Scotch Eggs

Scotch egg is essentially an egg encapsulated in meat/sausages in the shape of a bigger egg. Scotch eggs are usually served in local pubs in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, when I was studying in the U.K, I did not get a chance to try it there. My usual order at the pub at the time was a curry and a pint. I should have been more attentive and thorough going through the menu. Haha.

It is unclear what is the actual origin story of the Scotch Egg. London department store, Fortnum & Mason claimed they invented it for rich couch travelers in 1738. There are also accounts that Scotch eggs evolved from an Indian dish, the Nargisi Kofta. Another theory mentioned that Scotch Eggs are essentially a “poor” man’s lunch as it is made from egg and leftover meats and easy to carry around.

Regardless it’s origin, Scotch Eggs has been around for a long time. And food that has been around for so long must be something good, so good that it was enjoyed and passed down over the past few centuries. What else does this picnic/pub food remind me about? It reminds me of breakfast, because it has egg, sausages and elements of bread in it.

It can be prepared by baking it in the oven or frying them in the fryer. Some prefer their egg to be hard-boiled in their Scotch Egg, but Joanna and I prefer our Scotch eggs still a little runny, like a soft boiled egg. Believe me, had spend a lot of time of this one, just to get the egg right. Had a number of failed attempt, so had to increase my protein on those days to ingest the eggs from failed attempts. Thankfully, we have a furkid at home to help me with some of my failed eggs. This dish is definitely fits in as a starter or picnic food during an outing with family or friends. It is truly, delicious food in one bite. 

Here is a breakdown of the recipe:

Ingredients (to make 3 Scotch Eggs)

5                                 Large Eggs

350g                           Minced pork

4 slices                        Streaky Bacon

1 handful                     Sage leaves

2 teaspoons                 BBQ Powder

2 tablespoons               Mixture of equal amount of bread and milk

1 teaspoon                   Paprika Powder

1 bowl                         Ice-cold water bath

To taste                       Salt and pepper

2cups                          Breadcrumbs

1 cup                           Flour

Fragrant Chinese Sausage (Lap Cheong) Rice

Chinese Sausages or locally known as "Lap Cheong" are sausages the Chinese community, particularly those in Malaysia have during the festive seasons, especially during Chinese New Year.

Chinese Sausages or "Lap Cheong" are mainly made from pork and they are usually sweeten or smoked. Growing up, I did not really fancy these Chinese sausages, but now that I'm older, I particular like the one made from duck liver, or as the locals call it, "Yun Cheong". It has a rich "livery" taste to it, a perfect compliment to plain rice.

This fragrant sausage rice is something my dad used to prepare at home for my family. We know he will be making this soon whenever we have an excess of Chinese sausages lying in our freezer. Nevertheless, this dish looks complicated but is actually very easy to prepare.

Here is a breakdown of the recipe, something I have adapted after years of observing how my dad prepared his.