How to cook in a jiffy: first lesson

Lesson 5: How to Boil and Peel an Egg Flawlessly and Graduate To:

Making an Egg Sandwich

Making an Egg Grilled Sandwich

Making an Egg Poach

Making an Egg Fry

Making an Omelette

Making a Cheese Omelette

Making a Scrambled Egg

Making a French Toast, both salty and sweet

Now we should take up some really serious cooking.

Why Should You Learn to Boil an Egg

For an absolute newbie, learning how to boil an egg should definitely be the first port of call. When I too learnt to boil an egg at my Hall of Residence, it boosted my self-confidence like nothing could. I could now have a complete breakfast consisting of a boiled egg along with some cereals that I bought from the supermarket and a glass of cold milk. I felt really proud that I could make myself a simple breakfast without any help and without “wasting” even five minutes. This eventually opened my eyes for further experimentation.

Boiling an egg also proved to be a foundation for many more recipes. Once I knew how to boil an egg, I could make myself an egg sandwich. When my confidence grew even more, I could experiment with making other egg recipes such as a scrambled egg, egg poach or even an egg fry.

I hope mastering the art of boiling an egg (which is hardly an art) would give you the same amount of pleasure and assurance that it gave me and would encourage you to try out making many other egg recipes.

My first experience with boiling an egg

On a foggy Sunday morning, and bored with my usual cold breakfast of cereals and milk, I decided to experiment with boiling an egg. I had never boiled an egg before in my entire life and the feeling of trying something new did unnerve me a little. So, I first spoke to my mom over Skype and carefully scribbled down some tips.

The first tip, which I was not aware of, was to take out the egg from the fridge and to let it come to room temperature. This is because the egg is really cold when it is taken out of the fridge. When the same egg is put in water, and the process of boiling starts, a sudden temperature difference created between the egg and the water can sometimes lead to the egg cracking up inside the pot.

The second tip was that I should put water first in the pan and then let the egg slip in. If I did the other way around, there could be a possibility of the egg rolling around and breaking in the pan while I clumsily took the pan with egg to the washbasin to add water. As instructed, therefore, I first let the egg come to room temperature. Then I filled the pot with water which was enough for the egg to be submerged. After that I carefully placed the egg inside the water, put the pan on the hot plate and then switched it on.

For a few seconds, it looked like nothing had happened. I was alarmed enough to place my hands near the pan to check if it was heating up. Slowly I could see the water shaking as if there was a mild earthquake. Small bubbles soon started forming at the bottom of the pot which in a few more seconds turned into bigger and bigger and bigger bubbles. At this point, I realized that the water was coming to a boil.

As soon as the water came to a boil, I was instructed to turn off the heat source and let the water cool down on its own. I could only then remove the egg from the water.

Voila, my idiot-proof hard-boiled egg was ready.

Personally I don’t like half boiled or semi-boiled egg. So I never experimented with these. But in case you are fond of them, my mom suggests to remove the egg the moment the water comes to a boil (and NOT wait till the water cools down on its own).

How Should You Then Boil an Egg

To recapitulate I would suggest the following steps to boil an egg:

Take out the egg from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.

In a pot, take enough water for the egg to be fully submerged.

Add the egg and then turn on the heat source.

As soon as the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat source and let the water cool down on its own.

Remove the egg from the water.

Remove the shell. Your perfect hard-boiled egg is ready.

In case, you want to have a half boiled or a semi boiled egg, then unlike in a hard-boiled egg where you remove the egg from the water after letting the water come to room temperature from its boiling point, it is suggested to remove the egg the moment the water comes to a boil.

How Should You Peel a Perfect Boiled Egg

After you have boiled the egg, and taken it out of the boiling water, immerse it in cold water for a minute. This helps you to handle the egg easily and also loosens the shell. Thereafter, gently tap the upper pointed portion of the egg with a fork till small cracks appear. Now start peeling from this point and the shell should come out easily if the egg is full boiled.

Tip: In case, you find the shell sticking at places, you can break the egg at a few more places with the fork, and then roll the entire egg in your palm for a few seconds to loosen the shell.

For half boiled egg, take out only the upper portion to the point where you can dip a small spoon inside the egg-shell. Then place the egg in an egg bowl and scoop out the egg with a spoon to eat.

Congratulations, you have just completed your first Cooking In a Jiffy lesson of how to boil and peel a perfect egg.

Graduate Now to Making an Egg Sandwich

Once you have learnt to boil an egg, you can easily progress to making this simple sandwich. This is what I used to do in my London Hall of Residence to save me from the torture of consuming tasteless, and “plasticky” egg sandwiches from the supermarket. Besides saving me some money, this dish boosted my confidence like nothing could, and I sincerely believe that it will do the same to you.

