How To Make Soft-Boiled Eggs Like The Ones In Singapore Coffee Shops, And Other Tasty Egg Recipes
Soft-boiled eggs. Gooey and runny. Learn to make soft-boiled eggs at home
June 13, 2020
123rf
Soft-boiled eggs. Gooey and runny. Slurp it from the bowl or spoon as you please. As the eggy goodness engulfs your taste buds and slips down your throat, leaving you wanting more. And before you know it, you have finished two eggs. Grab some toast and sweep up all the remaining gooey delights left on the sides of the bowl. (Also love scrambled eggs? Click here.)
These soft-boiled eggs, also known as half-boiled eggs, differ from those in the West. In Singapore, ours are runny and wobbly, and you crack them open like you would a raw egg, whereas, in the West, the white is almost fully cooked – the egg can be topped or peeled like a hard-boiled egg – and the yolk, runny.
A typical Singapore-style breakfast at a coffee shop often consists of soft-boiled eggs, along with kaya toast and a cup of kopi (coffee) or teh (tea). / PHOTO: 123RF
Found at drink stalls in hawker centres/kopitiams and specialised Singapore coffee-shops like Ya Kum, these good’ol soft-boiled eggs taste so good; they always leave us wanting more. Now, instead of heading to the coffee shops, you can make these in the comfort of your home. Every day. Behold, the recipe:
VIDEO: Make Singapore Coffee Shop-style Soft-boiled Eggs at Home
How to make soft-boiled eggs like the ones in Singapore coffee shops
Step 1:
image
Use a stainless steel pot or a vessel that conducts heat well, and pour in about a litre or so of boiling water, enough for eggs to be fully submerged in.
Step 2:
image
Place two eggs in the pot. Fresh room temperature eggs work best because they are less likely to crack when placed in boiling water.
Step 3:
image
Leave the eggs in the pot for 6 to 7 minutes, depending how runny you like the whites and yolks.
Chef’s Tip: Use this method as a rough guide. The final cooking time depends on how large your eggs are, how big the pot is, how many eggs there are in the pot, and so forth. For instance, adjust the timing downwards if you have smaller kampung eggs. It may take a little bit of trial and error to get it right.
Step 4:
image
Remove eggs from pot after 6 to 7 minutes. Alternatively, you can also pour boiling water into the pot or vessel, then lower the eggs in, as demonstrated in the video below.
Step 5:
image
Use a spoon to make a small crack in the egg shell.
Step 6:
image
Crack open eggs with your hands and pour egg white and yolk into a small bowl.
Step 7:
image
Add a teaspoon of dark soya sauce (or more if you like) over eggs.
Step 8:
image
Sprinkle a dash of ground white pepper over eggs. Serve immediately.
Fresh, room-temperature eggs work best because they are less likely to crack when placed in boiling water.
Things to Note for Perfect Soft-boiled Eggs
Use this method as a rough guide. The final cooking time depends on how large your eggs are, how big the pot is, how many eggs there are in the pot, and so forth. For instance, adjust the timing downwards if you have smaller kampung eggs. It may take a little bit of trial and error to get it right.
Making poached eggs can be intimidating especially if you don’t cook very often. Until you are ready or have time to poach eggs the classic way, here’s another method to consider: poach eggs in plastic wrap.
Combining salted eggs, century eggs and regular chicken eggs with Chinese spinach for a satisfying vegetable dish. You’ll also love the gravy this recipe creates, which goes perfectly with fluffy, white rice.
Restaurant-style Japanese Ramen Eggs (or Ajitsuke Tamago)
image
Japanese ramen eggs. Nitamago. Ajitama, or Ajitsuke-tamago. These are the different names these Japanese-marinated, soft-boiled eggs go by. Runny, but not too runny, soft but not overly soft, these savoury, creamy eggs that come with your bowl of ramen in Japanese restaurants taste so good that you have to resist ordering another. The perfect ajitsuke tamago is where a completely liquid yolk spills out when you cut the Japanese-marinated soft-boiled egg in half.
