Scotch Eggs (Recipe by Cooking with Dog)

If my hubby sees an interesting cooking video on youtube he will share it with me. Just the other day he showed me a video on how to make scotch eggs by Cooking With Dog. If you haven't heard already, CWD is a popular Japanese cuisine cooking show on youtube hosted by a grey talking poodle, Francis. He sits on the table next to the portable stove and narrate the cooking instructions in a funny but adorable accent. All the cooking is done by a pleasant looking Japanese lady known as Chef.

I've tried the dorayaki recipe from Cooking With Dog and it was a flop so I was a bit skeptical when it came to trying another recipe by them. But the scotch eggs look so good and I just had to have a go at it. If the recipe is good then it would be a keeper, if it's not then the eggs will end up in the bin. What's the worst that could happen, right?

Scotch Eggs
Unlike traditional scotch eggs, this Japanese inspired version have soft runny yolks in the center. They are delicious on their own, or for a more tangy flavour, serve them with some mustard sauce.
 
Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes + (7 minutes for cooking eggs)
Utensils needed: pot or wok for deep frying

Serves 4

Level of difficulty: **

Ingredients 

260g ground beef/ pork
1/4 tsp salt
some coarse black pepper
1 tbsp worcester sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
30g bread crumbs
1/2 egg beaten
50g cabbage leaves
4 soft boiled eggs

Batter:
1/2 beaten egg
1 tsp AP flour
bread crumbs for coating

Method

1. Place eggs in a pot of boiling water. Constantly roll the eggs so that the yolks will be in the center. Boil eggs for about 7 minutes. Immediately place eggs in a bowl of cold water to stop further cooking. This is so that the yolks will remain soft and runny. Remove shells. Be careful not to break the eggs.

2. Add bread crumbs to the beaten eggs and stir to moisten.

3. For batter, combine beaten egg and flour in a bowl. The batter should be thick but runny, a bit like a waffle or pancake batter.

4. Place mince meat, salt, worcester sauce, tomato kethup in a bowl. Combine with hands. Thoroughly mix meat until it becomes kind of gooey. Mix in cabbage leaves.

5. Divide into 4 portions. Take 1 portion and toss it from one hand to the other to remove air inside. Then flatten the meat.

6. Dust the eggs with flour and wrap egg with meat. Even out the meat and shape into a ball.

7. Coat meat with batter then roll it in the bread crumbs. Repeat until all four eggs are coated with bread crumbs.

8. Heat oil to 170C in a pot. Adjust shape and place each scotch egg into the pot. Don't touch them until batter firms up otherwise the outer layer will break apart. Gently rotate the pieces to brown evenly. Deep fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown.

9. Drain excess oil. Place scotch eggs on a plate along with a salad. Enjoy the dish with mustard or any sauce as desired to taste. 

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The mince is moist and tender and because it is well-seasoned, it lends flavour to the egg. Dip the mince in runny yolk or some tangy mustard. Be warned, just one is enough to keep you full and satisfied for hours.

You can make your own breadcrumbs if you don't have any at home. Toast 3 pieces of white bread just until they are hard and dry but not brown. If the inside of the bread is still soft, split open and toast it in the oven toaster with the soft side top. Break into pieces and place in a food processor or blender. 

The original recipe makes 2 scotch eggs but I've altered it so it yields 4 scotch eggs. Also, I've adjusted the amount of seasoning to enhance the flavour.

Happy cooking! xx

P.S Apologies for the lousy and lack of photos. These were taken during lunch at the office.