Fettuccine with salted duck egg and creamy sauce

[dropcap]As[/dropcap] I’ve previously shared, the homemade salted duck eggs were a huge success, and the 32 day preservation time was well worth the wait. After cooking/boiling all the eggs, I was keen to make more and also to experiment with them in recipes.

I found the level of saltiness and infused aromatics of the egg white and the oiliness/creaminess of the egg yolk (even though the whole egg yolk was not fully “salted”) just right for me at around the 32 day mark. Any longer and I think the egg white would’ve been just too salty.

I am also impressed with the colours of the eggs – their surprising china white albumen (in contrast to the stained muted egg shell) and the golden/amber oily egg yolk were very pleasing to the eye. ¹

You can enjoy cooked salted duck eggs any way you want – sliced in salads or diced/mashed in eggy sandwiches, or as a side dish/accompaniment to classic comfort foods, such as congee/khao tom, etc.

I wanted to experience these eggs in another form, and after having recently stumbled on a salted duck egg pasta recipe here, which the author praised and recommended, I was inspired to make a salted duck egg fusion (Italian/Chinese/modern Australian?) fettuccine dish that used the wonderful flavours of the salted eggs to its fullest potential, with the addition of a few extra/optional ingredients.

The signature ingredient in the following recipe is undoubtedly the salted eggs – both the aromatic concentrated egg white and the decadently creamy/oily egg yolk.

During the cooking process, the diced/cubed egg white releases its briny flavours into the liquid (so no additional salt is necessary for this dish), creating an exceptionally flavoursome creamy sauce. The oily egg yolks also adds to the equation, with its rich buttery flavours and gritty texture, and when served – they appear as gorgeous golden discs nestled in the fettuccine web.

The use of full cream in the recipe helps accentuate the creamy flavour of the egg yolk, making the dish distinctive and wonderful to enjoy. The mushrooms and asparagus are subtle flavours that harmoniously dances with the delicate creamy flavours. The halved cherry tomatoes, basil leaves, and Parmesan flakes add accents that are not overpowering to the palate neither.

The chopped fried bacon pieces on the other hand provide a bold meaty and textural contrast to the dish, making this fettucine dish even more decadent to savour.

Fettuccine with salted duck egg and creamy sauce is truly a delicious dish that you should consider making. It’s quite easy to put together, and you can substitute some of the ingredients with your favourite alternatives.

The combination of salted duck eggs with a creamy mushroom sauce base was a lovely surprise and we enjoyed the dish immensely. Thank you very much Chinkee for the inspiration!

Fettuccine with salted duck egg and creamy sauce

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

A delicous fettuccine dish of complementary fusion flavours – rich creamy mushroom sauce enhanced with pleasant flavourful salted duck eggs.

Author: Padaek

Recipe type: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian/Fusion/Australian

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 4 salted duck eggs (boiled/cooked and peeled)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 sprigs of basil
• 2 spring onions
• 2 Tsp of olive oil
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 5 medium mushrooms (quartered)
• 300 grams of fettuccine pasta
• 6 cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 2 rashers of bacon
• 2 cups of full cream
• ground pepper

Instructions

1. Boil the duck eggs for 20-25 minutes until they’re cooked and then soak them in cold water to cool them down. Once they’re cooked and cool, carefully and gently peel off their shells. Cut the peeled eggs in half (length-ways), scoop out the egg yolk with a spoon and place the egg yolk in a bowl and put aside. Slice and dice the egg white into small/medium cubes.
2. Grill or fry the bacon rashers until golden brown and then slice them into roughly 2 cm strips and put aside.
3. Cook the fettuccine as recommended on the packet until al dente (around 6 minutes), strain and put aside.
4. Peel and wash the garlic cloves. Flatten with a knife/cleaver and roughly chop into chunky pieces.
5. Wash the spring onions, trim the roots and roughly chop into 1 cm pieces.
6. Wash the asparagus, trim the root ends and diagonally slice into 5 cm pieces.
7. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes. Wash and quarter the mushrooms.
8. Wash and cut off about 24 basil leaves.
9. In a wok or frying pan, add the olive oil and bring to medium heat. When the oil is hot enough, add the garlic and spring onions and gently fry until brown.
10. Add the cream, chopped/diced egg white, asparagus, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Stir/mix gently.
11. Add the cooked fettuccine and gently stir/mix through.
12. When ready to serve, add the basil leaves, bacon pieces, and halved egg yolks and gently stir through again.
13. Serve immediately with shaved Parmesan, a tip of basil leaves, ground pepper and if you prefer, a couple drops of chili oil. Enjoy with a lovely glass of red or white wine. Bon appetit!

Notes

You can substitute the asparagus for other seasonal vegetables. If you prefer, you can omit the bacon (as it provides extra saltiness to the dish), although it does provide a lovely meaty textural contrast to the dish. You can also experiment and substitute the fettuccine with other types of pasta.

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Did you know?

1. Fettuccine literally translates to “little ribbons” in Italian. It is made of egg and flour (usually one egg for every 100 grams of flour). ²
2. Asparagus is abundantly packed with nutrition, including a range of B group vitamins, vitamin C and potassium. There is also emerging research that asparagus has bio-active compounds like antioxidants, that help protect the body against future disease. ³