Perfect Soft Boiled Egg
If you’re looking for the perfect soft boiled egg, look not further. This recipes is foolproof and incredibly easy.
“I didn’t really care for our visit there so much…” said AJ as we left the restaurant. We visit Los Angeles pretty often but we tend to stick to our try and true favorites, Thai food, Korean food, a trip to Huckleberry’s for their Croque Madame (yes, we put an egg on it) and Japanese ramen. But this time we decide to go wandering around Venice and we ended up in a restaurant that was nice, but a bit snooty. In truth, AJ’s opinion really resulted because of a perfect soft boiled egg. (Jump directly to the recipe.)
The street seemed typical Los Angeles I guess. Nice but relatively expensive shops filled with items that none of us could afford, you know the usual look but don’t touch. I was even reprimanded by a shopkeeper when I went to take a photo of a dish that I liked. Of course, when I asked if she had any that were smaller in size and different in color, she said she was sending them all back and they rest were already packed away. Why would it matter if I took a photo if she wasn’t going to sell them anymore? Down the street a bit, a film crew seemed to be shooting a pilot for a show. I nonchalantly looked to see if I could recognize anyone famous but no one popped up on my radar. Not a surprise since I’m fairly ignorant of the current crop of actors; my subscription to US Weekly had lapsed quite a few years ago. But we were getting a bit hungry so we decided to dash into a cute little restaurant on the street.
Now we’re all familiar with restaurants that explicitly state that you can’t have any substitutions on the menu. I get that the chef has designed a meal to work as a whole and not to piece together how you want it. But here’s the thing, our friend was pregnant and there were certain things that she was trying to avoid eating. One of them was undercooked eggs. So when she spotted a salad on the menu with an egg on it, she asked the waiter how it was prepared. He stated all eggs were freshly soft boiled for the salad. My friend then asked if there was anyway to get it hard cooked. Much discussion ensued.
In the end, it took the waiter, the host, the manager and then finally the owner to get the change made. Each one tried to explain to my friend that the salad was built with the soft cooked egg in mind and perhaps she could just remove the soft cooked egg from the plate after it was served. And each time my friend explained how normally she would LOVE to have a soft cooked egg with the salad, but as she was currently with child, in a family way, preggers, knocked up (how many times did she has to say it as clearly she was showing at six months) she was trying to avoid that sort of thing and couldn’t they just cook the egg slightly longer – especially since they cook the egg to order?
In the end the owner the restaurant came around and OK-ed the change, though he was very specifically clear that it was ONLY because she was pregnant. My friend didn’t really seem phased by the exchange, but I could tell AJ was getting more and more annoyed the situation. We enjoyed our meal as much as we could, and haven’t been back since. Though we go down to L.A. fairly often I have a feeling we probably won’t be making another trip to Venice again soon. Oh well, I can’t really afford anything on the street anyway.
Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs
By Irvin Lin
AJ has always loved his soft boiled eggs. Seriously loved them. The firm white and the runny yellow yolk. What’s not to love? Of course, there’s very little risk that he’ll become pregnant so I make them pretty frequently. The secret, funny enough, is NOT to boil the eggs but to steam them, as that keeps the temperature consistent (if you boil them, the cold eggs will shift the water temperature). I user a steamer basket because it’s easier, but if you don’t have one, just place the eggs in the water with tongs (they won’t be submerged, but the water will steam the eggs). Start to finish they’re done in ten minutes.
Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.
Ingredients
4-6 large eggs, refrigerator cold
1 tray of ice cubes
4-6 large eggs, refrigerator cold
1 tray of ice cubes
Special equipment
Large pot with lid
Steamer basket
Large bowl
Tongs
Large pot with lid
Steamer basket
Large bowl
Tongs
Directions
1. Fill a pot with 1/2-inch of water and cover it. Place on the stove and turn the heat to high until boiling.
1. Fill a pot with 1/2-inch of water and cover it. Place on the stove and turn the heat to high until boiling.
2. Place the eggs in a steamer basket. Once the water is boiling (shouldn’t take too long), remove lid, place the steamer basket with the eggs in them, inside the pot (the water level should not be above the steamer basket). Replace lid and set a timer for 6 minutes and 45 seconds.
3. While the eggs are steaming, empty a tray of ice cubes into a large bowl and fill with cold water. Once the timer is up and the eggs are done steaming, remove them from the steamer basket, one at a time with the tongs, and place them in the ice bath to stop them from cooking. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving with salt and pepper.
Makes 4-6 eggs.
Now that you know how to make a perfect soft boiled egg, you probably want a few recipes on what to serve it with (if you’re not eating the eggs by themselves). Check out a few of these recipes from around the web:
Aida Mollenkamp’s Avocado Toast with Soft Boiled Eggs
Orangette’s Egg Gribiche
Cannelle et Vanille’s Pea, Pickled Onion, Avocado and Egg Tartine
Naturally Ella’s Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad with Soft Boiled Eggs
No Recipes’ Oden, a Japanese comfort food stew
Orangette’s Egg Gribiche
Cannelle et Vanille’s Pea, Pickled Onion, Avocado and Egg Tartine
Naturally Ella’s Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad with Soft Boiled Eggs
No Recipes’ Oden, a Japanese comfort food stew
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Hey there! Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm Irvin Lin, an IACP-Award winning photographer, award winning baker, award winning graphic designer, storyteller, recipe developer, writer and average joe bon vivant. Hilarity often ensues when I'm involved. I currently reside in San Francisco in the neighborhood people have recently taken to calling "The Gastro" - a block from Dolores Park and right near Tartine Bakery, Bi Rite Market & Creamery, and Delfina.I can also be found at various food events around the city. Feel free to contact me by clicking on that picture of me up above or emailing me eatthelove {at} gmail {dot} com.
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Thanks for the hard boiled egg tip. I’m always over-boiling them, even when I do get my act together and prep an ice bath. Easier extraction with this method too, I bet, especially if your steamer has handles.
On the other hand, thank you for the tip on steaming/shocking the eggs. I think of soft boiled eggs as the original comfort food complete with toast soldiers for dipping.
Do you still have to poke a little hole in them to keep them from cracking?
I’d given up on mastering the perfect soft-boiled, but your technique and exact timing did the trick! I’ve just discovered your site. Looking forward to more great info.