One of the things that we enjoyed during our visit to Hanoi in Vietnam was egg coffee. We had heard and read about it prior to our trip and it was highly recommended that we gave it a try. It can be found on the menus of almost every café and we enjoyed it at a coffee shop just outside of the St. Joseph’s Cathedral. We also had it during our cooking class and we got the recipe from the class instructor. We also received some really good Vietnamese coffee as a gift before we left Vietnam, but obviously it can be made with any good coffee. Some people might find it a little sweet, but that also depends on the strength of the coffee that you make it with. This was our first attempt to make it at home and we were really pleased with how it turned out.
Egg Coffee at the Café in Hanoi
INGREDIENTS
4 cups Vietnamese or Robust Coffee
4 Egg Yolks
4 tbsp Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 tsp Honey
Chocolate Shavings
Making Egg Coffee in the Cooking Class in Hanoi
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the coffee per the directions on the package. Separate the egg yolks from the whites and place them in a bowl. Vigorously whisk the eggs until they thicken. Add the condensed milk and honey and continue to whisk vigorously until the egg mixture reaches the consistency of a custard (using an electric blender will help with this). Pour the coffee into individual cups. Using a spoon, gently poor the custard over the top of the coffee. Sprinkle with the chocolate shavings and enjoy.
Egg CustardVietnamese Coffee (Our Gift)Egg Coffee at Home
Deviled eggs are always a favorite appetizer when we have a party and no matter how many we seem to make, they are always gone before the night is over. Especially this time of year, using boiled eggs to make deviled eggs or egg salad is always a good idea and this recipe takes a slightly different twist on the classic. Old Bay Seasoning is something that is quite common on the east coast, but usually for seafood, so using it with deviled eggs added a unique and unusual flavor. The same recipe can easily be altered to make egg salad sandwiches, simply by chopping the eggs up and mixing in all of the other ingredients.
Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
6 Large Eggs – hard boiled and cooled
2 tbsp Mayonnaise
1/2 Celery Stalk – finely chopped
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 tsp Spicy Brown Mustard
2 to 3 tbsp Milk
Ground Pepper to taste
Creamy Yolk Mixture
Instructions
Peel the eggs and cut them lengthwise. Spoon out the yolks and place them in a bowl. Mash the yolks with the backside of a fork and add the mayonnaise, celery, Old Bay, and mustard. Continue to mash the yolks with the ingredients, slowly adding the milk, until it is smooth and creamy. Season the mixture with pepper. With a spoon, fill the yolk cavity in the egg white with about a tablespoon of the yolk mixture. Top with a celery leaf or sprinkle with a tiny bit of Old Bay prior to serving.
Over the summer, when we were in Fort Collins, Colorado, we had ordered shrimp and grits at Jax Fish House. It was a special that they were experimenting with and we had talked to the chef about it after our meal, which was very gracious of him. In the spirit of “imitation is the greatest form of flattery”, we decided to do our own variation on their recipe. We found the Tabasco butter to be a little too oily, so we chose to do Hollandaise with a Louisiana pepper sauce instead. The Hollandaise sauce turned out nice because it gave a little bit of a lemon taste to the shrimp, but it still had some heat. We also used some Old Bay Seasoning on the shrimp, a little reminder to our east coast roots. We’re not sure if they used cheese in their grits or not, but who can argue with a little cheese. The centerpiece was the soft-boiled egg that had been fried. We have to admit, trying to replicate that was quite the challenge and took us a couple of tries. In the end, we think we hit the mark, perhaps not the same as the original, but we quite enjoyed it. We hope that you will as well. 🙂
Shrimp and Grits with a Fried Soft Boiled Egg
Ingredients
3/4 cup Quick Grits
3 cups Water
1 cup Whole (or Skim) Milk
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Hollandaise Sauce (Packaged or Homemade)
1 – 3 tbsp Louisiana Pepper Sauce (or Tabasco)
4 Soft Boiled Eggs
1/2 cup Flour
2 Eggs – whisked
1/2 cup Panko (or Bread Crumbs)
2 lbs Large Shrimp
1 – 2 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley – finely chopped
Salt and Pepper
Shrimp with Old Bay Seasoning
Instructions
This is one of those meals that has a lot of things that have to come together at the same time, but if you do them in the right order, it all comes together quite well. We’ve given the instructions for each of the pieces, but we recommend that you do the steps in a specific order, multitasking whenever possible. First, soft boil the eggs. When the eggs are done, start cooking the grits and bring the oil up to temperature to fry the eggs. While the grits are cooking, prepare the Hollandaise sauce. When the grits are done, start sautéing the shrimp. When the shrimp are done, fry the eggs and then set them aside on a paper towel to dry while you plate the meal.
Fried, Soft Boiled Eggs – For the soft-boiled eggs, bring a small pot of water to a boil and carefully add the 4 eggs to the boiling water, cook for 6 minutes and immediate place the eggs into an ice bath. In a fryer or sauce pan, heat vegetable oil to approximately 350 degrees. Roll the eggs in the flour, then the whisked egg, and the Panko in order to batter them. Carefully place the eggs into the oil and fry for no more than 2 minutes. You may need to roll the eggs over to ensure that they brown evenly.
Fried Soft-Boiled Egg
Cheesy Grits – In a sauce pan, over medium-high heat, add the 3 cups of water plus a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Add the grits and milk to the water, bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for 4 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add a pinch of pepper and the cheese, stirring constantly until the cheese has fully melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Cheese and Grits
Hollandaise Sauce – Prepare the Hollandaise sauce according to the package or directions and then add the pepper sauce (adding more or less to your desired heat), stirring to mix completely.
Hollandaise Pepper Sauce
Sautéed Shrimp – In a large skillet, add the oil and butter and heat on medium heat until the pan is hot. Add the shrimp and Old Bay Seasoning and cook until the shrimp are pink and translucent, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Once cool enough to handle, remove the shells and set aside.
Sautéed Shrimp
To plate the meal, place the desired amount of grits on the center of the plate, add 1/4 of the shrimp to the grits. Cut one of the eggs in half and place on the grits. Pour Hollandaise sauce around the grits (and over top of the shrimp, if you’d like). Sprinkle with parsley and a little Old Bay Seasoning. Makes 4 servings.
