Eggs Benedict-Ish

Today's 'Fish on Friday' isn't so much about the fish as it is about the eggs.

A few weeks ago I was ecstatic to receive a Kambrook Quatro Multi Cooker to play with. (Stay tuned over the weekend for details of how you can win one too!) If you've been following on Instagram you may have noticed it's been getting quite the work out! Everything from. . . 

. . steamed cupcakes to . . . 

. . . steamed dumplings and . . .

. . . classic steamed veges. But my favourite would have to be. . .

. . .steamed 'poached' eggs! This one served with a 'use those bread scraps' chicken caesar salad. Of course I couldn't stop there! I had to see how my egg moulds would go in the steamer too now that Miss M has decided she really is opposed to the yolks.

So I sprayed my moulds with oil. . .

Separated one white and poured it into the bunny mould. There was a  little white left over so I added it to the 1 1/2 eggs I was using to make baby scrambled eggs.

Add roughly 150mL milk to the 1 1/2 eggs for baby scrambled eggs & mix well

Pour into the moulds, carefully arranged in the steamer tray

Pop them in & wait. To bring 1L of water to a good steam takes the unit about 10 minutes.

At around 3:20 I felt pretty confident the white was cooked, but the scrambled still had a way to go

8 minutes was about right for the scrambled to my liking, but being that this is for Honey (now 7 months and largely on finger foods - how did that happen!). . .

. . .I left in for 10 minutes & they were well done.

You can see the scrambled eggs didn't really do well with the detail moulds of the fish & bear, but held the heart & star shapes fine.

Kind of stoked with the bunny egg white!

You can see the moulds came out pretty clean.

The fish faired the worst.

There was still some scrambled mix left so into some lightly oiled silicon muffin liners. . .

. . .along with some eggs. I broke the yolks trying to save the shells for a little something I'm hoping to get to this weekend. Keep your eyes open!

The first time I made eggs this way I over did them a little. The next time was under. I'm not sure you can make out the colour change on the top of the eggs at around 2:30 minutes.

At 4 minutes I switched the steamer back to standby

Can you see the little jiggle? No? It's there, trust me

So 4 minutes of full steaming followed by 2-ish minutes of rest steaming. . .

gives a lovely squishy egg.

This is the one with the yolk in tact.

OK I might have underdone the ones with the broken yolks, but I don't mind 'em runny :-)

This is one of my favourite sunday brunches. Buttered toast, topped with smoked salmon, smothered with Hollandaise sauce and some perfectly poached eggs just waiting to burst. I would normally add another layer of Hollandaise about now before adding freshly cracked pepper and serving with a hot mocha. Well, now I'm hungry!

Ah! Past the test! Perfection!!

So what do I think about the Kambrook Quatro Multi Cooker as a steamer?

Loving:

• It only takes ten minutes to bring a good steam from 1L of water
• If I was using a stovetop I'd boil root veges & steam 'colours'. You can still do that here though I haven't tried yet. The boil is *very* rapid so you'd have to keep a close eye on it. On the upside of that it would be a quick cook.
• Steaming in general is a healthier option than boiling or baking vegetables
• So quick & easy. This is my new favourite way to prepare eggs!
• The lid is dishwasher safe
• Easy clean non stick removable bowl
• Glass lid (with steam vent) so you can see how your goodies are going

Loving a little less but liveable:

• You can't control the intensity of the steam. It's either on or off, no in between.
• The capacity is a little lower than what I'm used to, but I think with some experimental chopping of our veg I could overcome that.
• Only the lid is dishwasher safe, but we don't have a dishwasher so this isn't really an issue for us.

Overall:

I've never owned an electric steamer and I must admit I like the convenience of knowing it's only going to take ten minutes to get a good steam up, and there are some days when I really just don't want to be anywhere near the stove. Brilliant for days when we are having leftovers but need a little extra vegetables to bulk out the meal. I love that it's quick & easy to clean. One thing I haven't tried yet is steaming fish. I've never been great at cooking meat in general and I'll admit I'm a little scared of getting fish wrong, so I'm saving for an occasion when hubby can be home to help :-). I'm also planning on trying boiling some pasta and steaming some vegetables at the same time. Keep an eye out on Instagram to see how I go! I will no longer be poaching my eggs, but steaming them instead.

Don't forget to check back over the weekend for details on how you can win a Kambrook Quatro Multi Cooker for yourself (just in time for Mothers' Day!).

Details of my tools & toys can be found on this page.
~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches and Kamrbook Australia who generously provided a Quatro Multi Cooker to review and one for the prize of our pending giveaway.  All opinions expressed are my own, based on personal experience with the product.