I’ve always had success using the residual heat method. That is taking eggs straight from the fridge, putting in cold water , bringing the water to the boil. Them turn off the heat and let them sit for a specified time, depending on how you want them. I use the timings as per the link below, I used it yesterday as it goes.
I put eggs in 1" of water, bring to a boil, simmer for 4:00. I do refrigerate my eggs, so you may want to shave off some time. I’ll make a softboiled egg in a few hours and post a picture of it, so you can see whether my result looks right to you.
For a cooked firm white and a runny yolk: bring water to boil and turn back to simmer. I use a scooped shape cross between a slotted spoon and a turner to hold the eggs. I lower them into the simmering water and leave them in/on the spoon, keeping them off the bottom. Five minutes.
I, too, suck at poaching eggs. I sous vide them for this very reason. Sous vide is the no-brainer method, if you have enough reason to invest in a sous vide device. If not, then I have used the residual heat method as well with some success. I find results will vary depending on the size and freshness of the eggs you put in there.
TBH I’m not even the SBE prep cook in the household. It’s muh man who’s lost his mojo. Today, he somehow managed waxy/hard yolks and slightly underdone whites. I do not know how he does it
It can be a moving target! This reminds me of the episode of “Botched By Babish” where he details his travails in trying to get the perfect soft boiled egg for his Scotch Egg recipe:
That was funny. I stopped when he had the (seemingly) perfect SBEs & was ready to wrap them in the sausage. Were they the 8 min ones? I musta missed it if he said anything after the last peeled egg
Oh, it keeps going because then he runs into the problem of then not overcooking the egg/undercooking the coating once it is encased in sausage and breadcrumbs and deep fried. But, yeah, 7-8 minutes (depending on the temp of the eggs going into the cooking, which he doesn’t discuss as a factor…room temp eggs are probably good closer to the 7 minute mark I think) is about right for soft boiled if you want the whites to be firm and the yolks runny.
I personally enjoy the bit when he is losing his mind trying to peel them (relatable!) and then peels the rest of what is left off camera out of frustration. They are all still dinged up anyway. He then turns to whiskey to heal from the experience, as one does.
OMG! I have to try making that now! How could that possible go worse than my attempts at omurice?
I have the same question about what’s in the sauce. Is it red because of capsicum or because of tomato? And is the white sauce that is drizzled cream or mayo?