You Should Be Pan Frying Your Hard Boiled Eggs. Here's How

Hard boiled eggs are arguably the easiest form of this versatile protein, requiring little more than boiled water. Once you peel them, hard boiled eggs can become many things, from stand-alone snacks to cobb salad toppers to easy deviled eggs. Pan frying your hard boiled eggs produces yet another show-stopping iteration that you need to try.

Hard boiled eggs are ready to eat before you pan fry them, but that stint in a hot, oiled pan creates a crunchy, bubbly crust while infusing the interior with any additional seasonings you add to the pan. To prep your hard boil eggs, make a few shallow slits with this pairing knife from Keemake. You can pan fry five or six hard boiled eggs at a time using this 12.5-inch diameter non-stick skillet from Sensarte. Heat the skillet on medium-high heat until nice and hot before adding a teaspoon or two of oil, butter, or ghee. Once the oil is hot, you can add spices to infuse the oil, followed by the hard boiled eggs.

Fry the hard boiled eggs for around two to three minutes. Move and turn them until you've achieved browning and bubbling around the surface of the whites. If you want to develop even more flavors, you can add aromatics or sauces to finish the eggs off.

Pan-fried hard boiled eggs are a common dish in various cultures including the Middle East and Far East. That said, considering how versatile eggs are to begin with, you can pair them with any flavor profile you have in mind. You can draw inspiration from the Chinese dish known as tiger eggs, made by constructing a thick, aromatic sauce in the same pan you're frying the eggs. Once the eggs have browned, you can stir in soy sauce, mirin cooking wine, rice vinegar, garlic, chilies, and beer, cooking until blended and thick. You can baste the eggs as they sit in the sauce to coat them and infuse them with even more flavor. Just as beer is a great flavor agent for these slow cooker beer brats, it'll also bring a rich and slightly bitter element to balance the umami-rich ingredients of soy and gojuchang.

You can use this Korean Shakshuka for yet another Eastern sauce model. Serve tiger eggs with white rice and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions to make it a bonafide meal. Another approach is to simply season the frying oil or butter with spices like cumin, paprika, oregano, tomato paste, and harissa for a tasty Middle Eastern dish not unlike classic Shakshuka. Serve it with Dave's Killer bread toast or grilled rounds of Joseph's pita. Or you can simply pan fry them without further elaboration and add them to your salads for a textural upgrade.