Sensually Soft-Boiled
“How do you like your eggs?” I remember my chef-instructor asking me once during a breakfast cooking session.
“I love them soft-boiled,” I reply dreamily.
Chef-instructor makes a face. “Isn’t that for old, sick people?”
Now it was my turn to make a face as images of toothless grandmothers gnawing on boiled eggs filled my head. Eh. Not a pretty sight.
Truth is, I haven’t yet met anyone who shares my ardor for soft-boiled eggs: golden, runny rivers of yolk pulsing out of their white refuge. I like them best with just a hint of salt (rock or fine). In my mouth, the yolk tastes heavy — its richness melting unto my tongue, disturbed only by small sparks of salt slowly supplying a silken sensation.
It’s a taste like no other – the closest I will ever get to tasting sunlight.
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I love soft boiled eggs too! I’d eat them raw if it weren’t for salmonella. Just looking at your pictures makes my mouth water! Now I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow. Thanks Lori!
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Lovely pictures, kiddo.
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I love soft boiled eggs!
Americans are deathly afraid of Salmonella though — everywhere they serve eggs they have these signs that say the US FDA recommends you cook eggs thoroughly at X-hundred degrees to prevent illness blah blah.
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I love soft boiled eggs! I love eggs any way you cook them!
Mmmmmm.
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Hi Lori! I actually like Soft-boiled Eggs since i was a kid. It tastes good!
Hehe!:) Though a lot of people tell me that it is better to eat eggs when thoroughly cooked, i still leave the yolks uncooked from time to time! 
Still, it’s nothing compared to your prowess in being a food critic! 
Keep on posting Lori, i enjoy your blogs so much, i started doing them on my own!
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hi lori, what breathtakingly gorgeous pictures of breathtakingly perfect soft-boiled eggs…
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I like them poached, but that photo could win me over, Lori.
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beautiful pictures!!!
i’m totally craving for some eggs right now.
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I like my soft-boiled eggs chopped up and eaten with a slice of bread mopping up the yummy messy yolk. : ) -K
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Just exactly how do you achieve that soft boiled state when the white is firm and the yolk has a bit of a firm outer with a runny inner?
Three minutes after dunking in rolling boiling water?
Help!
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Oh, and regarding salmonella, I saw similar warning while searching for royal icing recipes that call for raw egg.
But you’re a cook and you’re a cook, so those that are helpful tell you that the FDA warns against the use of raw eggs. However, the recipes also say that if you must use raw eggs, make sure that they are Grade AA, come from a trusted source, and not have cracks.
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I love eggs and soft boiled is my absolute favorite way of having them
I like them really runny…yum! Your pictures are amazing Lori! They, along with your words, have really captured the beauty and lusciousness of what a soft boiled egg truly is 
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I’ve got to agree with you and your readers. One of my favorite breakfasts is soft-boiled or poached egg mashed up with corned beef and eaten with rye bread. Sana umaga na uli.
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You must have used organic eggs because the ones in the market have a very pale, anemic looking eyggyilks unlike your pictures showing a deep yello almost orange yolk.
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Add me to the list of softboiled egg lover. I really love your photos, so lovely, beautiful color those eggs.
I had some very good softboiled eggs in Germany, and dipped my bread into their creamy yolk, no salt. It was a simple and tasty breakfast I could have again and again.
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Those are the sexiest soft-boiled eggs I have seen in history. And I’ve seen many. Love them, love your photos.
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Everyone-
Thanks so much for your comments. I appreciate them all.
Riagirl-
I get cold eggs from the fridge and dunk them in water which I set to boil. Once the water comes to a hard boil, I set my timer for 3 minutes.
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i eat soft boiled eggs everyday! haha
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These pictures are gorgeous. Who knew eggs could be so sexy? I’ve been craving soft-boiled eggs ever since I saw this post and I haven’t thought about SB eggs in years!
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My mother used to make me soft boiled eggs when I was a kid and I loved them. Then, for years, I thought that I didn’t like eggs. Recently, I remembered the soft boiled eggs my mom would make and realized it wasn’t eggs I didn’t like, but the cooking style. I LOVE SB eggs. It is one of the few ways I will eat them!!
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awesome shots! so this is 3 minutes on boiling water?
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that egg looks soooo delicious.. my two girls, eldest is 9y/o and youngest is 2y/o both love SB eggs like me! been having them eversince i can remember and that’s the only way i want my eggs… my 2y/o saw the photo at around 5am while i was reading your blogs and was pleading at me to make her SB eggs, pronto!!! great blog and photos as well… you rock!!!
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hi lori,
i just came across this post, it’s quite old so i hope this reaches you. i too, love love soft boiled eggs, they are the best! i particularly love how they get them really runny in different kopi rotis in singapore. So I researched how they make them… here’s what came closest, maybe you could give it a try: boil water, and once it starts to boil, remove it from the heat and submerge an egg for 6 and a half to 7 minutes. crack it open in a bowl and scrape the sides, top with a little salt and eat it with freshly toasted pan de sal, that is a killer soft boiled egg.
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