Leftovers: Steamed Rice Rolls, Bok Choy, and Poached Quail Eggs

Although I always try to buy in bulk since it is cheaper, I almost always try and cook everything I buy in one cooking session. You never know when you'll have time to cook again and I hate letting vegetables or other perishables go to waste. But sometimes, a serving size big enough to feed eight people isn't really the best idea either. Since I'm usually cooking for myself, I tend to eat more than I really need when I make a larger portion, just because it's there. Also, who wants to really eat eight meals of the same exact thing if I do manage to stave off my desire to eat a whole rotisserie chicken?
Little did I know, how perfect the rice rolls were for this very dilemma.
In my last post, I talked about steaming the rice rolls rather than pan frying. Although this detracts from the flavor and browned texture gained from the frying, it is more convenient and allows for a dipping sauce. And who doesn't love making their own dipping sauce. That's like half the fun at Hot Pot City, all-you-can-eat hot pot, at the mall near 99 Ranch.
I also thought, eh...this is too much like the last meal so I thought I'd spice it up with some poached quail eggs. Now, I've never worked with quail eggs, but I thought poaching them would be easy since I was already boiling water! Yeah, I'm that lazy.

So here it goes:

1. Boil Water. Easy enough.
2. Cut the ends off of Bok Choy and add both the noodles and Bok Choy a steamer placed above the boiling water. Wait 5 minutes. (Or add the Bok Choy later so it steams for like 3 minutes?...it does get a little droopy?)

Well that's about it.

Now comes the part that I was experimenting with. How to deal with quail eggs. These beautifully spotted miniature eggs have a lot of potential. It makes a much prettier, and easier to work with, garnish for salads and other meals that just crave that dash of protein. However, how the heck do you use them? One idea was to cook them in my mini Tamagoyaki square fry pan, but I went with poaching. I added around a teaspoon of white vinegar to my already boiling water and dropped them right in.

But wait, how the heck do you crack one of these things? Well, honestly, I didn't know either. You can't just do the old fashioned "hit on a hard surface and separate it down the middle. They are too small and tough. Unless you have the fingers of a small marsupial, I don't think it's going to work out well for you. After many (around four) a spilled egg on the counter, I settled on one trick in particular.

Lay the eggs on their sides on a cutting board. And yes, cut them at the wide end (about 1/4 of the way from it) of their shell using a chef's knife. Cut down, as if you are slicing off the wide cap, as much as you can. Then, you can open this like a hinged lid and pour the delicious eggy goodness that lies within.

After dropping them into the vinegar/boiling water, they take about 1 (soft-boiled)-2 minutes to fully cook. Use a slotted spoon to fish them out and lay them over the cooked cabbage and rice rolls.

Oh and ONE recipe I tried for sauce. Please make something up to your fancy.

Dipping Sauce
4 Tbsp. Soy Sauce (light preferably)
1/2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
1/2 Tbsp. sugar
Grated Ginger (around 1/2 Tbsp if you like it)
2 chopped green onions (whitish green and white parts)
Any other suggestions? Just make it up...it's fun.


And it makes a killer bento, but not a killer picture...