An Ode to the Fried Egg
FavorFlav’s Marjan wouldn’t be surprised if more egg dishes were being served in the hospitality industry now than ever before. Breakfast, brunch and lunch spots can’t do without them anymore. But are fried eggs still among them?
In the past, we simply ate uitsmijters with two prominent sunny-side-up eggs, but now poached eggs are mainly the ones being fawned over. Avocado toast? It doesn’t leave the kitchen without an Instagrammable poached egg on top. Eggs Benny are unimaginable without one. Just like çılbır, Turkish poached eggs on garlic yoghurt. And shakshuka, the Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in a tomato and onion sauce.
Good old fried egg
But what about the good old fried egg? “He can’t even fry an egg,” goes a familiar saying. And indeed, the art of frying an egg seems to be dying out. Especially in the hospitality industry, where there no longer seems to be any place for the fried egg. An exception is huevos rancheros, a Mexican farmers’ breakfast of fried eggs, tomato-chilli sauce, black beans, avocado and rice, served on a corn tortilla.
In American-oriented brunch spots, you often see ‘eggs any style’ on the menu, but do you still dare to order a fried egg with all those poached eggs being served at the tables around you? Even though frying an egg well is at least as much of an art as poaching one properly.
Late night snack
A fried egg goes with everything and is the ideal hangover food. Have you got nothing in the house to eat, but still have an egg and some cold rice? Fry the rice, place a fried egg on top and add some spicy sauce, and you have nasi goreng. A fried egg works well for breakfast, lunch, dinner and as a late night snack. There are entire chat groups, magazines (Put A Egg On It) and websites dedicated to topping random dishes with a fried egg.
A fried egg has something extra over a boiled or poached egg: cooking it in butter (not oil or margarine). This not only deepens the flavour, but also makes you feel full sooner. But what frying mainly does, in beautiful contrast to the liquid yolk on top, is give the egg that wonderfully crisp texture. And everything simply tastes better when it crunches in your mouth.
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