Not to be a bore, but I come back to eggs this month.  Despite my first Simple Pleasures feature being devoted to comforting HK-style egg sandwiches and brekkie, this much loved ingredient deserves another article, and perhaps another standing ovation. 

The Versatile Star

Every culture has their favourite egg recipes, the simplicity and versatility of eggs gives it endless possibilities; steaming, frying, poaching, baking, boiling and so on. Each cooking method gives new character and new form. Acting as the backbone to many dishes, yet the star in most, this inexpensive, yet expressive ingredient is the building block to the big world of food. It has been said that you can test a chef's ability by asking them what they can do with an egg.

Besides chicken eggs, other commonly used and eaten eggs include duck, quail, ostrich, and fish eggs. For now lets just stick to chicken eggs.

Which Egg is Best?

Chicken eggs are a high source of protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. One large chicken egg white contains 0-15 calories, and 5g fat from the yolk alone. One whole large chicken egg contains approximately 90-95 calories, and 5g of fat.

With the numerous varieties of eggs at the supermarket how do we choose, which one is best? I hope the following helps. 

Battery Caged hens which lay our everyday eggs under poor living conditions, will unsurprisingly lay less nutritious eggs than those uncaged. Free-run and Cage-free means free to run in dark enclosed spaces indoors, while Free-Range hens are free to run outdoors, living a more natural life. And of course, Certified Organic are Free-Range hens exposed to the outdoors, vegetation and fed an organic diet. Omega 3 eggs however, are battery caged hens fed an omega 3 rich diet like flaxseed.

Brown vs. White

There's no significant nutritional difference between white and brown eggs, although reports have said that brown are slightly, only by a hair, more nutritious than white. 

Is it an old wive's tale that led us to believe brown hen's laid brown eggs? Well, I confirm that it's not completely true. Brown eggs get their pigmented shell from a substance called protoporphyin which is a substance derived from haemoglobin. This pigment is naturally laid down as the egg is formed. Whether an egg is brown or white is determined exclusively by the breed of chicken it comes from, which is not necessarily based on the colour of its feathers.

Brown eggs are usually larger and slightly more expensive due to greater intensive labour and higher costs put into raising these larger hens. It has also been reported that brown eggs have a slightly stronger flavour. I will leave you to be the judge of that.

Where I Go for Eggs

The best egg dishes require are skilful cook, who is a master of temperature control, timing, movement, and doneness. I love scrambled eggs that are soft, and a little bit wet in the centre, not well done. This is however, difficult to accomplish.

Let me share some of my favourite ways of eating eggs:

My favourites are the modestly simple home cooked dishes. These dishes are tasty, filling, nutritious, cheap, and complements a nice bowl of rice. Steamed eggs with minced pork is a money pinching hearty dish. Scrambled Eggs with Tomato takes    tomatoes, ketchup, and sugar -  cook it down to a sweet and sour sauce, then toss with perfectly cooked scrambled eggs. Or Scrambled Eggs with Prawns. Sounds simple but quite challenging to make a good one. Cantonese restaurants usually makes the best of these egg dishes. 

Poaching eggs is well, still one of my cooking disasters. I can't seem to get it round and fluffy, like the perfect Eggs Benedict enjoyed at a weekend brunch. My whites fan out once it hits the water. Until I've mastered the technique for egg poaching, I will be heading to Wagyu or Vivo for Eggs Benny on the weekends.

One of my favourite and most memorable egg dish is the Shanghainese Tea Eggs my Por Por (mother's mother) used to make. Hard boiled eggs soaked with shells on in a magic potion of tea leaves and other secret seasonings. Por Por's yolks are incredibly creamy, and the whites completely soaked up the flavours of the seasonings and are deeply dyed from the concoction. Unfortunately or perhaps luckily, I have not discovered any that are as good as hers. For me she remains the undefeated world champ of tea eggs and the taste of them is still vivid. 

"Tamago" is Japanese for egg and I have enjoyed Tamago sushi so many different ways in the past; the best was with yuzu zest. Each chef makes it differently, the intensity of the dashi and the balance of the sweetness is truly based on the chef's liking

I also love Omuretsu, the sweetened omelet seasoned with mirin and dashi cooked one layer at a time. I shamefully admit this is yet another cooking failure of mine. I hang up my pan as there is no way I can gain the experience of the Master. The even cooking, the perfect doneness without discolouration, and the skilful flipping technique will take if not thousands, hundreds of eggs to master. I just rather pay to have it done right. 

The Mon, a popular izakaya restaurant makes the best made-to-order Omuretsu in Hong Kong. 

I have been told of a Japanese omelette that has fish and shrimp inside, and that it takes hours to make. Now that's taking it to a whole different level!

Omuraisu (omu rice) or Omelette and Rice in Japanese is another yummy choice. It's literally ketchup fried rice (better than it sounds) wrapped with egg then topped with curry, tomato sauce, bolognese, etc. My best experience was in Sapporo at a Omuraisu specialty shop, where the Omuraisu specialists put a layer of cheese under the egg! Once I dug my fork into the egg and rice package, we were in for a surprise as there was cheese inside. An incredible telephone line of cheese. Oishi!

And, as we are in truffle season, don't you think eggs with truffle is one of the best food combinations on the planet? I think so. The Italians are the experts in preparing simple rustic eggs and pairing them with truffles and other great ingredients. Chicken eggs from Italy have the strongest egg flavour and the colour of the yolk is an unbelievable beautiful deep orange. Oeufs Brouilles, French style scrambled eggs infused with butter and cream, is a delicate and luxurious way of preparing old fashioned eggs, and with a few shavings of fresh white truffles, it's one of those dishes that make your toes curl. 

There are more ways that I enjoy my eggs than I can list. Whether for its simplicity, versatility, or all because they are tasty. I'm always finding excuses to add a fried egg on top of everything! That's always a nice finishing touch in my mind. Whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner, they are eggcellent. 

I've shared my favourite egg dishes, will you share yours with me? I do hope so, click log in to post a comment below.