In Chinese culture, chicken and eggs symbolize prosperity. They are often eaten during Chinese New Year celebrations to welcome a prosperous new year...so why not eat chicken and eggs during our celebration of the international New Year too?I made chicken and vegetable soup (literally just dumped a bunch of veggies and cut up chicken into a pot with chicken broth and some milk) and soft-boiled eggs for our New Year's Eve dinner last night. It's the first New Year's Eve my family has spent at home without company, which sounds sad but was actually really nice. Plus, making only 4 soft-boiled eggs is a heck of a lot easier than making one for all the guests we usually have over :)
Making perfect soft-boiled eggs is notoriously difficult and all about timing. I have never made a perfect one myself and gave up on them ages ago...but I stumbled upon Urban Foodie's recipe for The Perfect Soft Boiled Egg a few days ago and got the urge to try again. The recipe was clear and simple, and immensely successful! I made just a few minor modifications:
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Soft-boiled Eggs
Soft-boiled Eggs
Room temperature eggs (take them out of the refrigerator at least 30 min. before cooking)
Pan or pot big enough to hold all your eggs without stacking any
Water
Fill the pan or pot with just enough water to cover the eggs entirely. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat until the water is simmering gently (tiny steam bubbles still forming).
Carefully lower eggs, one at a time with a spoon, into the water.
Simmer for 1 minute.
Remove pan or pot from heat and cover. Leave covered 5 min. if your eggs are medium sized, 6 min. if they are large. Leave covered a minute or two longer if you prefer firmer yolks.
Serve eggs in egg cups (or I found some tiny wine glasses that worked too). Tap top of eggs with spoon and peel shell from the top. Dig in!
These are so good, especially with strips of buttered toast ("soldiers")!
