Well, fried eggs may be someone’s pet peeve or another’s hot favourite. But a fried egg is more than just an oozy centre with a  silken white surrounding and here are some secrets to doing it full justice and getting one damn right!

    
Well, there’s magic to be created with a frying pan and you’ll need the right gear - a heavy one, preferably non-stick and one that has a tight-fitting lid to lock in the steam. Over medium heat, add a dollop of butter and add a drop or two of olive oil so that the butter doesn’t burn (turn brown) or you may use clarified butter so that you don’t have to wait for long for the butter to melt. Remember to swirl the butter around in the pan.

You can either crack the eggs and directly put them onto the pan or try the old-school way of breaking them in a cup and powering the cup onto the pan. Bring down the heat midway between low and medium.

For sunny-side up or the classic fried egg, the pan needs to be covered tightly and you need to cook the egg for 3-5 minutes. The white of the egg should be firm and lightly coloured near the edges and the yolk must stay runny on the top and cooked on the bottom. The key lies in leaving a light translucent film on top of the yolk for the runny centre to ooze out later. 

If you want the egg yolk to be cooked a little more without overcooking the white, you need to flip the egg over after 3 minutes. Be careful with the spatula while you’re lifting the egg. Cook the second side just slightly, leaving the pan uncovered.

Season with salt and pepper and serve without wasting a second to keep the egg’s texture intact.

Alternatively, you can get a more cooked egg without flipping it. Add a good amount of butter or other fat in the pan, when you’re frying lots of eggs with something fatty like bacon so that the yolks cook up in the fat. After about 2 minutes of cooking, put a spoon or two of water onto a clean end of the pan and cover the pan, to create some steam. The resultant steam will cook the egg yolks further.