Ingredients

Hard Boiled egg-1

Mayonnaise-1 level tablespoon

Dijon Mustard-1/4 teaspoon

A pinch of salt

Powdered sugar-1/4 teaspoon

Bread-2 slices (of your choice)

Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber or any other such filler/salad of your choice-Optional

Method

Boil the egg the same way that you have learnt. This is how you should boil an egg:

Take out the egg from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.

In a pot, take enough water for the egg to be fully submerged.

Add the egg and then turn on the heat source.

As soon as the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat source and let the water cool down on its own.

Remove the egg from the water.

Remove the shell. Your perfect hard-boiled egg is ready.

Mash the egg well with fork and then put in the mayonnaise and Dijon Mustard and mix well.

Now, sprinkle a pinch of salt and the powdered sugar and again mix well.

Spread this mixture on to a slice of bread.

Put salad/filler of your choice.

Cover with another slice of bread and cut into two triangles.

Your delicious Jiffy Egg Sandwich is ready.

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 5 mins (for the egg to boil and for you to peel it)

Total time: 10 mins

Grilled Egg Sandwich

After making my own egg sandwiches, I now wanted to experiment with the preparation of a nice warm grilled egg sandwich. I had always loved grilled sandwiches, with those nice grill lines, which not only looked good but also tasted divine.

My mom’s grilled egg sandwiches used to have an egg filling with grated cheese and mustard paste that could keep me full till lunch. This meant that I had fewer hunger pangs and, therefore, didn’t need to snack in between.

So I first bought a bottle of Dijon Mustard, some onions and some tomatoes. I grated the cheese and chopped my onions and tomatoes. In parallel, I boiled (and peeled) an egg and then mashed it in a bowl. I mixed this with all other ingredients. Then I spread the mixture gently on one slice of the bread and pressed it with another slice of bread to make a sandwich.

My mom had told me to put the sandwich on a cold grill (not a pre-heated grill) and then to switch the grill on. This is because this helps in slowly browning the sandwich better. I was also instructed to keep checking the grill to see that the sandwich had reached the desired level of brownness. Once I realized that the sandwich had become crisp brown, I switched off the grill and took out my perfectly grilled egg sandwich to admire and devour.

The sandwich was certainly not as good as my mom’s. I could have probably chopped the onion and tomatoes finer but anyways I felt really proud of the fact that I could now grill a sandwich at my Hall of Residence and didn’t need to visit a deli for this warm sandwich.

There is no reason why you couldn’t “graduate” the same way. Once you are confident with boiling an egg and making a simple egg sandwich, graduating to a grilled egg sandwich does not look daunting anymore. Please don’t worry if in your first attempt you were not able to chop onions and tomatoes that well or that you “overbrowned” or “under browned” (if such a term exists) your grilled sandwich. The most important thing is to make an attempt and to learn from your mistakes. The more you will practice, the better you will get at it. Be proud of the fact that you can now have something warm for yourself for your meals apart from that hot coffee from your nearest deli.

Here is then the full set of instructions which should help you too accomplish this mission as breezily as I could.

Ingredients

Egg-1 Hard boiled and shelled

Grated Cheese-25 grams

Butter-1 teaspoon

Tomato Ketchup-2 teaspoon

English/Dijon Mustard paste-1/4 teaspoon

Chopped up onion-1 teaspoon

Chopped up tomatoes-1 teaspoon

Bread-2 slices (of your choice)

A pinch of Salt and Pepper

Tip: Did you notice that I have NOT included mayonnaise (which I did for the simple egg sandwich) in the above list? This is so because mayo, when heated up in a grill, leads to the separation of its oil base that then tastes awful!

Method:

Boil an egg the way you have learnt. This is how you should boil an egg:

Take out the egg from the fridge and let it come to room temperature.

In a pot, take enough water for the egg to be fully submerged.

Add the egg and then turn on the heat source.

As soon as the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat source and let the water cool down on its own.

Remove the egg from the water.

Remove the shell. Your perfect hard-boiled egg is ready.

In a bowl, mash your hardboiled egg well till the egg looks like a mashed potato.

Add together all other ingredients and mix well.

Spread on one piece of bread and press the other slice to make a sandwich.

Put this sandwich into a COLD (not preheated) grill, close cover, and switch it on.

Let the sandwich become crisp slowly.

A good idea is to have a peek inside the grill, once in a while, to check if the toast has reached the desired level of brownness.

Take the sandwich out on to a plate.

You may like to cut your grilled egg sandwich in half, diagonally, to make it easier to eat.

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 5 mins

Total time: 10 mins

N.B. Please note that this recipe is for one egg and for one person. If you are making a grilled egg sandwich for more eggs, then you need to multiply all the ingredients in equal proportion. 

This lesson forms part of the Author’s upcoming book titled “How to cook in a jiffy: even if you have never boiled an egg before.” Click here to read more.

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