“He will be dropping by anytime now and I am sure you will find him quite interesting,” V continued, “I like to think of him as a renaissance man. He has a vast knowledge on a variety of topics.”
And on cue, there is a knock on the door and MR T, a stately man with a cane, carrying a small plastic bag walks in.
Introductions are made and we all sit at the dining table. V adds that Mr T is a writer with a keen interest on local architecture, furniture and our cultural past. He makes himself at home and asked for something to drink.
“Look what I brought you V,” Mr T announces as he proceeds to pull out a small container from the pastic bag.
“Pickled quails’ eggs,” Mr T exclaimed, “made from an old family recipe.”
The mention of family recipe made me sit up. Teaspoons and saucers were produced and he promptly placed a tiny pearl onion paired with a quail’s egg on a teaspoon and gave it to me.
I initially dropped the onion back to the saucer but I got a quick admonishment from Mr T.
“You have to eat it together or you lose out on the experience,” was his stern instructions.
So into my mouth went the egg and the onion. And yes, he was right on insisting on the match. There was an explosion of flavours in my mouth. Firm egg meets sweet-sour slightly crunchy onion with a hint of cinnamon. Delicious!
“I made it from a secret family recipe,” Mr T proudly reminded me again.
“Would you share that recipe?” I cheekily asked.
“Of course not,” Mr. T retorted back with a raise of an eyebrow but with a small smile lurking on the side of his lips.
What should have been a short visit turned out to be an extraordinary morning filled with stories of a bygone era of gracious living.
It was almost lunchtime when I reluctantly said good-bye. There were promises to meet again and continue more of the insights into history, the arts and family secrets.
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Mr T did share what went into the preparation of the pickled eggs but not the exact recipe. He added cardamom seeds, cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, honey, and peppercorn to some vinegar (he insist on del Monte brand). He brought this to a boil and once cooled down, poured the mixture into a container of boiled and peeled quails’ egg and baby onions.
Not having the recipe of Mr T to guide me, I give my mother a call. Growing up, I recalled how my mother would prepare pickled eggs for my father. It was a perfect match for his before-supper cocktail. She would choose the smallest eggs that she picked from a small poultry house we had at the back of our house.
Unfortunately, my mother could not give me the exact recipe being that she had long ago stopped making them. She did share that she remembers boiling vinegar, some salt and peppercorn before pouring the mixture into a bottle of hard boiled eggs and leeks.
With these information, I decided to come up with my simplified version of pickled eggs. And unlike the secretive Mr T and my forgetful mother, I am sharing the recipe. Feel free to try this out and serve in your next gathering. Your guests will surely be taken for a delicious experience.
My Pickled Eggs
You will need:
1 dozen small eggs or 24 quails eggs
½ c Del Monte vinegar
½ c sugar (skip or lessen amount of sugar if you like your pickles tart)
10 whole pepper corn
2 cloves garlic, sliced
½ Tablespoon salt
20 pearl onions
1 large jar or a plastic container
Procedure for boiling the eggs:
Mr T did divulge a helpful hint when cooking the perfect hard boiled egg—all marvelously yellow and without the grayish tint on the yolk.
1. Fresh eggs are difficult to peel once boiled. So use eggs that have been in your fridge for at least 5days.
2. Carefully place your eggs into a pot.
3. Add water to cover the eggs by over an inch.
4. Place pot on your stove and turn up the heat.
5. Once the water starts to boil, start to time for 2 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and set aside for 12-15 minutes.
7. Take one egg and peel to check that egg is thoroughly cooked with a firm yolk.
8. If alright, place the eggs into cool water to stop the eggs from cooking further.
9. Peel all the eggs.
In a glass pot, boil the vinegar together with the rest of the seasoning and spices. Turn off heat once it comes to a boil. Drop the onions into the vinegar mixture and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, prepare your glass container. If you are recycling a jar, make sure that it is sterilized by placing it in some water and bring to a boil—something you do for baby bottles. Drain and cool it down.
Now that you have everything ready, it’s time to bottle the eggs. In the bottle, add the eggs and spoon out the onions and the pepper corn. Once all the eggs and onions are in the bottle/s, pour the vinegar mixture over them. Make sure that the eggs are completely submerged.
I like to cover the mouth of the bottle with clear plastic before adding the lid. (It’s just what I like to do. Also, if the lid is metal, the plastic helps prevent corrosion.)
Age the pickled eggs in the deepest part of your fridge for at least a week. The longer it remains in the vinegar solution, the more time the eggs have a chance to soak up the flavors.
Share the delicious experience with friends over conversations on life.
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