Core Tip: For many people, their first dish in the kitchen is scrambled eggs. However, don't think you can just scramble them any which way. There's a real technique to scrambling eggs; otherwise, they can turn out old and dry.
Scrambled eggs are convenient and delicious, but many people end up with a dish that's either a complete mess of broken bits or is overcooked. Sometimes they stick to the pan, or they might even have an eggy smell. To address this, Zhang Liang, a senior national chef, told a reporter from Life Times that by adding two secret ingredients when beating the eggs, you can easily perfect your scrambled eggs.
The first secret ingredient is cooking wine. Adding it not only allows you to use less oil but also makes the eggs more tender and flavorful. When you add a little cooking wine to the beaten eggs, the small amount of alcohol it contains causes the egg proteins to coagulate much faster when heated. This helps the eggs set better and fall apart less easily. Furthermore, the proteins solidify before they have a chance to become tough, resulting in a more tender scramble. At the same time, cooking wine is also excellent for removing the eggy taste, reducing greasiness, and enhancing the freshness. For about 5 eggs, around 5 grams of cooking wine is suitable. It's important not to add too much, and never use baijiu (a strong Chinese liquor) as a substitute.
The other secret ingredient is water. When you add water to the beaten eggs and mix them well before cooking over low heat, the scrambled eggs will have an exceptionally tender texture and are less likely to stick to the pan. For about 5 eggs, adding about 50 grams of water is ideal, with a maximum of 100 grams. Adding too much can cause the oil to splatter violently when it hits the pan. Also, be sure to whisk the water and eggs thoroughly.
Supplementary Reading: 5 minutes is all it takes to boil an egg after the water comes to a boil
Boiling eggs may seem simple, but it's tricky to get the timing just right. Too little time, and the yolk remains raw; too long, and the egg becomes tough and unpalatable. As it turns out, the perfect time to boil an egg is quite easy to master. Start with cold water, and once it boils, set a timer for 5 minutes. This method kills harmful bacteria while preserving the nutrients in the egg relatively intact.
If an egg is boiled in boiling water for more than 10 minutes, a series of chemical changes occur inside the egg. The protein structure becomes tighter, making it harder for digestive enzymes in the stomach to access it, thus making it more difficult to digest. Egg protein contains a significant amount of methionine, which, after prolonged heating, breaks down into sulfides. These sulfides react with the iron in the yolk to form iron sulfide, which is not easily absorbed by the body, leading to significant nutrient loss.
An undercooked egg is even more problematic. Raw eggs can be contaminated with Salmonella and also contain two harmful substances: avidin and trypsin inhibitor. The former interferes with protein digestion and absorption, while the latter binds to biotin in food, leading to biotin deficiency in the body, which can cause symptoms like mental fatigue and muscle soreness. These two substances are only destroyed when the egg is cooked.
Additionally, you can follow these tips to prevent nutrient loss when boiling eggs: the water must completely cover the eggs; otherwise, the protein in the part above the water won't coagulate properly, affecting digestion. Soak the eggs in cold water for a moment before boiling to reduce the pressure inside the egg. Then, bring the water to a boil over medium heat. This helps prevent the eggshell from cracking and avoids nutrient loss.