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Recipes and Cooking

AusEggsBasics willowcreative 0410 1

Easy Fried Eggs

Easy Fried Eggs

Fried eggs: the breakfast of kings or the fallback option for people who haven't mastered poached or scrambled eggs?

Whatever you like to eat your fried eggs with, and they are just as good on toast for breakfast as they are served on top of Chinese noodles for dinner, this step-by-step guide will help you make the perfect fried eggs every time.

Whether sunny side up or over easy, a perfect fried egg should have a deliciously runny yolk (reminiscent of poached eggs) with crispy and delicate edges around the egg white. 

To make fried eggs at home you will need a non-stick frying pan, a spatula and a steady hand for transferring the egg to your plate without piercing the yolk. 

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 tbsp olive oil 

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Sunny Side Up 
  1. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Wait for the oil to heat up sufficiently because the egg whites will spread across the pan if added too early. Keep an eye on the temperature and if the oil starts to spit, turn the heat down to low.

  2. Once the pan is sufficiently heated, crack the eggs into the pan and cover with a lid. You want to cook the eggs until the yolk is set but still runny and the edges of the egg white are golden brown and starting to curl. This should only take three minutes, depending on how well you like your fried eggs cooked. Putting a lid on the pan slightly steams the egg while it's frying and this helps the yolk to set properly.

  3. When the eggs are cooked to your taste, remove them from the pan with a spatula and place them on a plate or on top of toast with the yolk side up. 

  4. Season the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Over Easy
  1. Prepare a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat in the same way described for sunny side up, making sure the pan is hot enough to stop the egg white spreading but isn't so hot that the oil starts to spit.
  2. Once the pan has heated, crack the eggs in and cook for three minutes. After three minutes is up, use a spatula to gently flip the egg over and cook for a further 30 seconds with the yolk side down before removing from the heat. 
  3. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Notes

Fresh eggs are best for frying (and poaching) as the protein structure of the egg white is stronger in fresher eggs. Stronger and thicker egg whites result in neater shaped eggs in the pan. While the general consensus is that fresh everything is better, older eggs are actually better for boiling as they peel more easily. For scrambled eggs or omelettes, it makes no difference so these are good meal options to use up older eggs.

We recommend using olive oil in the pan for frying eggs but butter can be substituted to add a richer flavour. It really depends on your taste and what you're going to serve the dish with. If frying an egg to put on top of an Asian inspired noodle dish, we recommend oil as it will better complement the dish. If making a fried egg sandwich with avocado and cheese, butter might be a better option.

Fried eggs are delicious on their own but they also pair perfectly with:

  • Wholemeal or grainy toast
  • On a burger
  • In a sandwich 
  • With baked beans

If you want to get creative with your fried eggs, try some of these options:

  • For a bit of spice, add a dash of paprika
  • Using a cookie cutter, make a hole in a slice of toast and fry the egg inside
  • Season the eggs with sesame seeds and chilli flakes as they fry

Nutritional Information

  • Serving size 132g
  • Energy 1320kJ 315kcal
  • Protein 15.1g
  • Total fat 28.6g
  • Saturated fat 5.6g
  • Carbs (total) 0.4g
  • Carbs (sugar) 0.4g
  • Sodium 333mg
  • Fibre 0.1g

All nutrition values are per serve.