In this easy and highly adaptable recipe, we’ll teach you how to make perfect scrambled eggs. They are soft and delicious, uniform in silky perfection and great on toast.
If you’ve seen any viral videos on how to scramble eggs on the internet, this recipe tells you how to get that nice, fluffy, tender, flaky egg texture at home!
The journey to perfect scrambled eggs
Over the past few years I have been on a scrambled egg journey. Maybe it was all the incessant chatter about egg yolks in jam over the years, or simply the need for a dopamine hit in 2020 with my breakfasts, but I found myself running back into the comforting arms of the scrambled egg again and again Still.
There are all sorts of different preferences, but in my book they are soft, silky and delicious every time. I won’t question the other textures and methods people enjoy – just offer this as a recipe I’ve used exclusively for the past few years!
I’ve already talked about this journey and my methods in some of our Chinese scrambled egg recipes: one for scrambled eggs with Hunan salted chilies and a Cantonese classic, shrimp with scrambled eggs.
My personal keys to perfecting scrambled eggs are:
- High heat (as opposed to many of the low heat methods available) and don’t wait too long to mix the eggs, lest things start to veer into omelette territory
- Know to turn off the heat a little *before* you think the eggs are done
- A good amount of oil
- And, of course, cornstarch slurry. No milk or dairy products needed, just cheap corn starch and water!
There have been some viral videos of scrambled eggs from New York restaurants (like This), and that doesn’t require long waits for brunch or plane tickets to enjoy yourself.
Why corn starch?
Cornstarch slurry (i.e. a mixture of cornstarch and water) is a thickening agent that you’ll find in many of our stir-fry recipes. While the technique of cornstarch in eggs has entered the American culinary consciousness The New York Times (J. Kenji Lopez-Alt saw the technique on Mandy Lee’s cooking blog, Lady and puppies), has long been used in Chinese cuisines. Cornstarch keeps eggs tender, preventing them from curdling too quickly and becoming hard.
We use the technique in our prawn and egg recipe, as well as in the Hong Kong Furong Omelette in our cookbook (one of Sarah’s favourites). Why did it take so long to apply this to a regular morning pan of scrambled eggs? Who knows. I was talking about this revelation with my aunt and she said, “Oh, I always add cornstarch.” Sigh. All that remains is to make up for lost time!
My favorite herbed scrambled eggs
When I eat out for breakfast or brunch, I’ve noticed that restaurants charge an arm and a leg for herbed scrambled eggs.
I decided to make my own recipe at home with chives, parsley and dill and the extra special addition of goats/sheep’s cheese and white truffle oil. It tastes amazing and will make you want to stay home for brunch every weekend.
(Okay, so truffle oil is a bit excessive, BUT in terms of cost per use, it’s actually not that bad and you can find it Amazon.)
Sometimes I even add just a couple handfuls of baby spinach if I don’t have any herbs on hand, or in addition to the herbs. All variations are excellent.
A timeline for preparing breakfast
I love serving these scrambled eggs with bacon, toast and a strong cup of tea. But if you’re often stumped by how to get all the breakfast elements on the table, check out this timeline for making a slightly festive breakfast of eggs, toast, and bacon!
Kaitlin’s patented breakfast timeline for buttered toast, bacon and eggs!
- 1. Remove the butter so it is soft for the toast
- 2a. If the bacon is frozen: Thaw it in a bowl of warm water until it melts enough to peel off. In the meantime, prepare the aromatic herbs, if using, the cornstarch mixture and beat the eggs.
- 2b. If the bacon is not frozen: Place the bacon in a cold skillet over medium heat. While the bacon cooks, prepare the eggs and herbs, if using, and the cornstarch slurry.
- 3. Turn the bacon once and cook it on the other side.
- 4. Make coffee or boil a tea kettle and put tea bags in the cup so they are ready.
- 5. Heat an egg pan over medium/medium-high heat.
- 6. Start toasting your toast.
- 7. Turn the bacon again and pour the hot water over the tea. At this point, it should take a few minutes to steep.
- 8. Cook eggs using our recipe for perfect scrambled eggs!
- 9. Your toast will be ready at the same time as the eggs. Pat the bacon dry on a paper towel (or not).
- 10. Finish your tea or coffee with milk, serve everything and enjoy your breakfast!
