Cooking with hibiscus

[Pan]

I drink hibiscus tea a lot, and enjoy the bracingly sour taste. Tonight, I tried using it with my fried eggs. The short version is that the results from using hibiscus tea (that is, hibiscus petals steeped in hot water) were not successful.

 

What I did was to pan-fry some "raw" cashews in extra virgin olive oil, with some garam masala, ginger powder and cinnamon powder. When the nuts were darkened on both sides, I started frying 3 eggs and then added about 1/2 cup of strong hibiscus tea (I drank the other half cup later, and it tasted good). I also added a bit of water to the cup where I was keeping my stirring spoon - probably a mistake, but not, in my opinion, the problem. When I tasted the liquid after some reduction, it didn't taste strongly of hibiscus - or anything much else - so I added some amchoor powder and more garam masala. When the eggs were done (whites solid, yolks still not fully cooked), I added some torn up cilantro that's a few days old, past its peak but still edible, cooked just a little longer, mixed it with everything and served myself the meal. The cashews tasted great, but there was an off taste to the sauce.

 

I really don't like having meals that are not tasty. This one was a bit spicy, but there was something wrong with the effect of the hibiscus - or I guess it's possible that when I pan-fried on pretty low heat, some of the spices burned a bit, but I kind of doubt that was the problem, as I cook my eggs with spices without a problem all the time (just adding a bit of vinegar). Given that the tea itself was fine, what do you suppose I did wrong? I'm reluctant to try using hibiscus in my cooking again.

[Lisa Shock]

You added many, many thing to your dish. The flavor that resulted could be an interaction between any number of them. (and, just a tiny bit of burnt anything will create a strongly bad flavor) Plus, a lot of the flavors used could have completely overpowered the hibiscus. I'd say try again but with fewer ingredients. Also, I am curious why you chose the method you did with the eggs, I don't often see fried eggs started and then liquid poured around them.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Lisa, Pan's trying to go low-sodium and substituting acids, spices and other flavors to sub in.

 

I do not know about hibiscus (but it sounds intriguing because I love tart flavors) but many things that are good to flavor teas/tisanes may be destroyed by high heat/boiling. Some tea aficionados will swear that water must be at X degrees below 212F to bring out the best flavor from a particular brew. It may be possible that in reducing the hibiscus tisane, the desirable flavor was altered or destroyed. An alternative might be to brew it extra-strong, and add only at the end, where it will not boil.

[Lisa Shock]

Ok. I have had hibiscus in sweet drinks and baked goods. The closest savory application was a sweet syrup used to build a pan sauce for meat, a little like a gastrique.

[Pan]

Good idea, Thanks for the Crepes. Maybe that was the problem: It cooked at a higher that boiling temperature, whereas I always try to brew my tea before the kettle whistles. I'll try adding just a bit of really strong tea at the end, maybe along with yogurt (which I was out of tonight).

[Pan]

Lisa, first, about using liquid with fried eggs:  When I was in graduate school, if I only had time to fry eggs, rather than to make a scrambled egg dish or do something more complicated, I had what I thought of as a little gourmet trick: After frying the eggs in extra virgin olive oil, I added just a bit of decent wine and cooked it just long enough (if I got it just right) so that just a touch of alcohol was still tastable. I would then eat the eggs on oatmeal bread toast.

 

As for using a masala or tarka with eggs, this is one improvised dish I made a week ago that was tasty, from the Low-salt cooking thread I started on the Hungry Onion website:

 

Quote

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I made an improvised, Indian-inspired scrambled egg dish that came out very well. I will try to reconstruct the recipe, as some amounts were not exactly measured:

Extra virgin olive oil as needed
1 teaspoon amchur (unripe mango) powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large white onion, sliced
5 large organic eggs, roughly beaten
About 1/2 to 3/4 cup full-fat Fage yogurt
The juice of about 3/4 of a lemon, with seeds removed
About half a bunch of fresh cilantro including stems, roughly torn into pieces.

Fire the olive oil in a frying pan for a short time at a moderate flame
Add the spices, lower the flame as necessary and mix continuously to prevent burning or clumping.
A minute or two later, add the garlic. Cook for a while, then add the onion. Continue to stir as needed and add more olive oil if needed.
When the onion seems more or less fully cooked, add the eggs. Stir until the eggs are fully cooked.
Add the yogurt and cook, mixing as needed, until the water is substantially reduced.
Add the lemon juice. Continue to stir as needed and cook for a few more minutes.
Taste and see if any ingredients need to be added for more balance of tastes.
If everything tastes right, add the cilantro, stir for a couple of minutes, try again, and when ready, serve. The dish should have a sauce but should not be watery.
Add additional yogurt and sprinkle ground cayenne pepper at the table to taste; eat with a bit of low-sodium pita if desired.