DID you know that the 100 folds on a chef’s hat represents the many different ways a chef knows how to cook an egg? While this little fun fact might seem a little useless to some, it’s actually a good reminder of how important an egg is in any pantry or fridge. In fact, learning how to cook an egg is probably one of the first things anyone learns in a kitchen, besides how to boil water.
The thing is though, most people don’t actually know that they’ve been cooking eggs the wrong way their entire lives. This is probably because most of us learned how to boil, scramble, poach, fry or steam eggs in a home setting. There are actually three sins every home cook commits when cooking eggs. And it’s time to stop!
USING HIGH HEAT
An egg is an extremely sensitive ingredient. And most of us are just too rough with them. For example, the ultimate sin when cooking an egg is to use high heat. Unless you’re hard-boiling it, there’s no reason for you to do so. This is because eggs cook relatively quickly and like any other protein, they become rubbery when overcooked.
A high heat also makes it hard to evenly cook your eggs. Some parts will end up being overcooked while other parts will remain runny. So when you’re frying or scrambling, make sure to use a medium-low heat. It might take longer but the result is far better.
CRACKING WRONGLY
Another thing people tend to do is crack their eggs on the side of a pan or mixing bowl before using it. This might not seem like such a big deal until you actually bite into your dish only to discover that there are bits of shell on your tongue. The trick to this is simple: just crack your egg into a separate bowl before adding it to your pan and voila, your dish will be shell-free.
SALTING YOUR EGGS
Did you know that salting your eggs while you’re cooking them is probably one of the worst things you can do? This is because salt draws out moisture and breaks the egg down too early, leaving you with a watery, sloppy mess. So instead of sprinkling salt as you’re cooking them, sprinkle it on after you’re done.
This trick also applies to baking. Salt draws out moisture from the egg and can make egg yolk congeal if you put salt onto it and leave it for an extended period of time. A lot of bakers tend to pour their salt on their eggs and leave it while they mix the other ingredients. It’s actually better to dilute the eggs with other ingredients before adding your salt to it.
DEVILLED EGGS
Since we’re on the topic of sins, why not learn how to make Devilled Eggs? A popular dish in the early 19th century, it’s making a strong comeback. This dish is especially popular during Easter - for obvious reasons. The best part is that it’s probably one of the easiest yet delicious appetisers you can whip up with a pantry staple. All you need are eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper and some garnishes.
You just need to boil your eggs until they’re hard*, peel them, scoop up the yolks and mix it with mayonnaise, mustard and seasoning and pipe the yolk mixture back into the egg whites. Admittedly, the only tricky part to this recipe is the piping. However, you can just spoon them in but they won’t look nearly as presentable.
If you do not own a piping bag or piping tubes, you can make do with a ziplock bag. Just fill your ziplock bag with the yolk mixture, cut a small hole at one of the bottom corners of the bag, and squeeze. The final product won’t look as nice compared to if you’ve used an actual piping tube but it’s still a lot better than if you used a spoon.
Finally, don’t forget to garnish your eggs with herbs, spices or even ingredients like beef bacon. While the recipe might be simple, devilled eggs are known to be eye-catching. So make sure to decorate them. Personally, I like using black sesame seeds, paprika and chives because the colours contrast very well against the egg. But use whatever you like, or have on hand.
Let’s get cracking!
* but not too hard, the recipe will show you some steps about how you can get them perfect for this dish.
DEVILLED EGGS
Ingredients
4 eggs
2 tbps mayonnaise
1 tsp Wholegrain Mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnishes: toasted black sesame seeds, minced chives and paprika.
Method
1. Place eggs in a medium-sized pot and fill it with room temperature water, making sure to cover the eggs by a couple of inches. Place the pan onto a high heat until the water boils. Once the water has reached boiling point, remove the pan from the heat and cover the pot with a lid and leave the eggs in the water for 12 minutes.
2. Remove the eggs and place them in cold water. Leave to cool completely.
3. Peel the eggs and slice them in half.
4. Remove the yolks carefully and mix/mash the yolks with all the other ingredients, except the garnishes, until smooth.
5. Pipe the yolk mixture back into the egg whites and garnish before serving.