. So let’s do a couple more recipes with them!

LET’S TALK ABOUT these two versions. This is April Bloomfield’s recipe she shares on PBS’s Mind of a Chef. She calls it “breakfast in one bite.” I love this recipe because of the fresh sage in it. Pork sausage and sage are so delicious together, dang. It is very rich and very filling! I did change a few things. I cut the recipe in half, just used regular ol’ ground pork from the store, and I just simplified the ingredients with the common ingredients in my pantry, so no fancy breadcrumbs, but please use them if you can find them. After I made these the first time, I found a Japanese version on the blog Hapa Nom Nom, who has a lot of really awesome fusion recipes. It totally makes sense! It has pork dumpling filling instead of sausage, a soy sauce egg and uses Panko breadcrumbs. This version has a freshness from the ginger that I like and it is lighter compared to the UK version, which can be nice. The only things I changed with this recipe are the amount of ginger (I wanted more of course!), and the time to boil the eggs. 5 1/2 minutes left my eggs still very undercooked, so I just cook mine for at least 7 minutes. Other than that, totally a perfect fusion dish! I thought, wow, this is the perfect Face-Off for Spain vs Korea Recipes! So, try both, for breakfast, dinner, a snack, etc. and let me know who your winner is, UK or Japan!

THE REVIEW:

Ok people, just pay the extra few dollars and get good eggs! Get organic or cage-free, or if you shop at terrible Wal-mart like I usually have to do, get Eggland’s Best Eggs. They really are so much better! The shells are thicker, the yolk a richer color, and the flavor really is so much better. JUST PAY THE EXTRA 2 DOLLARS. I will always tell you to watch Mind of a Chef on PBS and to buy all of April Bloomfield’s recipe books also! She just seems like one of the most genuine, sweet, and passionate people.

WHO YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT making really great eggs: Chef Jacques Pepín @jacques_pepin who does really great shows for KQED including Fast Food My Way and has such great recipes. I learned how to correctly make eggs, all different ways, from him. Duh, he’s French. Chef Daniel Patterson @dcpatterson does a really cool Poached Scrambled Eggs, also featured on Mind of a Chef.

THE RECIPE:

Spain vs Korea Recipes Face-off: Scotch Egg: UK vs Japan! We go toe-to-toe with a classic UK Scotch Egg with sage and breadcrumbs versus a Japanese version with a soy sauce egg, ginger, garlic and Panko!

April Bloomfield’s UK Scotch Egg

Adapted from PBS Food, serves 5-10, medium-level effort, about 45-2hrs mins to make

10 soft-boiled eggs (cooked for 7-10 minutes in boiling water, depending how runny you like them)

Sausage:

2 lbs ground pork

1 recipe sage paste (see below)

1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons kosher grain salt

Sage Paste:

2 TBS fresh sage, finely minced (dried will also work in a pinch)

1/2 teaspoon kosher grain salt

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Breading:

3/4 cup flour

3 eggs

3 TBS milk

1 3/4 cup breadcrumbs

1. Place eggs into boiling water, 7 minutes for runny, 10 minutes for a soft well-done. Drain hot water, add ice to pan and top with cold water. Let sit for a few minutes until cool enough to handle. Then, tap egg to crack and peel shell under cold running water, allowing the water under the egg membrane. Set aside.
2. For breading ingredients, mix the eggs and milk together in a bowl, place the rest of the breading ingredients into separate bowls.
3. Portion the sausage mix into about 4 oz balls (about 1/4 cup).
4. Using your hands, carefully flatten out each portion into a pancake, making sure the thickness is even all around.
5. Place one of the soft-boiled eggs in the middle of the sausage and with both hands, cup the sausage around the egg, slightly shaking the egg down into the sausage. Make sure the egg is evenly coated with sausage, no holes. 
6. Continue with the remaining eggs and refrigerate until they are cold (ideal if you have time).
7. Take each sausage egg out of the refrigerator and proceed with the following steps:
8. Dredge the egg first in flour, then coat with an egg wash, and cover the egg with a layer of breadcrumbs.
9. Refrigerate again until cold (ideal if you have time).
10. Fry in oil at 350 degrees F for about 9 minutes, or until evenly cooked on all sides, and let it rest for one minute. The yolk should be runny but warm inside.

 

Hapa Nom Nom’s Japanese Scotch Egg

Adapted from Hapa Nom Nom, medium-level effort, makes 2, about 2.5 hours total

Soy Sauce Eggs:

3 tablespoons warm water

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce

2 large eggs

Breading:

¼ cup flour

1 egg, beaten

½ cup panko

Pork Wrapping:

½ pound ground pork

1 clove garlic, finely minced, through a press or through a microplane

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

1 scallion, thinly sliced

¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

vegetable oil for frying

Curry Mayo or Sriracha Mayo Dipping Sauce:

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon ground curry or Sriracha

1. Place eggs into boiling water, 7 minutes for runny, 10 minutes for a soft well-done. Drain hot water, add ice to pan and top with cold water. Let sit for a few minutes until cool enough to handle. Then, tap egg to crack and peel shell under cold running water, allowing the water under the egg membrane. Set aside.
2. To make the soy sauce marinade, grab a medium bowl or 2-cup measuring cup. Combine the water and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves and then add the sherry vinegar and soy sauce. Set aside.
3. Gently transfer the eggs to the soy sauce mixture and marinate in the fridge for 2 to 6 hours. Make sure they are completely submerged, use a small plate placed on top, if needed.
4. Prepare your breading station. Place the flour, egg, and panko in 3 seperate bowls.
5. Heat oil to 375 degrees F.
6. In a medium bowl, combine the pork, garlic, ginger, scallion, salt, and a few cracks of pepper.
7. Divide the pork mixture in half. Working with one piece at a time, roll the mixture between your hands to form a ball and then flatten with the palm of your hand – large enough to wrap around an egg. Place a soy sauce marinated egg in the center and cup the pork around the egg, slightly shaking the egg down into the pork. Seal to completely close, no holes, and pinch off any excess pork. Repeat with the remaining soy sauce egg.
8. Working with one wrapped egg at a time, gently roll it in the flour, shaking off the excess. Then coat in the beaten egg and roll in the panko to completely coat. Refrigerate until chilled, if you have time.
9. Carefully add the panko crusted eggs to the hot oil. The heat will drop when you add the eggs, but that’s ok! You actually want to cook them at 350 degrees F (make sure you maintain this temp throughout the cooking process). Cook, turning occasionally for 5-6 minutes, or until golden-brown on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and allow to drain on a paper towels.
10. In a small bowl, combine the mayo and curry powder. Serve the Japanese Scotch Eggs and with the dipping sauce immediately.