Mom's Chinese Eggs & FBLA's January Meeting with Burmese Cooking Demo

Where there used to be hunter-gatherers, there are now grazing-snackers, of which I am one.  So my favorite recipe category is often that of appetizers.  When called upon to bring an Asian-inspired dish to the Food Bloggers Los Angeles' January potluck meeting, my mom's familiar "Chinese Eggs" came to mind.  She makes them whenever she's entertaining with appetizers, and always on Christmas eve, when we graze without a formal meal while opening presents as a family.

The smell of these eggs as they simmer for two hours in a broth of soy sauce and sherry fills the house with its pungency.  Having a distaste for all things "meaty" when I was young, I steered away from eating the eggs, but I still associate them with "fancy" adult parties and holidays.  I was excited to approach them with a fresh attitude this weekend and found I liked the flavor.

Food Bloggers Los Angeles' January meeting today centered around a Burmese cooking demo by Soe Thein, author of the blog Lime and Cilantro. 

"Besan" is another name for finely ground chickpea flour, the basis for Burmese tofu, which is different than soybean-based tofu, known as bean curd in Burma.  Soe demonstrated the process of making chickpea-based tofu, a garlic oil dressing, and a typical Burmese cabbage salad that is posted on his blog.  He also brought his own vegan substitution for fish sauce, and made both salads in vegan and regular (with fish sauce and shrimp flakes) versions. 

Our beautiful table, and a sampling of the pot luck items made by the fourteen attendees:

 

Patty Rose of Fresh Food in a Flash brought homemade crackers she'll be teaching in a class this week.

Nancy Eisman, author of Melissa's Produce Plant-Based 411, brought a coconut dessert using agar agar, a binder derived from seaweed.  

 Chinese Red Cooked Eggs

8 Eggs
1 Cup Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Dry Sherry
3 Tbsp. Sugar
4 Thin Slices Ginger Root
2 Sticks Cinnamon
2 tsp Whole Cloves
2 tsp Grated Orange Rind

1.  Let eggs reach room temperature.  Hard boil and cool until able to handle.2.  Tap egg shells lightly all over to crack shells but do not peel.
3.  Return eggs to pan and add all ingredients.  Add water to cover eggs and bring to a boil.  Simmer 1 1/2 hours.  Cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate in liquid (with broken shells on) several hours and/or up to several days.
4.  Peel eggs and drain & discard liquid at serving time.  Slice eggs in wedges and serve.

my simmering pot (double recipe)

the finished product