Egg Benedict from Arashi ni Shiyagare Episode 88 - 2012.04.15

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Who's not salivating when watching Matsujun's segment of the Unknown Encounter from last week's Arashi ni Shiyagare episode? That shiny Egg Benedict just lingers in my head until I decided that I just had to try to make it. It's not cheap to make it, especially when you're in a country where anything 'Western' seems to have an extra mark up on them. But I did it, and it's like what Matsujun said: 'Oishii! Oishiiyo! Chou Umai!' and wouldn't you just want to try when you see cute happy face like that? LOL



So, I managed to whip up one, try my best with the expectation image carved in my mind.






Expectation (oh so shiny and sparkling!):


Reality (I can't find fresh water cress across my regular groceries and I forget to on the light *come on it's broad day light when I took this*):


Acceptable? Well, I'm quite pleased w/ the taste, and yes, it's chou umai! For a Hollandaise sauce, it's light, but have a bite to it, thanks to Vegemite. Yeah, this is the first time I encounter Vegemite and I make the same face when I tried it plain. Yeah, I have to admit, it's DIFFERENT, weird at first, but apparently it works wonder to your Hollandaise sauce haha...


Below is the recipe straight from the show, I try to describe what the chef did as close as possible...

What you need:

2 eggs - Poached

1 English biscuit - halved, toasted with butter

1 thick slice of ham - grilled

Water cress

Hollandaise sauce:

2 big egg yolks

30 cc white wine

125 gr butter - melted, still hot

15 cc lemon juice

Seasoning: Salt, White pepper, Vegemite

How to:

1. On a stainless steel bowl, whisk egg yolk and wine until light, use bain marie to get to sabayon form.

2. Once reach the sabayon form, add on butter, keep whisking, until reach a similar to slightly thinner than mayonnaise consistency

3. Add the rest of ingredients and whisk until well mix and set aside the Hollandaise sauce

4. For poached egg, on a medium size pan, heat water to about 90C (not boiling). *For cheaters like me: add on vinegar, it'll make the egg easier to stick together* Add in the egg, and with spoon stir to 1 direction SLOWLY until the egg white fully formed and the yolk are covered with egg white. Using small strainer, take it up. Repeat the process.

5. Assemble: English biscuit - Ham - Greenies (I use mixed greens) - Poached egg - Hollandaise sauce

From this episode, my respect for Matsujun goes up by 1 level. The guy can cook. I failed on the Hollandaise sauce, 'majikayou!' and the sauce becomes too watery due to too much wine and now my left wrist is a bit strained and need some ice therapy (effective yet painful treatment from my physiotherapist). I can totally feel now when Matsujun made that face when he's asked to make the poached egg:


But, if you fail, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the egg benedict, right? So... I cheat! Go figure! But hey, why not? And I just followed what the chef said, only literally LOL... I quote what the chef said in the show, 'Hollandaise sauce is a warmed mayonnaise.' Get the picture? You're right! So this is what I did:

What you need:

100 gr mayonnaise

5-7 gr white wine (basically just a splash)

splash of lemon juice

Seasoning: Salt, White pepper, Vegimite

How to:

1. Heat up mayonnaise in microwave for about 15 sec (just hot enough will do)

2. Add on white wine, whisk until airy

3. Add on the rest of ingredients and keep on whisking until all well mixed and light airy, and you're done! Save all the washing, and you can keep the left over!!! :d :d.

Points: If you use Kewpie mayo, you'll still can taste Kewpie unique mayo flavor, so it'll be a little bit different from original recipe, but if you use the generic brand, you should get the same taste. Why? Because basically mayonnaise is egg yolk and oil whisked *insert troll face, LOL*

This one is worth to try and the effort is rewarding, and off course, maybe we can try to be as cool as Matsujun cooking this? Yeah right as if *smirk big time*