How to poach and scramble eggs like a pro

Four of my most tried and tested egg dishes(Plus Hannells’ famous Ramen egg recipe!)

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Here are some of my favourite ways of cooking and eating eggs, and recipes that will definitely improve your game. I’ll share methods for boiling, poaching, marinading and scrambling plus the 5 things I consider when poaching or scrambling eggs.

Let’s kick off with “ Ramen eggs.” This is the very recipe we had at Oma, which was a wine bar we ran in Byron Bay. This is former Three Blue ducks head chef Mark Hannell’s recipe, and it makes for a really tasty snack, especially with a glass of orange wine! The dish was so loved, Mark had prints made up of the dish and gave them to us fellow Ducks when we closed the bar. He’s opening his own place in Melbourne next month, rumour has it these eggs are going to make a comeback!

Ramen eggs and other snacks at Oma

Hannells’ famous Ramen Eggs

Recipe

6 eggs:

200ml gluten free soy

40ml red wine vinegar

40g caster sugar

Method

Whisk soy, vinegar and red wine vinegar until the sugar dissolves.

Boil eggs for 6 minutes 40 seconds

Plunge into ice water.

Peel the eggs

Pop into marinade and leave in the fridge for two days

Ramen eggs. Illustration by Juliet Valentine (@thejulietreport)

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Crispy fried eggs, zucchini & crispy chili oil

This is a great way to enjoy fried eggs with a vegetable of choice, all cooked in the same pan. I’ll often swap out the zuchini for green shallot, broccolini, mushrooms or leafy greens.

Serves 1/prep time 2 mins/cook time 4 minutes

Recipe

3 eggs

Half a zucchini

A handful of torn herbs (basil and chervil)

1 tbsp crispy chili oil

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon wedge

Salt and pepper

Method

Thinly slice the zucchini on a mandolin. Heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan.

Season the zucchini and fry for 30 seconds. Crack in 3 eggs in the same pan on top of the zucchini.

Fry on a medium to high heat to cook the eggs and crisp up the edges. Remove from pan, pop on a plate, top with crispy chili oil and a squeeze of lemon and herbs.

Serve as is or with toast.

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Five tips to get you poaching eggs like a pro…

1. Use the freshest eggs possible. Fresh eggs have firmer whites, which helps them hold their shape better when poaching.

2. There’s no need for an enormous pot of water! Fill a wide pan with about 3 inches of water and bring it to a gentle simmer. I like to use a frying pan to give the eggs plenty of room. The water should be just below boiling, with small bubbles rising to the surface.