Ask the person who isn’t good at cooking to make the coffee, make another round of toast if necessary, set the table, lay out butter, jam, hot sauce, ketchup, etc. moral support while all this happens!
(Aside from my trips to London over the years, I’ve become incredibly fond of butter marmite toasted bread. It’s like having some umami salty soy sauce on top!)
How to make perfect scrambled eggs
Below, I have photos of both the plain scrambled eggs and the herbed version. I put the photos next to each other, like this:
Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a fork, chopsticks or whisk until large and small bubbles have formed and the whites are fully incorporated into the yolks. Season with salt and black pepper, if using. If you’re making herbed goat cheese eggs, add the parsley, dill, chives, goat cheese and spinach, and truffle oil, if using.
Make a cornstarch slurry by combining the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. You’ll want to add it right before you’re ready to cook the eggs.
Heat a nonstick or well-seasoned skillet over medium-high heat until hot when you run your hand over the pan. Not so sure? start with medium heat.
If you want to enjoy toast with eggs, now is the time to put it in the toaster. If you want sausage or bacon, they should be almost cooked at this point. This way you won’t have delays in serving your breakfast!
Add the oil to the pan. Mix the cornstarch slurry into the eggs and add them to the pan.
They should form bubbles around the edges. Begin pushing the eggs in with a rubber spatula, scraping up from the bottom of the pan so the eggs don’t stick. Don’t delay this step, otherwise they may darken. As you push the eggs, the egg layers will cook and pile on top of each other, creating a fluffy effect. As the egg cooks further, you can fold it in on itself.
When the eggs are still a little wobbly in places but are almost done, turn off the heat. Stir once or twice more to combine, turning any remaining raw egg bits to make sure they touch the residual heat of the pan. If you like your eggs a little wobbly at the edges, skip the last step.
Transfer them to a serving plate and the eggs will continue to cook in the minutes before consumption, taking on the perfect consistency!
How to make perfect scrambled eggs
In this easy and highly adaptable recipe, we’ll teach you how to make perfect scrambled eggs: fluffy, delicious, and uniform in silky perfection.
serves: 2
Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooked: 5 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
Ingredients
Optional additions to the Herbed Goat Cheese Scrambled Eggs:
Prevents the screen from going dark
Instructions
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Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a fork, chopsticks or whisk until large and small bubbles have formed and the whites are fully incorporated into the yolks. Season with salt and black pepper, if using. If you’re making herbed goat cheese eggs, add the parsley, dill, chives, goat cheese and spinach, and truffle oil, if using.
-
Make a cornstarch slurry by combining the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. You’ll want to add it right before you’re ready to cook the eggs.
-
Heat a nonstick or well-seasoned skillet over medium-high heat until hot when you run your hand over the pan. If you’re not so sure, start with a medium temperature.
-
Add the oil to the pan. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the eggs and add them to the pan. They should form bubbles around the edges. Begin pushing the eggs in with a rubber spatula, scraping up from the bottom of the pan so the eggs don’t stick. Don’t delay, otherwise they may darken. As you push the eggs, the egg layers will cook and pile on top of each other, creating a fluffy effect. As the egg cooks further, you can fold it in on itself.
-
When the eggs are still a little wobbly in places but are almost done, turn off the heat. Stir once or twice more to combine, turning any remaining raw egg bits to make sure they touch the residual heat of the pan. If you like your eggs a little wobbly at the edges, skip the last step. Transfer them to a serving plate and the eggs will continue to cook in the minutes before consumption, taking on the perfect consistency!
Tips and Notes:
The nutritional information is for 1 serving (1/2 recipe) and includes all optional ingredients: herbs, goat cheese, truffle oil, etc.
nutritional data
Calories: 316kcal (16%) Carbohydrates: 2G (1%) Protein: 19G (38%) Fat: 25G (38%) Saturated fat: 10G (50%) Polyunsaturated fats: 4G Monounsaturated fats: 10G Trans fats: 0.1G Cholesterol: 347mg (116%) Sodium: 433mg (18%) Potassium: 186mg (5%) Fiber: 0.3G (1%) Sugar: 1G (1%) Vitamin A: 1754UI (35%) Vitamin C: 8mg (10%) Soccer: 121mg (12%) Iron: 3mg (17%)
