World Of Flavours: 12 Ways With Eggs

From fried to scrambled, boiled to poached: any dedicated home cook has already mastered a number of classic ways to elevate the humble egg into the star of breakfast. Heck, even shakshuka and frittatas have become brunch staples by now. Want something a little different? A little more egg-citing, if you will? Then take inspiration from these 12 savoury egg dishes from around the world that will be welcome on any table, morning, noon and night.

Çılbır

With poached eggs, you can go in so many different directions. Shakshuka is the Middle Eastern method of poaching eggs in a rich sauce, while uova in purgatorio is the Italian way. Americans swear by their eggs Benedict, but the Turkish variety particularly strikes our fancy: Çılbır dates back to Ottoman times and consists of poached eggs on a bed of creamy, garlicky yoghurt drizzled with warm butter that’s been infused with pul biber (Aleppo) pepper flakes. Add fresh bread to mop it up – you will want to wipe your plate clean.

Migas

You’re probably familiar with huevos rancheros, featuring fried eggs on fried corn tortillas doused with warm tomato salsa, but Tex-Mex favourite migas (literally ‘crumbs’) also deserves your attention. It’s wonderfully uncomplicated: pan-fried strips of (leftover) corn tortillas are topped with quickly scrambled eggs and spices. If you don’t have corn tortillas at hand, try making it with corn chips. Experiment with flavourings such as fried chorizo, jalapeños or serrano chilis, and top with a vibrant burst of fresh salsa, cheese, avocado and cilantro.

Tamagoyaki

Tamagoyaki is a thing of beauty – thin, beaten omelettes are rolled together and sliced into perfectly cut bite-sized pieces. The restaurant version takes chefs years to master, but a home-style iteration offers a more forgiving approach. However, seasoning the egg mixture with mirin, soy sauce and dashi introduces a level of complexity, since it slightly alters the texture of your mixture. Also, chef Daisuke Nakazawa recommends using a small, square non-stick pan. The Japanese eat the dish for breakfast, and for New Year’s they enjoy a variation with added fish paste. In Korea, there’s something similar called gyeran mari – also a rolled omelette, although more savoury in flavour.

Egg Curry

Egg curry, or egg roast, is a super-easy yet always satisfying dinner option, especially when you have to rely on your pantry ingredients. Hailing from the Indian subcontinent, it consists of boiled eggs immersed in a flavourful, tomato-based gravy, with regional variations adding unique twists. From the coastal city of Mangalore comes the ghee roast, enriched with ghee and fiery red chillies, while the southern state of Kerala boasts its own version with lots of fragrant spices and coconut milk. Traditionally paired with steamed appam, you can also serve it with a flaky paratha for a weekday treat. Similar to the Indian egg curry, sambal telur is the Indonesian way to spice up your hard-boiled eggs with a fiery sauce. 

Scotch Eggs

Comfort food at its best! Great as a savoury snack alongside drinks, Scotch eggs are (semi)hard-boiled eggs that are enveloped in a layer of meat and coated in breadcrumbs before being deep-fried to crispy deliciousness. Its origins are disputed, but food historian Annette Hope suggested that Indian nargisi koftas may have been the inspiration. Customise your eggs by incorporating smoked salmon or a vegetarian filling.

Cheese Soufflé

In a French soufflé, it’s the eggs that do the heavy lifting. Making one that doesn’t collapse is almost a culinary rite of passage, but follow the recipe steps closely, and you’ll be able to do it – especially with the tips of French patissier Bruno Albouze. In the video, he demonstrates a savoury cheese soufflé, however the same techniques apply to sweet dessert soufflés. The most important thing to keep in mind: don’t open the oven door during the baking process, otherwise your soufflé will surely deflate. Serve immediately.

Khachapuri

We have to thank the country of Georgia for the hearty khachapuri, or as Eater calls it: the best drunk food you’ve never heard of. It consists of boat-shaped bread stuffed with tangy cheese and butter, and featuring a runny egg yolk nestled in the middle. There are many versions of this official Georgian national dish, with the egg rendition purportedly originating in the Adjara region on the Black Sea. In its home country, the price of the beloved staple is even used to track inflation from one city to the next.

Egg Butter

A well-known dish in Finland (where it’s called munavoi), as well as Estonia (where it goes by munavõi), egg butter is a mixture of butter and chopped hard-boiled eggs. Sounds simple, and that’s exactly what it is. But aren’t the best things in life often the simplest? In Finland, egg butter is spread on top of hot Karelian pasties, thin pies with a rye crust and savoury rice pudding filling, while across the border in Estonia, it’s combined with a dark rye bread called leib. Joining the ranks of super-simple, yet delightful egg creations is oeufs mayonnaise, the beloved French bistro classic featuring hard-boiled eggs served with homemade mayonnaise.

Brik

Belonging to the börek family of stuffed flaky pastries, North African brik is a crispy pleasure. Made with malsouka, a dough slightly thinner than phyllo and sometimes known as ‘brik sheets’, it’s created by cooking a thin layer of batter in a pan. The egg brik – a triangular, deep-fried pastry pocket filled with cooked onion, tuna, harissa, parsley and a whole egg – is the best known version. Careful: the moreish filling oozes out when you bite into the crispy exterior.

Egg Hoppers

Egg hoppers hail from Sri Lanka, where the hopper – a pancake made from fermented coconut and rice flour batter in a rounded pan – is a national treasure. For egg hoppers, each hopper is topped with an egg and covered with a lid so that everything cooks and steams to perfection. Served alongside lunu miris, a flavorful blend of red onions and spices, egg hoppers invigorate your morning with a burst of vibrant flavours and textures.

Farofa De Ovos

A Brazilian staple, farofa de ovos is unpretentious but yummy. Farofa consists of coarse cassava flour slowly toasted in butter, with a nutty, creamy flavour and crunchy texture. It’s eaten as a side dish in many different renditions, with our favourite being the one with soft scrambled eggs, seasoned with pepper and parsley; you can further enhance the dish with bacon, sausage or veggies. Lovely as an accompaniment for barbecues or a hearty meal on its own.

Coddled Eggs

Lastly, we’d like to shine a light on an underrated egg preparation: coddling. The British love their coddled eggs, essentially an egg in a ramekin poached au bain-marie. If you want to get fancy, use a coddler, a special tool with a lid for said cooking method. The result? Delicately set whites and lusciously runny yolks, especially tasty with a side of toast soldiers. Known as oeufs en cocotte in French, this technique distinguishes itself from poaching due to the variety of toppings you can incorporate during the cooking process: think cheese, mushrooms, chives and beyond.