When Poaching is Actually Good

Cooking eggs is probably one of the easiest things (or at least I think so) when starting out on the path gastronomical. I worked my way up from the simple hard boiled egg to fried eggs, scrambled eggs and then the omelette. I followed instructions, tried modifications to known recipes, made some up on the spot and frankly, I think cooking eggs is the best way for a novice to start cooking. The recipes are usually simple and the results delicious (well, usually!). 


Last night, when I was in the mood to try something new and whip up a meal quickly, I decided to start my conquest of an egg recipe I had yet to pursue - the poached egg. Basically, this is a cracked egg dunked with its yolk and white intact, into a pan of simmering water (NOT boiling), in which salt, pepper and some plain vinegar have been added previously. The vinegar makes the white coagulate quickly so it doesn't go all over the place. One thing which I learnt a little late, is that before dropping in the eggs you should stir the simmering water vigorously with a spoon so as to create a "whirlpool" in the pan (I didn't do this right, so the whites weren't shaped perfectly in the end, but they were still delicious!). Dunk the egg into the center of this whirlpool for best results. The white sort of folds over the yolk and envelopes it beautifully. The ideal poached egg has a firm white and a slightly runny, golden yellow yolk (with a texture like cheese sauce). It takes about 4-5 minutes per egg. 


As wonderful as the eggs are even by themselves, it's much more fun trying to be a little creative when you can. So, I rummaged about the kitchen trying to see what would be nice to serve with the eggs. A packet of fresh, button mushrooms caught my eye and, before long, they were rinsed and cut into neat slices (cross sctions that included the head and stalk both). Out came a non-stick frying pan in which I heated half a tablespoon of olive oil and quickly browned thin slices of red onion. If you try this, remember that onions brown quickly if they're sliced thin and they'll burn soon after they've been browned if you don't lower the flame or add other ingredients that absorb the heat. 


When the onions were ready, the mushrooms went in, with some salt and fresh ground pepper added soon after. Spreading the mushrooms out evenly over the surface of the pan, made them brown beautifully. The best thing about mushrooms is the amount of water they release when cooked. It's flavoured and helps cook the mushroom as it evaporates. I knew the mushrooms were done when the water was gone and the color was an even brown, with some slices slightly crisp around the edges. This takes about 15 minutes (i.e. total cooking time for the mushrooms, starting from heating the olive oil). 


I started  poaching the eggs when the mushrooms had released their water (which I knew would prevent them from burning while I was attending to the eggs), and while the eggs were poaching, I put a couple of slices of wholewheat bread in the toaster.That way, the mushrooms, poached eggs and toast all got done pretty much around the same time. Remember, multitasking is an asset to good cooking, but not always necessary if you have all the time in the world. It usually helps to go over the logistics of the preparation while one is arranging for the ingredients.If you're not a multi-tasker just prioritize your tasks based on what works best for you - cooking should NEVER be stressful... it spoils the food somehow, even if you've done everything right.


When all was ready, the mushrooms were placed first, going around the circumference of the plate in a fragrant ring. Finely chopped celery added a dash of colour as it was added over the mushrooms. In the center of the plate two pieces of hot brown toast served as platforms for the poached eggs that were then garnished with sliced cheese and tabasco sauce, with a few shreds of celery thrown in for more color. Just for fun, tabasco was sprinkled here and there over the mushrooms, to surprise the "gourmand" with a littke zing every now and then.

So, in a total cooking time of about 25 minutes, I had my poached egg dinner ready, just before the 9 pm screening of Kung Fu Panda on HBO. There's something cool about eating dinner while you watch Po the Panda's journey from noodle-soup to Kung Fu's Dragon Warrior - the act of cutting around the yolk so you don't beak it and making the perfect mouthful of egg, toast, cheese, mushrooms and celery becomes a little game that rapidly transforms into a personal challenge - working up to the point when you pop the intact yolk into your mouth, close your eyes and let the magic work on your taste-buds... that's got to be like a Zen moment...