Trained French chef and restaurant owner Joel Mielle shared his quick and easy method for creating the ideal poached egg that takes the stress out of cooking this popular dish
Cooking the perfect poached egg is much easier than you think with one simple hack.
This type of dish can frustrate even the most confident of kitchen lovers and the eggs often fall apart in the pan as they cook when cooks use the wrong water temperature or overboil them. Instead of a firm egg white with runny yolk inside, people are left with a rubbery, broken egg. The usual method for making a poached egg is using a pan of boiling water with a few drops of white vinegar. The advice is to then create a vortex in the water by swirling it around with a fork before dropping the uncooked egg into the middle of it.
However, if you’re looking for a much simpler way that avoids any potential mishaps then professionally trained French chef Joel Mielle, restaurant owner and founder of the cooking blog Recipe 30 said the most effective way to cook a poached egg is the microwave. He noted: “I can poach two eggs using this method faster than the bread takes to toast. Because it cooks using the microwaves plus the heated water, there’s a two-way cooking process. So it’s fast!”
By cooking it in the microwave, you don’t have to worry about the water temperature or over-doing the egg, reports the Express. Making poached eggs using this technique is virtually a foolproof method for creating a perfect looking and tasting dish each time.
What you need
- One egg (room temperature)
- Half a cup of room-temperature water
- Salt
- Mug or bowl
- Paper towel
Once cooked, the poached eggs can be served with the following for a delicious dish:
- Bread or muffin
- Chives
- One teaspoon of butter
Use as fresh eggs as possible for the best results because older ones may take longer to cook and affect the quality of the cooked egg. While eggs stored in the fridge should ideally have at least 30 minutes on the counter to help them get to room temperature.
How to cook the perfect poached egg
Fill a cup or bowl halfway with water from the tap, sprinkle a little bit of salt in the water and then gently crack an egg into the container. Poke the egg yolk with a fork and then place the container in the microwave before cooking for around one minute. Then remove the container from the microwave.
How long the poached egg takes to cook will depend on the type of microwave you own so it may be best to cook it for less than one minute the first time and then cook it at 10-second intervals to work out the perfect time for your microwave. Chef Joel advised: “Microwaves have different wattage strengths, therefore it may take a little less or a little longer. The one I used was 1200 Watts. Perhaps start with a lower wattage first and increase it from there. Experiment, turn it off and check after 45 seconds, then continue so you don’t overcook it. Once cooked, scoop the egg out of the cup with a tablespoon and place on a paper towel. Your poached egg is then ready to eat, which Chef Joel recommended doing so on a piece of toast or a toasted muffin.
