How To: The Perfect Soft Boiled Egg

People. Have you ever ventured into the world of a soft boiled egg? Oh…my gosh. It is heaven. Soft, velvety, silky egg yolk that is perfectly encased within a tender, perfectly set egg white. I had never tried making one before this…isn’t that crazy? I was missing out on a whole world of egg perfection!

It just seemed daunting to me. How do you find the perfect balance of runny yolk + set egg white when everything is hidden behind that egg shell and you have no way of telling how cooked the inside is? It’s just something I never tried because I figured it would be hard to nail down the perfect cook.

But guess what? Turns out it’s SUPER FREAKING EASY with this ultra fool proof method I’m about to lay down for ya right here.

STEP ONE: The Water

The water step is important here for one reason alone: it makes this soft boiled egg process take two seconds to complete. Why? Because we are basically going to steam the eggs instead of boiling them. Meaning you only need an inch or two of water in the bottom of your pot. Meeaaning, the water takes less than five minutes to start boiling, and you’re ready to go. Waiting for water to boil is no fun, and it usually takes a bit, but when you’re only boiling an inch or two, it boils in like two seconds. Bam – egg perfection before you can blink an eye.

STEP TWO: The Boil/Steam

I’m not calling it full out “steam” because you are still putting the eggs down in the water. But the water only covers about half the egg. We bring the water to a boil, gently place our eggs in, and pop a lid onto the pot. Let it cook for exactly 6 minutes – no more, no less!

STEP THREE: The Rise and Peel

Right when your six minutes are up, you’re going to pour the water out of the pot and let cold water from your faucet run over your eggs to stop the cooking process (or just place them in an ice water bath). From here, if you’re peeling and using them right away, I like to hold the egg under the stream of water while I peel it so it stays nice and cool. Don’t slice them until you’re ready to eat them, because that yolk is runny and will go everywhere!

You can cook one egg in this recipe, you can cook five, you can really cook as many as you can fit in a flat layer on the bottom of your pot.

So – how to eat your eggs, you may ask? My favorite way is in a bowl of ramen, which is what they are pictured in here (that recipe is comin’ atcha next week, and it is LIFE CHANGING, so be watching for it). But here are some other ideas for ya:

• Over roasted asparagus
• On avocado toast
• In an Asian noodle bowl
• Over roasted potatoes
• Over cheesy grits
• On fried rice
• Over hash browns

Literally the options are endless. But you can be totally sure that if you cook them this way, they will be beyond perfect no matter how you decide to use them!

How To: The Perfect Soft Boiled Egg

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• Author: Annie Chesson

Ingredients

• Eggs (doesn’t matter how many – it can be as little as one or as many as you can fit in a single layer along the bottom of your pot)
• Water (enough to fill your pot up about an inch or two)

Instructions

1. In your pot, add about an inch or two of water and bring to a boil
2. When boiling, place your eggs in an even layer across the bottom
3. Immediately place a lid onto your pot and set a timer for 6 minutes
4. When the six minutes are up, drain the eggs and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process until they have cooled down to at least room temperature (or set them in a bowl of ice water to cool)
5. If using immediately, go ahead and peel. If saving until later, keep the shells on!

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more “How To” posts? Check these out:

How To: Basic Marinara

How To: Roux (Plus 3 Uses)

How To: Scrambled Eggs