List of egg dishes facts for kids

A raw chicken egg that has been cracked open.

Eggs are an amazing food enjoyed all over the world! They come from many different animals, like birds, reptiles, and fish. The most common egg we eat is the chicken egg. People have been cooking with eggs for thousands of years, creating countless delicious dishes and drinks.

Inside its protective shell, an egg has two main parts. The clear part is the egg white (albumen), and the yellow part is the egg yolk (vitellus). Both are used in cooking to make meals that can be savory or sweet.

Classic Egg Dishes

Some ways of cooking eggs are simple and popular everywhere. They are often eaten for breakfast but can be part of any meal.

Boiled Eggs

Eggs being boiled in a pot of water.

A boiled egg is cooked in its shell in boiling water. If you cook it for a short time, you get a soft-boiled egg with a runny yolk. If you cook it longer, you get a hard-boiled egg with a solid yolk, which is great for snacks or egg salads.

Fried Eggs

A "sunny side up" fried egg.

A fried egg is cracked into a hot pan with butter or oil. There are many styles:

• Sunny side up: Cooked on one side, with the yolk runny on top.
• Over easy: Flipped and cooked for a moment on the other side, keeping the yolk runny.
• Over medium: Cooked a bit longer so the yolk is slightly firm.
• Over well: Cooked until the yolk is completely solid.

Scrambled Eggs

A plate of fluffy scrambled eggs.

To make scrambled eggs, you whisk eggs in a bowl and then cook them in a pan. You stir them gently as they cook to form soft, fluffy pieces called curds. Sometimes milk or cream is added to make them extra rich.

Omelettes

An omelette folded over with a filling inside.

An omelette is made from beaten eggs that are cooked in a pan without stirring. Once the bottom is set, you can add fillings like cheese, vegetables, or ham. Then, it's folded in half and served hot.

Poached Eggs

Poached eggs are cooked without their shells in water.

A poached egg is cooked gently in simmering water without its shell. This method cooks the egg white until it's firm, while the yolk stays soft and liquid. Poached eggs are a key part of dishes like Eggs Benedict.

Savory Egg Meals from Around the World

Different cultures have unique and tasty ways to prepare eggs for lunch or dinner. Here are some famous examples.

From Europe

Spaghetti Carbonara is a classic Italian pasta dish.

• Carbonara (Italy): A famous pasta dish from Rome. It's made with eggs, hard cheese, cured pork, and black pepper. The heat from the pasta cooks the eggs to create a creamy sauce.
• Spanish Omelette (Spain): Also called tortilla de patatas, this is a thick omelette filled with potatoes and sometimes onions. It's cooked slowly in olive oil and can be eaten hot or cold.
• Quiche (France): A savory pie with a pastry crust. The filling is made of eggs and cream or milk, along with other ingredients like cheese, meat, or vegetables.
• Scotch egg (United Kingdom): A hard-boiled egg is wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs, and then baked or deep-fried. It's a popular picnic food.
• Shakshouka (Middle East and North Africa): A delicious dish where eggs are poached in a flavorful sauce made of tomatoes, chili peppers, and spices. It's often eaten with bread.

From Asia

Katsudon is a popular rice bowl dish in Japan.

• Egg foo yung (China): A Chinese omelette made with beaten eggs and ingredients like bean sprouts, onions, and sometimes meat. It is often served with a thick gravy on top.
• Tamagoyaki (Japan): A Japanese rolled omelette. It's made by rolling together several thin layers of cooked egg in a special rectangular pan. It can be sweet or savory.
• Egg curry (India): A spicy and flavorful dish where hard-boiled eggs are simmered in a sauce made with tomatoes, onions, and various spices. It's usually served with rice or flatbread.
• Oyakodon (Japan): This popular rice bowl dish has a sweet and savory sauce. Its name means "parent-and-child," because it's made with both chicken ("parent") and egg ("child").

From the Americas

Eggs Benedict is a classic American brunch dish.

• Eggs Benedict (United States): A famous brunch dish. It's made with a toasted English muffin half, topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and creamy hollandaise sauce.
• Huevos rancheros (Mexico): The name means "rancher's eggs." It features fried eggs served on corn tortillas and topped with a spicy tomato-chili sauce. Beans and avocado are often served on the side.
• Loco moco (United States): A modern dish from Hawaii. It consists of a bed of white rice topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy.
• Egg sandwich (United States): A simple but popular sandwich. It can be filled with sliced hard-boiled eggs, egg salad, or a fried egg, often with bacon and cheese.

Sweet Treats Made with Eggs

Eggs are also essential for making many desserts and sweet dishes. They help make cakes rise and give custards their creamy texture.

French toast is often served for breakfast with fruit and syrup.

• French toast: Slices of bread are soaked in a mixture of beaten eggs and milk, then fried until golden brown. It can be served with syrup, fruit, or powdered sugar.
• Custard: A sweet sauce or dessert made from eggs, milk or cream, and sugar. It can be baked to become firm, like in a flan, or stirred to make a creamy sauce called crème anglaise.
• Meringue: A light and airy sweet made by whipping egg whites with sugar until they are stiff. Meringue can be baked into cookies or used as a topping for pies, like in a lemon meringue pie.
• Pavlova: A dessert named after the ballerina Anna Pavlova, popular in Australia and New Zealand. It has a crisp meringue shell with a soft, marshmallow-like inside, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit.
• Pastel de nata: A famous Portuguese egg tart pastry. It has a flaky crust filled with a creamy egg custard, which is often caramelized on top.

Special and Preserved Eggs

In some parts of the world, eggs are preserved to create unique flavors and textures.

A century egg has a dark, jelly-like white and a creamy yolk.

• Century egg (China): A Chinese delicacy where duck or chicken eggs are preserved in a special mixture for several weeks. This process changes their color and gives them a unique, strong flavor. The egg white turns into a dark, jelly-like substance, and the yolk becomes dark green and creamy.
• Salted duck egg (China): Duck eggs are soaked in salty water (brine) for about a month. This makes the egg white very salty and gives the yolk a rich, firm, and bright orange texture. They are often eaten with rice porridge.
• Pickled egg (Various): Hard-boiled eggs are preserved in vinegar or brine. This gives them a tangy flavor and makes them a popular snack in many pubs and bars.

Drinks Made with Eggs

Eggnog is a popular holiday drink.

Believe it or not, eggs are also used to make drinks! The eggs are often used raw, which gives the drinks a rich and frothy texture.

• Eggnog: A sweet, creamy drink popular during the winter holidays, especially in North America. It's made with milk, cream, sugar, and whipped eggs.
• Egg coffee (Vietnam): A unique Vietnamese drink made with egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk, and strong coffee. The egg mixture is whipped into a light, creamy foam that sits on top of the coffee.
• Rompope (Mexico): A traditional Mexican drink that is very similar to eggnog. It is made with eggs, milk, and vanilla flavoring.

Images for kids

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  A dish from Southeast Asia that sometimes includes animal brains with eggs.

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  Unlaid eggs, called eyerlekh, are a traditional ingredient in Ashkenazi Jewish cooking.

See also

• Egg as food
• Egg substitutes
• List of egg topics
• List of brunch foods
• List of custard desserts