Scrambled eggs are just one of those foods. You know, the genre that seems so simple in theory but has somehow spawned dozens of tutorials, tips, and recipes—each one a little tweaked from the last but still earning its own devoted following. Maybe Chrissy Teigen's recipe is your holy grail, or maybe you swear by Anthony Bourdain's recipe. Well, I'm sorry to tell you, there's a new contender in town: J. Kenji López-Alt's viral recipe that promises the fluffiest, creamiest scrambled eggs with the help of an unexpected ingredient . Maybe it's time to reconsider your favorites?
American chef’s secret? Add starch. In a New York Times article, López-Alt explained that he stumbled upon the hack through Mandy Lee, a Taiwanese food blogger living in Vancouver who runs the website Lady & Pups. While cooking for her sick puppy, Lee discovered that adding cornstarch to eggs kept them silky and soft. Multiple experiments with starch were able to replicate this result, even when the eggs were cooked at high temperatures.
In fact, using starch to enhance egg recipes isn't exactly a new phenomenon. It's a commonly used ingredient in Chinese cooking to keep omelets fluffy on the outside and crispy on the outside.
But how does this affect your morning scrambled eggs? López-Alt claims that applying this technique speeds up cooking times, writing: "Combined with Mr. Boulud's cold butter cubes and my own moderate evaporation method of measuring the proper pan temperature, it took on new life," he added. “Now, even my weekday morning eggs are as soft and tender as I want them to be,” says Tao.
Without further ado, here’s Lopez-Alter’s recipe.
What you'll need: 2 teaspoons starch (potato, tapioca, or cornstarch will all work), 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (cut into quarter-inch cubes), 4 eggs, and a pinch of salt.
He then added the starch to 1 1/2 tablespoons of water to form a slurry. He added half the cubed butter, eggs, and salt to the slurry, stirring until combined and frothy.
To properly measure the pot's heat, he added a little water (about a tablespoon) to the pot. The water helps regulate the heat of the pot, and once the water has almost completely evaporated, the pot is at the right temperature, just above 100 degrees Celsius or 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
Melt remaining butter in pan until almost completely melted, about 10 seconds. Be careful to make sure the butter doesn't brown. Add the egg mixture to the melted butter and use a spatula to push and fold in the eggs. Do this until the eggs are slightly undercooked compared to your usual eggs, as the remaining heat will continue to cook the eggs. It only takes about a minute or two, depending on how done you like it. Voila – scrambled eggs!
Sounds simple, doesn't it? It looks delicious, too—López-Alter pairs his savory eggs with two slices of toasted bread. A perfect breakfast. Why not give it a try? You can thank us later.
