Good Eggs 'N Bad Eggs

[Stormkhan]

MMMmmmmmmm ... 'buppy' soldiers 'n' eggs!

 

[catseye]

I'm still intent on learning to cook onsen tamago, or onsen eggs.
Essentially, they're eggs poached in the shell in 'almost' boiling water. They should turn out with a nicely firm white and a still-runny but cooked yolk.
Managed it occasionally, but I have difficulty in cracking open the egg and removing the shell without splitting the cooked egg, which spoils the effect really.

The way my mum made boiled eggs was to bring the eggs to the boil in the water, then turn the heat off so the eggs sat in the hot water - they always came out with nice firm whites and runny yolks. Was she inadvertently cooking onsen eggs? (If she was she'll likely be turning in her grave - she hated 'foreign food).

 

[Stormkhan]

Onsen eggs might be made that way. The whole point is that they cook low and slow.
about 30 mins.

We can achieve this special texture because egg yolk and egg white solidify at different temperatures. Egg yolks solidify at 158°F (70°C) and egg whites solidify at 176°F (80°C). Therefore, if we maintain the cooking water at 149-154°F (65-68°C) for 30 minutes, we’ll get a perfect spherical poached egg, creamy and silky on the outside and firm on the inside.

 

[James_H]

I thought I had posted my favourite way with eggs, on this thread but it seems not. I have just had some for tea.

Ramekin poached eggs with mustard. Take a good knob of butter and a teaspoon of made English mustard, allow the mix to coat the sides of your ramekin, which sits in the saucepan, boiling water up to about half way. Crack in two fresh eggs and cover, letting it clatter away happily for ten to twelve minutes*. The eggs should tip out in one piece with a tasty mustard sauce on top. No need for further seasoning.

Eat with fingers of toast.

*The timing is a bit of an art, being dependent on the size and age of the eggs. I make the dish, usually, when the eggs are "fresh" as from the supermarket. Ten minutes might be a bit long, if you have access to really fresh eggs. My goal is set whites with the yolks still runny.

Ready-made mustard is what I use for this dish, since it is already seasoned. I am annoyed to find it usually contains wheat-flour! I seem to tolerate it anyway.

I used to bake eggs in ramekins when my hob broke, takes a bit longer than other cooking methods but it's great.

Another great eggs is steamed eggs (found in China, Japan, and probably other places in the area). Looks tricky so I've never tried but if done correctly the texture is marvellous, like silken tofu.