all about eggs eggs eggs
egg basics + more for dummies (you're not a dummy)
If you don’t like eggs, today’s newsletter is kind of awkward! But maybe I can bring you to the other side - the egg lover sider. I say, read on - open your horizons!! To be fair though, I can’t blame you if you don’t like eggs because just last month I was in my egg ick phase. It’s a dark place, but it happens to the best of us. Even baby tamago gets the egg ick.
By the way - did you know my username babytamago means “baby egg”? In Japanese, tamago means egg! I thought I’d clear that up because a lot of people ask me what the fawk my username means. You’re all baby tamagos in my eyes <3 My birth chart shows I’m poached (gemini), which one are you?
Anyway, if you couldn’t tell we’re talking about eggs today.
egg basics 101!
my methods + tips for the simplest of egg preparations that make aaall the difference
soft boiled eggs:
bring water to a boil first
bring down to a simmer, drop your eggs in with a spoon & keep a light bubbling simmer for 7.5 minutes
pour water off when timer is done and run under cold water (ice bath if you want)
the most gorgeous jammy runny eggs are born
i love soft boiled egg breakfast plates. a lil bit of this a little bit of that, everything i’m craving thrown on a plate to nibble on :)
perfect scrambled eggs:
we’ll be using the method of “push ‘n swirl”
mix your eggs in a bowl first. the thought of mixing in the pan makes me want to go into an eternal sleep, sorry.
add a spoon of greek yogurt/sour cream to take your fluff above and beyond. don’t salt yet!! (ripped fresh basil is the best addition ever if you have some laying around)
pour your eggs into a heated pan and immediately bring the heat down to medium-ish. the edges should already have started to slightly bubble and set as you poured the eggs in.
with a rubber spatula, push the edges in towards the center. this is the push part.
keeping pushing the edges as they set around the pan and towards the center - this is the swirl part. repeat until there’s no more liquid egg to swirl. don’t cook too long, they’ll continue setting off the heat.
salt + pepper + more fresh basil if you got it. best floofiest eggs ever!
poached eggs
skip. i hate making poached eggs they’re so annoying and not even that good!!!! but if I MUST, I’ll only make them for cilbir (turkish eggs). I have no tips for poached eggs but here is how to make cilbir lol:
add 1-2 grated garlic cloves, a pinch of salt and squeeze of lemon to half a cup of greek yogurt.
poach 2-3 eggs…bombastic side eye
melt 2 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and sprinkle 1-2 tsp of Aleppo pepper just until aromatic (I subbed with smoked paprika and crushed red pepper)
top the yogurt with the eggs, spoon over your sauce and top with dill. mop the plate with crispy bread. truly an insanely easy yet amazing dish.
my lazy “deviled eggs” snack
emphasis on quotations. very loose on the term “deviled eggs”. sometimes I want a deviled egg vibe, but I’m not doing all that. So I do: a tiny squeeze of mayo (kewpie or sir kensington is my preferred), drizzle of chili oil (or sriracha) and a sprinkle of furikake. a lil sliced cucumber on the side. heaven sent, it does the trick every time. trust.
egg drop soup
if you’re joining me post-egg drop soup era you may have missed this. but last year, I discovered how easy it is to make egg drop soup. my life has been transformed since. the measurements do not have to be precise, I never measure when I make this.
mix about 2 cups of chicken (or veggie) broth with 1 tbsp cornstarch, salt, dash of turmeric + white pepper in a saucepan. bring to a boil. it should slightly thicken after a few minutes. add more/less cornstarch depending how you like the consistency. just make sure you make a cornstarch slurry if adding more in after it boils, otherwise it will clump up in the hot broth.
lightly beat 2 eggs in a small bowl. while the broth is at a light boil, create a small whirlpool with your spoon and slowly stream your eggs in while lightly stirring in a waving motion through the eggs. remove from heat right away.
pour into your bowl and top with a drizzle of sesame oil, scallions + furikake if you’re into that! sooooo good!
tomato variation
heat oil in a saucepan. add 1 sliced tomato and 1 chopped scallion and cook on medium/low until softened.
add a splash of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and a pinch of sugar.
from here, follow the steps for the OG egg drop soup above. I personally like to leave the cornstarch out for this variation, and add noodles and chili oil on top!
lazy shakshuka
I don’t remember the last time I made a “real shakshuka” from peppers, and tomatoes and all that jazz. And that’s because I pioneered the leftover marinara hack. No I didn’t but I’ll say I did. Pretty much whenever I have a random open jar of marinara in my fridge (I typically use Rao’s or Michael’s of Brooklyn) this is what I do:
sautee a few cloves of garlic in olive oil in a pan. add the marinara sauce with a few splashes of water to loosen it up.
add cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper and simmer for a few minutes until you can make little holes in the sauce for the eggs. if you have spinach or greens that need to be uses up, throw them in and cook them down in this step. crack an egg into each hole - up to you how many you want.
cover with a lid and on a light simmer, cook until your eggs are perfectly runny.
top with dill, parsley, feta or goat cheese! such a comforting, warm and easy breakfast, mop it up with a fresh pita you made perhaps ;)
As I finished writing this, I remembered how expensive eggs are at the moment. Kind of like the rental market in nyc because we cannot for the life in us find a sublet, so as of next week, we’ll officially be home-less. Does anyone have a spare kitchen I can live and cook in?
as always, I’m always posting throughout the week on instagram + tiktok:
instagram: @babytamagooo
tiktok: @babytamago
hope you have a delicious sunday <333
This looks so good