Eggs
The ultimate versatile food, made in a jiffy or slow cooked to perfection, you can do so much with the humble egg. Here are my egg hacks, that I have gathered over the years, some for better taste, some for speed and some are low and slow, but magical when done right!
- Basic Egg Facts
Eggs can survive for very long(90-120 days) especially if kept well, usually best in the middle of a fridge, never on the egg tray on the door. Don’t throws eggs away, just because they are past their “expiry date”. The best way to know if an egg is good is by smell, not date or texture.
Do not freeze eggs if you like runny yolks, as freezing them will irreversibly harden and coagulate the yolk(gelation), even after thawing, making it have a gummy, paste-like consistency.
The freshest eggs have a very visible thick egg white(thick albumen) that clings tightly around the yolk, and won’t spread very far from the yolk. Older eggs will have more watery egg whites(thin albumen as the thick albumen breaks down) which will spread further from the yolk. Both are perfectly fine to use, but for the best taste, it’s better to use fresher eggs for daily consumption, while older eggs can be used in a scramble, mixed with other dishes or for baking. Your nose and tongue are your best friends here. - The perfect poached egg
To get perfect poached eggs, crack some eggs in a bowl of vinegar water, let them sit and coagulate for 30 seconds, before bringing the water to a boil. You can also scoop them out and place them into boiling water. Heat can destroy acidity, so if you want to reuse, or make a big batch, keep a separate bowl of vinegar water. - Flavourful, tender and moist scrambled eggs
Whisk some eggs and put in salt, some herbs/pepper/MSG(if you want), and let the mixture sit for 10-15 mins. Cook the eggs slowly, while stirring and folding, removing them from the heat just before they look fully done for the tenderest texture. This pre-salting process, makes the scrambled eggs, less watery, more fluffy and more tender. - The custardy non-runny, yet creamy and succulent scrambled egg hack
For people who don’t like still moist, slightly jammy scrambled eggs(I love them), this is for you. To make creamy(not dry and crumbly) fully cooked scrambled egg; add 1⁄2 tbps whole milk(for each egg) and 3⁄4 tsp potato/tapioca starch/flour(for each egg). For me, 3 eggs requires 1 1⁄2 tbps whole milk and 2 1⁄4 tsp potato starch, salt to taste. DO NOT USE CORNSTARCH!
1 tbps butter(for each egg) if you want something even richer, but not required. - Velvety microwave scrambled eggs
Crack a large egg and mix in a tablespoon of good quality mayonnaise, and touch of salt & pepper(if you want). Oil/Butter a ramekin and pour the mixture in, you can add a touch more butter if you want. Cook it for 30 seconds or to your level of doneness. Enjoy! - Perfectly Easy, over easy egg
Heat up a non-stick pan gently, then crack and egg in and immediately cover the pan with a lid. Let the water from the cooking egg, help to steam and cook the top of the egg, while the bottom cooks too. No need to flip and the egg turn out perfectly, without the hassle of flipping and breaking the yolk! - Supreme quick boiled egg hack
You can create a pin prick hole on the larger bottom side of the egg, before placing in boiling water (always place eggs in boiling water, never cold water). This will help water to enter the shell and allow the shell to separate easily. Boil for 5 mins for soft boil eggs, and 7 mins for hard boil eggs. - The time consuming but immaculate boiled egg
To evenly boil an egg, its done by swapping and egg between boiling water and 30°C (86°F) water every two minutes for eight cycles, taking a total of 32 minutes. If you have the time and patience, you might be surprised by the result! Not a hack per-se, but an amazing boiled egg, nonetheless.
Potatoes
Another versatile food ingredient that is unbeatable and a must to have in every household. Let’s go through the hacks I have about potatoes.
- Storing cut potatoes
If you have excess cut potatoes, you can submerge them in water and keep them somewhere(preferably in the fridge). This will ensure the potatoes don’t oxidise or wilt, if not needed immediately. - Good Mashed Potato — Every Time
Slice potatoes thinly before boiling, and don’t overcook them. Use as little water as possible to boil the potatoes, reserve the concentrated starchy potato water to loosen the mash and also flavour it. Trust me, it will taste better with the potato water.
If you have it, use a ricer to evenly mash the potatoes, for an even smoother mouth-feel. Thank me later 🙂 - Crispy Roasted Potatoes
Cut potatoes to your liking and rinse off outer starch well. Then parboil them for 10 mins with 1⁄2 tsp baking soda(can also use citric acid, but will turn out differently). Add salt and pepper or any other spices, then toss and shake them around to roughen up the surface. Lastly, coat them in oil and place in a blazing hot oven, turning occasionally till your desired level of doneness. - Acid to potatoes
Do not add acidic ingredients to potatoes, or other vegetables for that matter, unless you want hard to chew vegetables(Doesn’t apply to roasting). Acid strengthens pectin, thus, adding it will prevent potatoes from softening properly, so be aware of this quirk.
Fix stale bread/flatbread/tortilla
For any starchy product, like breads or pizza, the best way to liven them up is to heat them to 60°C, with some steam, then keeping it warm as long as possible, ensuring it’s eaten while it’s still warm. Breads go stale due to starch retrogradation, and this method reverses this process temporarily, so always eat your breads quickly while its still toasty.
Citrus Zest
If you are a lover of Citrus, like I am, then this hack is for you! It’s a mind-blowingly simple hack, that has been unfairly hidden for some time, used especially by bartenders, but now available for everyone!
Super Juice – The secret to having and making (almost) unlimited zesty flavour, from just a few lemon/limes.
Zest some citrus fruit, then weigh the zest obtained. Add Citric acid and Malic acid, at 95% and 5% of the weight of the zest, respectively. Blend the mixture to make Oleo Citrate and use to your liking. It keeps for 10 days, but indefinitely if frozen.
Oleo Saccharum – on the vein of Super Juice, if you don’t have the chemicals or want to do it the hard way, you can always do so. This is how you get the refreshing flavour of zest out, the old fashioned way.
Wash the fruits with mild soap, or scrub thoroughly, to remove the wax layer that is usually put by the fruit industry. Zest the citrus, making sure there is as little pith(the white part) as possible. Add 60 grams of sugar for every citrus fruit. Rub the sugar into the peel, for the best extraction, then leave them in the mixture till you need it. If you want to use immediately, you can add some warm water and strain the mixture to get an intoxicating, aromatic liquid, but this won’t last as long as the sugar-zest mixture.
You can do this with any fruit actually, not just citrus fruits.
Secret zesting trick
If you have some Pectinase(buy some), you can just leave any peel of citrus(or the fruit cut in half) in a solution of pectinase and come back to some perfectly “zested” citrus. The pectinase will eat away all the pith, leaving only the zest, just carefully scrape off any remaining pith residue, and use the zest as per usual.
Meats
Brining
A sure-fire way to always get juicy meats is to wet brine them. This locks in moisture within the meat’s muscle fibers, preventing it from drying out, even at higher temperatures or longer cook times. This is great to do a day before.
Chicken Breasts
For quick juicy chicken breasts(in like 10 mins), the best way to go about doing this, is to even out a chicken breast, by either butterflying it or pounding it even. This ensures even and fast cook time. Add your salt and other spices. Then the evened out breasts should be seared over high heat(204-205°C), with some oil/fat, for 8-9 mins till the internal temperature is between 65.6°C(150°F) to 68.3°C(155°F), nothing hotter or longer, to get the juiciest chicken breasts ever!
I will continue to update the guide with chicken, beef and other hacks, so stay tuned!