Eggs – 5 Super Easy And Quick Ways For A Tasty Meal
Eggs are economical simple and quick to cook and ideal way for anyone to give themselves a quick and tasty meal. Here are five super easy recipes.
The first three are cooked with little or no fat which makes them ideal food for anyone who is ill, a change from chicken soup!
Boiled Eggs
Firstly we need to know the difference between boiling and simmering
When water is boiling there will be
- masses of bubbles all through the water.
- loud sound from bubbling
- plenty of steam
- and frothing of the surface of the water like this
When water is simmering there will be
- some small bubbles throughout the water
- small amounts of steam
- no or little sound
- and the top of the water will remain smooth like this
Boiling water will be about 100º C, the exact temperature varies with air pressure which decreases with altitude.
Simmering water will be a little below this, around 95ºC
Curiously you don’t want boiling water for cooking boiled eggs which is a good thing as the whole scale bubbling would very likely crack the egg shells. To be pedantic eggs cooked in simmering water are sometimes called coodled eggs rather than boiled.
One way to boil eggs
- start with eggs at room temperature
- put the eggs in a saucepan
- cover with water
- bring to simmer
- 3-4 minutes depending on size of egg
Alternatively lower eggs into simmering water and simmer for 4 minutes
The exact time will depend on the size of your eggs and how firm you like the yolk.
Why not experiment? Cook several eggs and take one at after 3 minutes, another after 3 ½ and another after 4 minutes, see which you like the best.
When the time is up either take eggs out with slotted spoon, or gently empty pan into a colander.
Put the eggs under under cold water, to bring cooking to a halt.
Crack the shell and remove, just the top for and egg cup, or all over for hard boiled.
Soft Yolk
Firm Yolk
Hard Boiled
Alternatively leave hard boiled eggs in their shells and they can be carried around and eaten as a snack as Lieutenant Columbo used to do.
Poached Eggs
Poached are very similar to boiled eggs, except the shell is cracked open and the egg gently dropped into simmering water. There are many alternative ways of poaching eggs including using a microwave but this way is simple and it works.
- pan of simmering water
- break egg into water, most of white will stay with egg
- cook for 3-4 minutes
- take out with slotted spoon
Scrambled Eggs
This is the third egg recipe which is good for ill people, even though it contains a little fat. It’s great for healthy people too.
This recipe again features gentle cooking.
- put knob butter (1 to 2 oz) in saucepan on medium heat
- whilst waiting for butter to melt break eggs into a bowl
- salt and pepper to season
- little milk (1 – 2 fl oz)
- beat egg mixture
- when butter has melted add beaten egg mixture to pan
melted butter
- solid cooked egg will gradually begin to form on the bottom of pan
- stir across all of bottom of pan to remove solids
whilst cooking the scrambled egg will look like this
Eventually almost all the egg mixture will be solid.
It is worth taking the saucepan off heat near the end as eggs will continue to cook from heat already in the pan.
Choose whether you like your scrambled egg runny or set.
Why not serve on home made bread?
Omelette
A simple french version of omelette
Ideally you would use an metal omelette pan which you do not use for anything other than cooking omelettes. Alternatively a small frying pan, or wok may be used. It is better to use a non non-stick pan so you can use a metal spatula as these tend to be better for sliding under eggs.
- put your pan on a high heat
- add a knob of butter
- break eggs into bowl and beat, note no milk or water
- season with salt and pepper
beaten egg
when butter is frothing and bubbling pour beaten egg into the pan
the eggs will quickly spread out across the base of pan and the bottom of the egg mixture will set
move the eggs around with a spatula or fork to allow more of the liquid egg mixture to cook at bottom of the pan
when almost all of the liquid egg mixture has cooked fold the omelette in half
cook a little more then either tip onto, or lift onto a plate.
Eat with bread or green salad.
Fried Egg – Sunny Side Up
Fried eggs are best cooked in a non non-stick pan or wok so you can use a metal spatula.
In order to prevent the egg from spreading out too much a wok with flat base for electric cookers is ideal, or you can use a small frying pan.
It is important to ensure the pan is hot before you start cooking.
- put the wok or pan on the heat and allow to heat up.
- when the pan is hot put in a knob of butter, if the pan is hot enough the butter should immediately melt and start sizzling.
- break the egg into the pan, the white should start setting straight away.
- as the egg sets use the spatula to gently move the egg to ensure it is not stuck to the pan
- when the egg is cooked to your liking lift out with spatula
if the pan is hot enough the white should begin to set immediately
done
This Is Just The Start
Eggs have been eaten all around the world for thousands of years. These recipes are just the start of many possibilities and variations. But they are a great start!