Leah Cohen's Two Urgent Tips For The Best Deep-Fried Eggs

Just when you thought you had mastered every avenue of cooking eggs, some new-to-you recipes pop up and take them to a whole new level. From chopped-up boiled eggs layered into a delicious salad, to fluffy omelets holding your favorite ingredients, or a creamy yolk adding an element of richness to your ramen, there are countless ways to incorporate eggs into your daily meals. However, have you ever thought of deep-frying these little miracle ovals? We're sure glad someone did, because the results can be a totally new egg-sperience for egg lovers everywhere.

"Top Chef" alum and owner of New York's Pig & Khao and Piggyback, Leah Cohen, shared her recipe for kai jeow moo sab, or a Thai fried omelet with pork, with Food & Wine. Remembering the first time she tried khai jiao at a street market in Thailand, she said, "I had never eaten a deep-fried egg and I was shocked that it was crispy but still tender." Although deep-frying an egg may not be the first thing to comes to mind for casual home cooks, it's definitely a sizzling new technique to add to your meal repertoire. To achieve the perfect fried omelet, Cohen suggests that you "whisk the eggs well until light and frothy and uniform in color, and make sure that the oil is smoking hot."

The typical fried Thai omelet recipe asks you to whip your eggs with a selection of savory ingredients, just like you would in a classic French omelet recipe. However, instead of then pouring the mixture into a skillet set over a medium-high flame, you'll need to pour the eggs directly into about 2 inches of highly heated oil, which will have them deliciously puffed up and crispy within two minutes. Even after the omelet drains on paper towels, its still-unctuous consistency is a perfect pairing with fresh ingredients like cilantro, prik nam pla, or sriracha.

What other ways can you revitalize your egg-spertise via good old deep-frying? Scotch eggs are a beloved British twist on soft- or hard-boiled eggs, hugged by a double breading of sausage and breadcrumbs that crisp up in a pot of hot oil. You can also deep-fry a freshly cracked egg — just place it into a cup or sieve first to avoid hurting yourself with splattering oil — to get a perfectly runny yolk in two minutes. Whichever way you choose to delve into the delectable world of deep-fried eggs, make sure you have the best frying oil on hand and tastebuds prepared for a new egg adventure.