Name: Japanese egg cups with miso dressing
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 26 min
Ingredients: 8 eggs; 16 large butter lettuce leaves; 32 shiso leaves (see note); 4 baby French breakfast radishes, cut into wedges; 2 spring onions, cut into julienne; 1 sheet nori, toasted and finely chopped; Togarashi (see note), to serve (optional); Spicy pickled cucumber; 1 tbsp each yuzu juice, tamari and rice vinegar; 2 tsp mirin; 1 long green chilli, thinly sliced; 3 baby cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds on a mandolin; Miso dressing; 1 tbsp each shiro (white) miso paste (see note), sesame oil, maple syrup and rice vinegar; 2 tsp finely grated ginger

Japanese egg cups with miso dressing

Packed with crunch and flavour, these egg cups are infinitely versatile; serve as an entrée or a light lunch.

Two white plates with a boiled egg, halved, served on a lettuce cup and topped with miso dressing, thinly sliced scallions and wedges of breakfast radishes. — Photo: Con Poulos

Makes 16

Prep

20M

Cook

Total

26M

Perfect for a picnic, these protein packed salad cups are full of flavour and so easy to make. Half the fun of this recipe is in carefully selecting the perfect head of lettuce to produce the roundest cups for your eggs. Topped with a drizzle of miso dressing, this little salad will hit the spot as either a snack or a light lunch.

Ingredients

8 eggs

16 large butter lettuce leaves

32 shiso leaves (see note)

4 baby French breakfast radishes, cut into wedges

2 spring onions, cut into julienne

1 sheet nori, toasted and finely chopped

Togarashi (see note), to serve (optional)

Spicy pickled cucumber

1 tbsp each yuzu juice, tamari and rice vinegar

2 tsp mirin

1 long green chilli, thinly sliced

3 baby cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds on a mandolin

Miso dressing

1 tbsp each shiro (white) miso paste (see note), sesame oil, maple syrup and rice vinegar

2 tsp finely grated ginger

Method

1.For spicy pickled cucumber, combine yuzu, tamari, rice vinegar, mirin and chilli in a bowl. Add sliced cucumbers and set aside to lightly pickle (15 minutes).

2.For miso dressing, whisk ingredients in a bowl; season with pepper to taste.

3.Cook eggs in a saucepan of boiling water until cooked to your liking (6 minutes for soft-boiled). Refresh in ice-water, then peel and halve lengthways.

4.Place lettuce leaves on a large platter; top each with two shiso leaves, an egg half, radish and spicy pickled cucumber. Drizzle with miso dressing and scatter with spring onion, toasted nori and togarashi to serve.

Shiso leaves, togarashi and shiro miso are available from Japanese grocers.
Notes

Maxwell Adey Senior Food Editor & Stylist

Maxwell has always been passionate about food. Born into a restaurateur and award-winning produce farming family, he was strongly steered into pursuing a career in advertising after completing his Bachelor of Public Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. After a very short stint, he decided to enrol in Commercial Cookery at TAFE to follow his true passion. Maxwell started out working in some of Sydney’s finest restaurants (Est., Claude’s and Moon Park) which helped further his love of all things culinary and developed his technical ability to cook. Later, he was lured into the magical world of food publishing where he freelanced for ten years for notable Australian commercial and editorial brands. He has also run his own business where he sells his marinated olives, dressings and sauces at food markets and select retailers. He excitingly joins the Gourmet Traveller team to bring his technical and creative expertise in food to the brand.

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Styling by Olivia Blackmore