During February, Charles, Five Euro Food, published a post about Five Hour Eggs.
Eggs baking in the oven for 5 hours? What would they taste like? My inquiring mind needed to know but could not justify having the oven on for 5 hours just to make some eggs to satisfy my curiosity, even at the low temperature of 210°F (100°C).
I have also wanted to experiment with making pressed tofu, using the oven to dehydrate the tofu (instead of all the messy pressing and draining) to achieve the texture of mozzarella cheese.
Then it suddenly occurred to me, why not try them both at the same time?
But I needed a day when I am in the house for at least 5 hours. That day finally came this week.
Experimented with 4 different varieties of tofu – firm, lite firm, extra firm and soft. Cut each 1-pound block of tofu into 8 pieces. Marinated 4 pieces of each variety in 1 tablespoon of regular soy sauce overnight.
Drain and pat dry each piece with paper towels.
Place single layer on baking rack (in sheet pan), leaving space between each piece.
Baked for 2½ hours at 210°F. Turned each piece. Baked another 2½ hours.
This is what the tofu looked like after 5 hours in the oven.
Here are the results of my experiments.
I prefer the taste of the marinated slices and the texture of the firm tofu. The texture of the extra firm and soft were OK, did not like the texture of lite firm.
Froze one slice of each. The texture after freezing was not much different from the unfrozen ones. Again I liked the texture of the firm (and the soft also). Did not like the extra firm and lite firm. I will definitely be making this (in large batch) for the freezer using marinated firm and/or soft tofu.
I should have tasted each variety at the end of each hour so I could make hourly comparison, must do so at another time. Posting recipes at a later date.
Now for the five hour eggs.
As per Charles instruction, I placed the eggs in hot tap water while waiting for the oven to heat.
Place the eggs on oven racks and baked for 5 hours at 210°F. Half way through baking, I switched the eggs between the 2 racks as I felt the ones on the lower rack closer to the heating element may get too much heat.
This is what the eggs look like after 5 hours. Reminded me of Chinese soy sauce eggs and tea eggs (without the patterns).
The eggs were easy to peel. The white had a nice caramel color with a chewy texture. The yellow yolk had a somewhat “sandy” texture. I liked the pleasant nutty aftertaste. May consider making them when having company, I think they would start a lively conversation and discussion.
Copyright © by Norma Chang
I’ve dried tomatoes in this way, but never anything else. Really interesting experiment.
Hello Liz,
It was a fun experiment. Every now and then I think up these crazy things to do, need to get a life. This summer I will try drying tomatoes using this method also.
What a great idea, Norma! I use oven to dry things, although I’ve never thought to do it with tofu. 5 hour eggs? Never heard of ‘em but will surely make a few to see what they’re like.
Hello John,
I am getting lazier and lazier so am constantly looking for things that freeze well to make life easier. Would love to hear your opinion about the 5-hours eggs after you make them.
I saw this at Charle’s blog too! But my roomate wouldn’t let me switch the oven on for five hours for eggs -.- lovely to see how the experiement turned out! ooh, do try this with the tomatoes. THAT I did do, and it’s utterly delicious. not for five hours though, but still so good, I wish i made a larger batch.
http://mummyicancook.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/slow-dried-cherry-tomatoes-oven-dried.html
Hello Shuhan,
Yes, another blogger also mentioned using the oven to dry tomatoes. Will do so this summer when I have an abundance of vine ripened tomatoes.
Hi Norma,
That was really interesting. I want to try those eggs of Charles but may try them for different lengths of time to see what they are like…
Hello GD,
I should have tried one egg at the end of each hour for comparison but did not think of doing so until after the 5 hours. Not the brightest light bulb, but I do have 20/20 hindsight.
This is neat, I want to try both! I remember seeing Charles’ eggs a while back, they look so good!
Hello Zestybeandog,
After trying, do write and let me know what you think.
Wow. Five hour eggs? Impressive.
Hello Yummychunklet,
It was a fun experiment.
