People. Have you ever ventured into the world of a soft boiled egg? Oh…my gosh. It is heaven. Soft, velvety, silky egg yolk that is perfectly encased within a tender, perfectly set egg white. I had never tried making one before this…isn’t that crazy? I was missing out on a whole world of egg perfection!
It just seemed daunting to me. How do you find the perfect balance of runny yolk + set egg white when everything is hidden behind that egg shell and you have no way of telling how cooked the inside is? It’s just something I never tried because I figured it would be hard to nail down the perfect cook.
But guess what? Turns out it’s SUPER FREAKING EASY with this ultra fool proof method I’m about to lay down for ya right here.
The water step is important here for one reason alone: it makes this soft boiled egg process take two seconds to complete. Why? Because we are basically going to steam the eggs instead of boiling them. Meaning you only need an inch or two of water in the bottom of your pot. Meeaaning, the water takes less than five minutes to start boiling, and you’re ready to go. Waiting for water to boil is no fun, and it usually takes a bit, but when you’re only boiling an inch or two, it boils in like two seconds. Bam – egg perfection before you can blink an eye.
STEP TWO: The Boil/Steam
I’m not calling it full out “steam” because you are still putting the eggs down in the water. But the water only covers about half the egg. We bring the water to a boil, gently place our eggs in, and pop a lid onto the pot. Let it cook for exactly 6 minutes – no more, no less!
STEP THREE: The Rise and Peel
Right when your six minutes are up, you’re going to pour the water out of the pot and let cold water from your faucet run over your eggs to stop the cooking process (or just place them in an ice water bath). From here, if you’re peeling and using them right away, I like to hold the egg under the stream of water while I peel it so it stays nice and cool. Don’t slice them until you’re ready to eat them, because that yolk is runny and will go everywhere!
You can cook one egg in this recipe, you can cook five, you can really cook as many as you can fit in a flat layer on the bottom of your pot.
So – how to eat your eggs, you may ask? My favorite way is in a bowl of ramen, which is what they are pictured in here (that recipe is comin’ atcha next week, and it is LIFE CHANGING, so be watching for it). But here are some other ideas for ya:
Over roasted asparagus
On avocado toast
In an Asian noodle bowl
Over roasted potatoes
Over cheesy grits
On fried rice
Over hash browns
Literally the options are endless. But you can be totally sure that if you cook them this way, they will be beyond perfect no matter how you decide to use them!
Eggs (doesn’t matter how many – it can be as little as one or as many as you can fit in a single layer along the bottom of your pot)
Water (enough to fill your pot up about an inch or two)
Instructions
In your pot, add about an inch or two of water and bring to a boil
When boiling, place your eggs in an even layer across the bottom
Immediately place a lid onto your pot and set a timer for 6 minutes
When the six minutes are up, drain the eggs and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process until they have cooled down to at least room temperature (or set them in a bowl of ice water to cool)
If using immediately, go ahead and peel. If saving until later, keep the shells on!
If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!
In the mood for more “How To” posts? Check these out:
Bring 1/2 inch water to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Using tongs, gently place eggs in boiling water (eggs will not be submerged). Cover saucepan and cook eggs for 6 1/2 minutes. Remove cover, transfer saucepan to sink, and place under cold running water for 30 seconds.
Bring water to a gentle simmer in a medium pot. Gently lower eggs into water with a slotted spoon or strainer (do not drop eggs into water, as they might crack). Cook for exactly 6 minutes, then remove eggs with slotted spoon and serve.
Firmly tap the egg at one of its ends with a teaspoon or bread knife to create a small crack. Then you can peel off the shell carefully either as you eat, or all in one go. Cracking the eggs at the end rather than in the centre will reduce the chance of damaging the egg white.
The short answer is that it takes six minutes to soft boil an egg with fully set white and a liquid yolk, or 3-5 minutes if you prefer softer, slightly unset whites near the yolk. The long answer is that the time for soft boiled eggs also depends on the size of your egg and the technique used to boil the egg.
You might have heard that you should drop your eggs into room temperature or cold water and then bring the water to a boil. This is a myth. In our tests, bringing the water to a boil first and then lowering the eggs into the bath made for easy peeling and more accurate timing.
Bring a saucepan (large enough to hold the eggs in a single layer) of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower the cold eggs into the water one at a time. Cook for exactly 6½ minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle boil.
Put it on toast (or some other food): Scooping a soft egg onto some noodles, greens, hash browns, or plain ol' toast gives it something to grab onto, and—more importantly—something for the yolk to soak in to.
“The only individuals we ask to refrain from eating runny yolks are those pregnant, children under 5 years old, and those with a compromised immune system.” In general, as long as you're not immunocompromised, you can feel pretty safe about eating runny eggs. Just make sure to take all the precautions.
True to its name, a soft-boiled egg is one that's cooked in simmering water until the white is just set, but the yolk is still runny. Because the cooking time for a soft-boiled egg is around 3 to 4 minutes, it's often referred to as a "3-minute egg" or "4-minute egg," depending on your preferences.
Information. An egg can float in water when its air cell has enlarged sufficiently to keep it buoyant. This means the egg is old, but it may be perfectly safe to use.
Egg to water ratio - The more water you use relative to the number of eggs, the longer it will take to boil and the longer it will retain heat. Too much water and your eggs will cook too fast, too little and the temperature will fall too fast, resulting in uncooked eggs.
In a rolling boil, large bubbles burst vigorously and continuously over the entire surface of a pot of water, sometimes forcefully enough to splatter some liquid.
When you boil an egg, the heat first breaks (unfolds) the proteins, and then allows the proteins to link to other proteins. As the proteins form these new, strong bonds, the water that surrounded each protein molecule when the egg was liquid is forced out. That's why the egg turns hard.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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