My Chouchoux: Poached Eggs 水波蛋

*This was a post that first appeared in my prior blog, 2 Sisters et 1 Cat

This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy eggs, and I'm about to share with you a quick way to impress someone on this Valentine's Day! Those of you who are easily intimidated by those two words - poached eggs, don't let yourself believe that you can only enjoy it in restaurants. You just need to know a few things before you start.

There are obviously many different ways and methods for how to make it, and believe me, I've tried several myself. A lot of recipes suggest putting vinegar in the water before adding the eggs, to supposedly help preventing the eggs from spreading out, but frankly, I didn't find that helpful at all! The most important thing is not to let the water come to a boil, because that would definitely break the eggs. Another thing is to use fresh eggs. The fresher they are, the better the chances they're going to hold together.

Do not let the water come to a boil!

不要讓熱水煮到滾

So there, I hope that makes you feel a little better about trying to make them. it is really not as difficult as you'd think. Serve them with some potatoes, sausages, bacon, salad, or bread, and just enjoy the start of Valentine's Day!

Poached Eggs (2-4 servings)

4 fresh eggs

1 t salt

1. Fill a large, deep skillet with about 1" of water. Salt it and heat it until it starts to bubble, but not a full boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low.

2. Crack your egg into a small bowl and gently slide it into the heated salt water. Repeat with the rest of the eggs. Cook them for 3-4 minutes until the egg white is set but the yolk is still very soft inside. *This is probably the scariest procedure for most people! Don't panic if the egg white starts to spread a little bit. Just take a rubber spatula and slowly push it back toward the center of the egg. As it starts to cook, it will set and stay together. You can also use the spatula to gently release eggs from the bottom of pan, if they stick to the bottom a little.

3. Carefully remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel. Serve immediately!

*Ideally you want to make the poached eggs as close as possible to when you need to serve them, but you can also make them a little bit a head of time. In that case, after taking them out with a slotted spoon, set them on a plate and cover the plate with plastic wrap, so the surface won't get dry. Before serving, reheat the pot of water you cooked them in until just hot (not boiled), and place the eggs back in to warm them for about 30 seconds.

- Yvonne

If the egg white starts to spread a little bit. Just take a rubber spatula and slowly push it back toward the center of the egg.

若是蛋白開始散開，可以用橡皮括刀稍微將散開的蛋白往中間的蛋黃推

*這一篇食譜是我去年在之前的部落格2 Sisters et 1 Cat寫的

這個情人節，想與大家分享一些我個人煮水波蛋的小秘方！(剖心肝的獨家祕方大公開，有看到就賺到喔!!)
很多人一聽到水波蛋這個名字就已經被嚇的倒退好幾步(老妹就退到千里之外了)，認為這是餐館才吃得到的一道菜，但其實不然(搖搖食指)，只要把握幾個要點，也可以隨心所欲的在自己在家享用。 ..... 還不快點準備好筆記本!!! (手插腰)

水波蛋的做法有很多種，不同的食譜分享著不同的小秘訣。我自己之前也試過幾種不同的技巧，可是在試過很多不同的撇步後，我決定以最簡單的方式來分享這個食譜(幼幼班同學們，來~跟我一起這樣做)。食譜中，最常見的方法，是在煮蛋的熱水裡加點醋，讓蛋白比較不容易散開，但坦白説，我並沒有感覺到它有任何的作用！所以..醋 OUT! (手指門外) 我個人認為最重要的是，不要讓熱水煮到滾，沸騰的水肯定會使蛋散開。另一個重點是，盡可能使用新鮮的蛋，蛋越新鮮就越不容易散開。知道嗎! 有認真看完這篇嗎? 老師在說有沒有在聽呢! (揮動指揮棒)

希望以上的簡意做法，可以消除大家對水波蛋一咪咪的恐懼感喔~ 其實真的沒有大家想像中的那麼難，只要多練習幾次，就可以掌握它的要領喔！(啊好啦! 不然可以親自登門拜我為師啦.. 以下即刻開放報名.. 名額有限，盡情把握 XD)

另外，可以簡單的搭配馬鈴薯、香腸、培跟、沙拉或麵包一起食用，大家跟著我一起享受暪好的情人節吧！一二一二... (這是韻律操吧? 喂!!)