What an odd treatment for eggs. I think I might like the ones boiled and soaked in tea and soy sauce after cracking the shells better. The baked eggs sound rubbery. Thanks for posting the tofu experiment.
Hello Lou,
The egg white was a bit chewy but not unpleasantly so.
What a busy day you had! It will be interesting to see how the tofu tastes by the hour. It might make a difference.
Now those eggs are certainly interesting. I love FiveEuroFood’s ideas.
Hello Maureen,
I am anxious to repeat the experiment, not sure when, but hopefully soon. Tasting by the hour will require more attention and focus so it will have to be a day when I am in the groove.
Norma, the tofu was interesting, but the eggs are absolutely intriguing! What a fascinating result! Thanks for sharing!
Hello Celia,
It waas a fun day. Glad you enjoyed the post.
Interesting 5 hour egg, it does look a lot like soy sauce egg.
No pressing on the tofu? Thanks for posting the experiment.
Hello Mac,
Nope, no pressing and no draining the tofu.
What an interesting experiment Norma! I love how creative you are
Hello Alyssa,
Every now and then I get into the groove to do odd things.
I remember Charles posting these eggs and I was curious too! I’ve been wanting to try them. It does seem strange though doesn’t it, when you can cook an egg in three minutes to then decide to cook one in five hours. But, like you say, if you cook them when you’re entertaining, they’ll be a terrific conversation starter. Happy Easter Norma! xx
Hello Hotlyspiced,
At times, I do things that question my sanity but I had to satisfy my curiosity and since I was doing 2 things at the same time I felt it was justified.
Ha! What a great idea to do both of these at once, and I’m impressed that you tried those eggs…yours look like they turned out perfectly.
Hello B and B,
Doing both at once took away the wasteful guilt.
Hi Norma – thanks so much for the mention! I’m so glad they worked out well for you – they sure look great. Did you find that the egg spotted out through the shell in some places during cooking? I thought that was so cool, how it’s forced out through the microscopic holes!
Love the idea of the tofu – I’ll be giving that a try myself! Happy Easter!
Hello Charles,
No, my eggs did not spot through the shells like yours. Is it because I used white eggs? I will be repeating the tofu experiment and will also add the eggs but with brown eggs. I will be tasting at the end of each hour to observe the difference. I lack a life.
I’ve been meaning to try Charles’ eggs too! Thank you for the reminder. And love the tofu ideas. My daughter loves it and I’m so unfamiliar with it. So this is totally helpful.
Hello Kristy,
I do need to find 5 hours and repeat the tofu experiment. If only I had thought of tasting after each hour, not the brightest lightbulb.
I loved reading your detailed experiment Norma
We have a small bakery that serves these slowly baked eggs and you described the taste perfectly
Hello Sawsan,
I had a great time with the experiments even though it took the better part of a day. Do people really buy these slowly baked eggs? How are used? Eaten as hard boiled eggs or some other ways?
Yes people actually buy them. They are sold with a special type of bread and they are made into sandwiches with that bread. The place is actually very popular and you need to stand in line to buy some
Hello Sawsan,
Very interesting, I must Google to learn more, thanks.
It’s a bit beside the point, but I love the way the eggs and tofu look in the oven together. This was such an interesting experiment- I loved reading about it!
Hello GC,
I like that photo very much, so glad you noticed. I am glad you enjoyed my post, thank you for visiting.
I can’t wait to try the tofu and the eggs. Dried tofu is so expensive at the store. I prefer homemade any day. The eggs look very interesting too.
I just stumbled onto your blog. I grow bitter gourds/melons, they have taken over the yard. I was searching for more uses for the plant and stumble on your wonderful blog.
Thank You
Hello HEE,
I am going to repeat the tofu experiment, tasting after each hour to see the differences. Thanks for visiting.
What a fun experiment — I would love to try the baked tofu. Looks so yum!!!
Hello Kiran,
I am repeating the experiment, tasting after each hour. Will post results on Friday, 4/20.