Matcha Poached Egg on Toast ala Eric Gower

Sometimes when I have time during the weekend, I love to cook leisurely brunches. Last week, since we managed to get all the errands done on Friday, we had a clear Sunday. I was eager to try out something I recently read in the bookshop - an idea from Eric Gower's latest cookbook, The Breakway Cook.

If you're a regular follower of the blog from day one, you should know I absolutely love Eric Gower's first book, The Breakaway Kitchen. I made his Edamame Mint Pesto Pasta which got my two thumbs up! In his new book, he expands beyond Japanese ingredients to include Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican and Chinese items. I've yet to get the cookbook as I'm limiting my cookbook purchases for now but once that is over, this is definitely something which I plan to add to my groaning bookshelf.

I had recently purchased Matcha Tea powder from the Taste of Japan fair and was eager to try out his Matcha Poached Egg. It's not my first time making the Matcha Tea Salt as I had replicated something similar with seared scallops in an IMBB event. It was a breeze making the salt this time with the powder as it meant no grinding. Something I also noticed is the Matcha powder you buy from Japanese shops is a brighter green compared to the type you get in bake shops.

Although it's a simple recipe of combining the ingredients together, I was a bit scared to do poached eggs since it was my first time. Not wanting to do the whole hoopla with swirling water and vinegar to bind the egg white together, I used another method. It's from a cookbook called the New English Kitchen - Changing the Way you Shop, Cook and Eat by Rose Prince. The method calls for cracking an egg in clingfilm draped in an empty ramekin/ bowl. You then twist the top of the clingfilm to prevent water from entering and then it's cooked in a simmering water bath. It worked really well for me but of course you need to also be patient to wait for it to cook in the water bath. To keep to the whole Japanese tradition, I decided to use those yummy but sinful Gion bread from Kyoto. They're really great as toast since they're extra buttery. Since it's a huge loaf, we had bought one long ago which we keep in the deep freeze. As and when we feel like indulging, we slice a bit for toast.

So were the eggs good? They were excellent! Sprinkled with a generous amount of Matcha Salt, we both loved it so much that we had seconds. Give it a try and who knows you will be adding Matcha Salt to everything you eat.

Tagged with: Eric Gower + Matcha