5 Ingredients or Fewer
by: Genius Recipes
October4,2022
5
18 Ratings
- Prep time 5 minutes
- Cook time 5 minutes
- Serves 2
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Author Notes
This egg salad takes less time than boiling an egg. And better yet, none of it is spent pulling off stubborn shards of shell. Because once again, Aki and Alex at Ideas in Food have changed how we'll cook forever with their warm, crispy, magical Fried Egg Salad.
As Aki writes on Ideas in Food, “We've spent a lot of time thinking about egg salad. Mostly about the cooking and peeling of eggs. We have our favorite method, steaming for 13 minutes and then peeling, but it's still kind of a pain. So, Alex decided to find a way to crack the eggs and this salad was born...Special bonus, warm egg salad is extra delicious.”
A few more notes: It helps to have all your ingredients ready because this moves fast. This technique is more of an idea than a complete recipe, which allows you to customize it to exactly how you like your eggs. Tell us in the comments where you take them!
Adapted from Aki Kamozawa and Alex Talbot at Ideas in Food.
Want to hear more about this recipe? On here. —Genius Recipes
- Test Kitchen-Approved
What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Fried Egg Salad From Ideas inFood
Ingredients
- Butter or olive oil
- Sliced onions, chopped ham, or other tasty mix-ins (optional)
- Eggs
- Mayonnaise
- Finely chopped onions and celery, or other cold, crunchy vegetables (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus any other spices, herbs, or seasonings
- Toast
Directions
- Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat (a 10-inch pan is perfect for 6 eggs, aka 2 servings). Have a lid or sheet pan nearby to cover the pan. Add a knob of butter or a glug of oil to the pan, then add your onions, ham, or other ingredients you’ll be cooking along with the eggs. I like to make sure the onions get soft and translucent and the ham a little crispy.
- Meanwhile, crack your eggs into a bowl so you can pour them into the pan all at once. Turn down the heat to medium-low, gently pour your eggs in (aiming them evenly around the pan), and cover the pan to let them gently steam and fry. Peek occasionally so you can take the eggs off the stove when they’re done to your liking. I like to jiggle the pan to make sure the yolks are a little runny and poke the whites with a spatula to make sure they’re set.
- Slide the eggs (and any bonuses like onions and ham) into a mixing bowl and chop them up with scissors. Add your mayo, other seasonings, and any cold, crunchy vegetables if using. Gently mix it all together.
- Serve it warm on toast for a treat, but any leftovers are delicious cold the next day, too.
Tags:
- Salad
- Sandwich
- American
- Butter
- Celery
- Mayonnaise
- Onion
- Olive Oil
- Egg
- Ham
- Green Onion/Scallion
- Pan-Fry
See what other Food52ers are saying.
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Jennifer Wong Christensen
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Sue B
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AntoniaJames
Popular on Food52
65 Reviews
Pattie February 28, 2023
My experience with egg salad, although good, is it is kind of bland. This was wonderful and better cold the next day. I didn't have ham so used bacon that I partial cooked , drained and chopped before proceeding with the butter and onions. I had some pickled red onions that I added to mix with the mayo. And a plus - I really don't like to peel eggs.
Errol J. November 17, 2022
You asked about ingredients I put in my egg salad. ¾ Mayo and ¼ miracle whip and sweet relish, just a teaspoon. I’m intrigued by eating it warm.
[emailprotected] January 16, 2022
I'm making this today, but I'm adding homemade pepper jam to mine.
Lynn January 14, 2022
A GREAT quickie dinner for one. Made with little celery and onion (very lightly sautéed, but still crunchy), 3 eggs (cooked as described) and mixed w Mayo, dill, S&P & tad Grady Spears seasoning — just like I’d do w my regular egg salad. Served on toast. Now this is a wonderful winter/supper egg salad but it won’t replace my regular egg salad served on white bread at a picnic or a book club meeting. AND I have no urge to go and raid the frig for leftovers of this like I do with my regular egg salad. BUT sure does solve the egg peeling problem!
K C. January 13, 2022
Dying to try this! I'll add mayo, a little mustard and a little pickle relish.
