Wasabi Deviled Eggs with Sriracha

Deviled eggs are a timeless tradition of delectable snacking that lends itself well to pretty much any party or potluck in any season. These deviled eggs are no exception, and were added to our Holiday Party line up. They are salty, spicy, and have a subtle hint of star anise that makes for a more Eastern take of a Southern classic. I love deviled eggs in pretty much every available format, but the only thing better than one kind of deviled egg is SEVERAL kinds of deviled eggs.

The original recipe (available at the Food and Wine website), uses scallions in the marinade, but we were fresh out of scallions when we first made these and substituted a combination of onions and garlic in its place, as this is essentially a marinade so presentation really isn't an issue. It worked wonderfully. The main flavors from the marinade are fresh ginger, soy, sake, and star anise and the onion is more of a background note. And given we are more likely to have an onion on hand than to have a bunch of scallions, it's been a useful substitute.

The star of this show is the wasabi and sriracha filling, which takes this from just being salty to packing a kick at the end of each bite that makes people eat them before I am able to take the "finished" photo of what they look like, which gives you a sense of their popularity. If you want a quick and dirty version that doesn't involve a bunch of star anise and hours of marinating, you can just make the filling and skip the marinade. Your eggs won't get a cool tint and will not have quite the complexity, but the filling is pretty delicious on its own. Even with the marinade, this still qualifies as a pretty easy recipe. If you want to throw some extra eggs in there, go ahead. We've squeezed in 15 eggs into the marinade without increasing the amounts of the marinade (this might require more stirring for even coating). Above that I would recommend making some extra marinade.
 

Wasabi Deviled Eggs with Sriracha

Makes 24 eggs

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup coarsely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup sake
1 cup water
2 cups soy sauce
10 star anise pods

1 medium yellow onion, chopped (or 1/2 cup of chopped scallions)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 dozen large eggs 
1 tablespoon Sriracha  
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/4 cup snipped chives
2 1/2 teaspoons wasabi paste 
Chinese five-spice powder 


Instructions 

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, soy sauce with the sake, star anise, onion (or scallions if using), garlic, sugar and grated ginger.
2. Bring soy mixture to a boil. Transfer the mixture to a heatproof medium bowl and let cool completely. 
3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cover the eggs with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute, then cover the saucepan, remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes until hard boiled.
4. Drain the water from the large saucepan. Cool the eggs slightly under cold running water to stop the cooking process, then peel them under cold running water. 
5. Add the eggs to the completely cooled soy mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the eggs for at least 4 hours, stirring once in awhile to ensure that all the eggs are fully immersed in the soy mixture and will color evenly.
6. Drain the eggs and rinse lightly to remove any bits of scallion or ginger; pat dry. The outside of the eggs will become a tannish brown color.
7. Using a slightly moistened thin, sharp knife (non-serrated), cut the eggs in half lengthwise. Yolks should be bright yellow, cooked all the way through, and the knife should cut cleanly through the yolk.
8. Gently pry the egg yolks into a medium bowl without breaking the cooked white. Leave the whites aside and mash yolks with a fork or potato masher until the mixture is as free of lumps as possible. If some remain, they will be taken care of during the piping process.
9. Stir the mayonnaise, Sriracha, wasabi and 3 tablespoons of the snipped chives into the mashed yolks until fully combined.
10. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a star or plain tip. Set the egg whites on a serving platter and pipe in the filling. If you don't have a pastry bag, cut off the corner of a plastic Ziploc bag, or just use a spoon for a slightly more rustic but equally delicious look. At this point, if you are making these ahead of time, you can stop here and store the eggs in a fridge overnight until ready to serve.
11. Right before serving, sprinkle a pinch of Chinese five-spice powder on each of the deviled eggs then top with the remaining chive snips or thinly sliced scallions if wanted.