What’s On My Plate: Eggs

Sandy

How d’ya like your eggs in the morning? If you’re like me, it all depends on the year.

When I was very small, I liked my eggs dry. Fried hard or hard boiled or not at all. My baby brother liked them soft boiled and runny enough to eat with a spoon. Gheez, he was weird. Although, my husband doesn’t think so. He fondly remembers his days of eggs & soldiers. I think it must be a boy thing.

Eggs & Soldiers
Ramen Egg (Ajitsuke tamago)

Nowadays, I like my boiled eggs part-way soft, like ramen eggs (ajitsuke tamago) which are velvety smooth but firm enough to be cut with a knife.

On mornings when I have enough time for precision, I’ll make homestyle  ajitsuke tamago. I place the cold eggs in a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil for exactly one minute. Then I take it off heat, cover the pan and let it rest for exactly seven minutes. Too little time and the eggs will be undercooked and impossible to shell. Too much time and the eggs will be overcooked. Real ajitsuke tamago is marinated overnight in a seasoned soya sauce broth. I just have it plain, sprinkled with sushi grade soya sauce.

This week though, while I was reading Deb & Donna’s delightful What was on Your Plate posts, I was eating scrambled eggs. I hadn’t had time for precision, so it was hard scrambled eggs – cracked, cooked and scrambled in a frying pan. It was a filling protein but a bit dry. Nothing a splash of ketchup couldn’t fix.

Do you eat your eggs with ketchup? I remember being horrified the first time I saw a someone dousing her eggs with ketchup. Prior to, I’d only ever had ketchup on burgers, fries and hotdogs.

But time changes perspectives. Now, I’ll not only eat ketchup on eggs, I’ll even try soft scrambled eggs.

In this video Jamie Oliver demonstrates three styles of making scrambled eggs: British, French and American. The American style is the one I’m most familiar with. The British style, I’ve made by accident by agitating the mixture too much and too soon. The French style with a bain marie … I’ve never made it and probably never will.

In all cases, I’m guilty of overcooking the eggs. It’s very easy to go from wet to moist to dry. That’s why I was interested in trying the trick of adding a teaspoon of mayonnaise and water to the beaten eggs. This adds another layer of flavor but also seems to slow down the cooking process. It’s so tasty, I didn’t need ketchup!

What’s your favorite way of making eggs? Do you add condiments to your eggs? Tell me about it! And while you’re at it, you too can join Deb & Donna’s What’s on Your Plate challenge.

… and by the way, if you’d like a little music, this song will take you from the kitchen to the table, in just about the time needed to make eggs and toast 🙂

30 Comments

  1. Pingback: Moringa Leaf Pancakes – Touring My Backyard

  2. Well, this is not something that I had ever thought about. I watched Jamie and realised that my way (I rarely rarely eat eggs at all) is the most like the American way, except that I do it on olive oil (just like most everything we ever cook). Also, I cook it longer than he did. Also also, I would add some marjoram, parsley, origano, rosemary or whatever I feel like. And most of all – I would never put my eggs on any toast. 😮 I might eat bread along though. Buon appetito!

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    1. I wouldnt’t put it ON toast either. For sure, I eat it WITH toast but I like my toast buttered and crispy. Ever since we’ve moved to less-meat diet, we’ve been eating more eggs. It’s so easy to cook and so satisfying 🙂

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  3. Pingback: transported to Edo & Kyoto – Touring My Backyard

  4. Oh Sandy! What joy and delight I take in your post!
    I love love love eggs, in all forms. I am about to make an omelette with leaves of the moringa tree (my friend lovingly shared the bounty of her harvest) so I am well-prepped for my eggy lunch.

    I, too, tend to overcook my eggs. I try very hard these days to take the pan off the heat before I think I should so that it is less than overcooked – works better when I am focusing this way.

    Thank you for sharing your method of making ajitsuke tamago. I prefer mine without being soaked overnight as well. i am going to use your timing next time the occasion calls for it.

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    1. You will need to post some pictures of your omelette. I curious to know what the moringa tree leaves look like. I’ve not heard of it before.

      Re: making the eggs … I think you may have to reduce the time in Singapore. In Canada we keep our eggs in the fridge, so my eggs start out cold. In Singapore I know that folks normally buy (& store?) their eggs un-refridgerated.

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          1. I wouldn’t have know either. That’s the problem when we don’t go from garden/farm to table. Things just miraculously appear in the supermarket!

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  6. I’m not a huge egg person and rarely ever eat them unless my other half has cooked them exactly how I enjoy them. Hm – I had no idea what soldier toast was and it took the picture to clue me in. Finger toast! As to the personalized logo — how cool. One of these days I will try and get it onto a post but not sure I am technie enough to personalize it.

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    1. Happily Donna doesn’t mind me defacing her carefully crafted logo 🙂 Even if you don’t personalize it, I hope you’ll take part in her WOYP challenge.

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  8. I’ve never really liked eggs. I hate them poached, fried, coddled, boiled (hard and soft) but occasionally enjoy an omelette and scrambled eggs just so long as neither are overcooked and rubbery.

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  9. I am Danish so I love, love eggs, especially mashed, hard-boiled eggs on top of lingonberry jam-topped toast for breakfast. Although we don’t call them soldiers, they are toast fingers!
    Love a boiled egg with fingers – a runny slightlu undercooked boiled egg. Runny, soft poached eggs are the bomb with sourdough.
    I dislike the dry cooked layer on the base of a fried egg though. Yuk.
    The French have to be different don’t they with the bain marie method- but way too time consuming for me. I think I will go with the English version, but no ketchup or mayo. Just salt!

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    1. I thought I was the only one who liked toast wt jam and eggs. I like apricot jam though, much easier to get than lingonberry. I am not with you on poached eggs though, maybe in a few more years …

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      1. I think you are turning Danish! Cranberry should be readily available in your area, shouldn’t it? You can always get “Lingon sylt” from any Ikea store. I am not so keen on apricot jam – it has to be cran/lingonberry. Apricot jam I tend to associate with Cakes – Sacher torte etc.

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  10. Hi Sandy, Thanks for the tip on how to make sushi style eggs. I like to make egg cups – a scrabled egg, tomato sauce, and a little hard cheese scrambled together and put in in a microwave proof bowl that I have sprayed with EVOO. A quick and tasty breakfast.

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  11. Pingback: What’s On Your Plate this August – Three Sisters Casserole with a Side of Bannock – Retirement Reflections

  13. Hi, Sandi – What a fun and informative post. I love the Jamie Oliver video and I especially love your Feature Photo Banner. You are very talented with digital graphics! Thanks so much for joining us at #whatsonyourplateblogchallenge. We hope to see you at #whatsonyourbookshelfchallenge as well. (Greedy, I know)!
    BTW – :For me, It’s American Scrambled Eggs all the way!

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