Fried egg facts for kids
A fried egg is a simple and yummy dish made by cooking a fresh egg in a pan with a little oil or butter. People all over the world enjoy fried eggs. They are often eaten for breakfast, but you can have them at any meal!
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How Fried Eggs Are Cooked Around the World
Austria, Germany, and Switzerland
In Germany, fried eggs are called Spiegeleier. They are often served with traditional German meals like Strammer Max. This dish is an open sandwich with ham and a sunny-side-up egg on top. You might also find a fried egg on a Wiener Schnitzel, which is a thin, breaded piece of meat.
People in these countries usually eat fried eggs for lunch, not breakfast. They also like to serve fried eggs with pan-fried potatoes and sometimes spinach.
Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, a sunny-side-up fried egg is called "volské oko" or "buličí oko", which means "ox's eye." It can be part of breakfast or served for lunch with spinach and boiled potatoes.
United States
Americans have many names for fried eggs, depending on how they are cooked:
- Sunny side up: The egg is cooked on one side only. The white is set, but the yolk stays runny and bright yellow, like the sun!
- Over easy: The egg is cooked on both sides, but the yolk is still very runny. People in some areas call these "dippy eggs" because they like to dip toast into the runny yolk.
- Over medium: Cooked on both sides, the yolk is partly cooked but still soft and a little liquid in the middle.
- Over hard: The egg is cooked on both sides, and the yolk is broken and cooked until it's completely firm.
- Over well: Similar to over hard, the yolk is fully cooked and hard, like a hard-boiled egg.
Egypt
In Egypt, fried eggs are a common breakfast food. They can be cooked simply with oil or butter. Sometimes, other ingredients are added, like tomatoes, different kinds of cheese, or beef sausage. They might also be served with ful medames, which are slow-cooked fava beans.
India
In India, fried eggs are often called "poached" or "bullseyes." They are also known as "half-boil" in Southern India, meaning they are partly cooked. Street vendors often sell "bullseyes."
Fried eggs are served alone or with dishes like dosa, paratha, or roti. People often sprinkle them with black pepper, chili powder, or salt. In some parts of India, "single-fried" means sunny side up, and "double-fried" means over hard.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, sunny-side-up eggs are called telur ceplok or telur mata sapi (meaning "bull's eye egg"). They can be "half cooked" with a runny yolk or "well done." Fried eggs are a popular topping for Indonesian fried rice (nasi goreng) and fried noodles (mie goreng).
A simple meal for Indonesian children is a sunny-side-up egg on steamed rice, drizzled with sweet soy sauce (kecap manis). Fried eggs can also be served in sandwiches for breakfast. People often add salt, pepper, sweet soy sauce, or spicy sambal chili paste.
Ireland and the United Kingdom
In Britain and Ireland, fried eggs are often served on toast or in a sandwich with bacon and sausages. They are a key part of the traditional full breakfast. Fried eggs are also popular with ham or gammon steak in pubs. They are usually cooked without flipping, keeping the yolk runny. Sometimes, hot oil or water is splashed over the top to cook the white.
Latin America, Portugal, and Spain
In Portugal and Brazil, a runny fried egg placed over a steak with rice and black beans is called a bife a cavalo, which means "horse-riding steak."
A similar dish, called bife a caballo, is popular in Argentina, Ecuador, and Uruguay. In Chile and Peru, a fried egg is part of dishes like lomo a lo pobre.
In Mexico, huevos montados (riding eggs) are served with refried beans and fried potatoes. Another common Mexican egg dish is huevos a la mexicana, which mixes fried eggs with diced tomato, onion, and green chili pepper. Huevos rancheros are sunny-side-up eggs served on a corn tortilla with spicy salsa.
In Spain, fried eggs (huevos fritos) are a common dish eaten alone or with meat. A fried egg served with boiled rice and tomato sauce is called arroz a la cubana. This dish is also popular in parts of Latin America, Italy, the Philippines, and Portugal.
Japan
In Japan, fried eggs are called "medama yaki" (目玉焼き), which means "cooked eyeball." They are usually made sunny side up and served with salt, pepper, or soy sauce.
Korea
In Korea, fried eggs are called 계란부침 (gyeranbuchim) or 계란후라이 (gyeran hurai). They are cooked in oil, sometimes with salt. It's common to put a fried egg on top of bibimbap (mixed rice) or Kimchi bokkeumbap. Sometimes, a fried egg is simply placed on hot rice with gochujang (chili paste) and sesame oil.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, a fried egg (spiegelei) is often served on a slice of bread, sometimes with fried bacon, for breakfast or lunch.
An uitsmijter is a dish with two or three sunny-side-up fried eggs. It can be served with ham and cheese (uitsmijter ham en kaas) or bacon and cheese (uitsmijter spek en kaas). It's a common lunch dish in Dutch cafes. The word uitsmijter also means "bouncer," but for the dish, it likely means it's made quickly!
Nigeria
In Nigeria, what Americans and British people call "scrambled eggs" are called "fried eggs." What is known as "fried eggs" in the U.S. and U.K. is called "half-fried eggs" in Nigeria.
Russia
In Russia, the most popular fried egg dishes are yaichnitsa (pure fried eggs) and omlet (an omelet with milk or other liquids).
Yaichnitsa has two main types: glazoon'ja, which usually means sunny-side up with an unbroken yolk, and boltunya, which is a scramble. Both types are often cooked by cracking several eggs into one pan without flipping them. The whites blend together, and portions are divided after cooking.
Southeast Asia
Nasi goreng (fried rice), a very popular dish in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, is often served with a fried egg.
In the Philippines, fried eggs are often cooked sunny-side up, but the yolk is partly cooked by sprinkling it with salt and oil, giving it a pinkish film. It's served for breakfast with garlic rice and meats like beef tapa or tocino (caramelized pork). Fried eggs are also a main ingredient in the noodle dish Pancit Batil Patong.
In Thai cuisine, khai dao (meaning "star egg") means a dish comes with a fried egg. For example, kaphrao mu rat khao khai dao means "basil fried pork on rice with a fried egg." Fried rice is also often served with a fried egg. Another popular Thai dish is yam khai dao, a spicy and sour salad made with crispy fried eggs.
In Cambodia, a dish called loc lok includes a fried egg served on spinach, onion, and tomato with beef or deer and gravy.
A fried egg served over white rice with a dab of oyster or hoisin sauce is popular in East Asia. Fried eggs are also sometimes used in a Vietnamese breakfast roll.
Egg in the Basket
This American dish is made by cutting a circle or shape out of a slice of bread, often with a drinking glass. The bread is fried on one side, then flipped. An egg is cracked into the hole and seasoned with salt and pepper. The pan is covered, and the egg cooks until the white is set. The cut-out bread piece is often fried too and served with the egg.
Images for kids
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Two eggs with blue cheese on a plate
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This full English breakfast includes bacon, fried egg, black pudding, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, hash browns (not traditional), baked beans, and sausages.
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Old Woman Frying Eggs by Diego Velázquez, 1618
See also
In Spanish: Huevo frito para niños