Jennifer W. October 30, 2021
Love this recipe! So easy and delicious. I like adding pickled onions if we’ve got any, and the hot sweet pickled jalapeños from Trader Joe’s are great with this, too!
didiL April 22, 2021
Delish!! You asked what you would add, and I always add capers & fresh dill to my egg salad and it takes it up a notch. Some English cucumber slices are a nice addition too...for extra crunch.
Kris S. March 14, 2021
Oh.....and I LOVE the scissor idea.....it confirms my over-abundance-of-scissor-use in my kitchen....so many times I have heard "You're using scissors to cut THAT????" with extensive eye-rolling.....I have 2 pairs hanging on my knife block....one normal pair and one heavy duty pair....couldn't live without having them within reach.....
Kris S. March 14, 2021
You asked for comments about how WE make our egg salad....I make traditional egg salad with hard-boiled eggs, mayo & mustard, salt & pepper and celery seed....for me...celery seed is a MUST have....If I am out of celery seed....I won't make it....I have also added a bit of horseradish to the Mayo/mustard mix.....I also love, love, hard-boiled eggs hot out of the pot chopped with butter salt & pepper....so this is kind of a combo of both....just a tip on salting the eggs (we have chickens who lay eggs for us)...you are not supposed to put salt on eggs until they are done cooking...who knew?
Harvey P. March 14, 2021
Thanks for your enthusiastic take on this recipe. Can you please enlighten me about what underlies your mention, "you are not supposed to put salt on eggs until they are done cooking"? Is it something unhealthy, something about how the eggs cook, something else?
Kris S. March 14, 2021
No - it is not unhealthy to salt eggs while cooking - since we have chickens we have always read-up on anything to do with eggs. It just says to salt them AFTER cooking AND another great tip: squeeze some lime on scrambled eggs when they are done cooking - just a little - it brightens them up ! give it a try!
zingyginger June 1, 2021
It doesn't make a difference, according to this: https://www.seriouseats.com/does-pre-salting-eggs-make-them-tough
Fern March 14, 2021
I make egg salad at least once a week. Lately I've been steaming them as opposed to boiling and they peel like a dream. However, this recipe really appeals because I like warm eggs and it's difficult to keep them warm when making the typical egg salad. My add-ins are fresh dill and dill relish, in addition to the onion. Not sure how the relish will work here. Thinking of just mixing it in at the end.
Willa March 14, 2021
Reminds me of lox and eggs and onions.
Sue B. February 12, 2021
I like egg salad but I'm using this hack to make a veggie heavy scramble. I like over easy fried eggs better that scrambled eggs so this technique of frying up some veggies, adding ham or whatever and then basically steaming an egg on top is now my new favorite breakfast. Thanks so much.
Charles February 3, 2021
I was drawn to this recipe since I share Alex's aversion to peeling hard-cooked eggs. Watching the video, I thought about poaching rather than frying the eggs - then scrolling through the comments, I came across Susan who had the same idea - confirmation enough. I have an egg cooker that poaches as well as hard cooks eggs. I can set the timer to get what I'll characterize as "firm jammy" yolks - perfect for egg salad. And the use of scissors is a genius idea. I'll make egg salad this way from now on.
Dan F. February 1, 2021
I don't mind peeling HB eggs, but I'll admit they are a pain to peel if they are jammy or soft, and sometimes that's the perfect consistency for egg salad. Plus, this method does open up the possibilities to add items (like sautéed onions) that I wouldn't normally put in the dish. And warm egg salad? Sounds intriguing.
My typical adds are Dijon mustard, dill (usually dried), and occasionally capers and/or a dash of vinegar (rice wine, white balsamic, etc) if I'm in the mood. I'll use more Dijon when the egg salad is going on bread with avocado, as I think mustard is a great addition to anything avocado.
Joecs February 1, 2021
This looks delicious. A new breakfast idea. I like adding a dash of paprika or a dab of mustard is good in egg salad.
ChefMogul January 30, 2021
Very excited about this. I share Alex's passion for egg salad but dislike of egg peeling. (Though I do really dig using my late grandmother's egg salad sliced with wires). My must-have ingredient is a little Dijon mustard and a fair amount of fresh black pepper. Often these days I use some combination of Old Bay, paprika, celery seeds and/or a dash of smoked paprika (never too much!).
ChefMogul January 30, 2021
Oops, one other thing: try toasting the bread only on ONE side. The other side gets warm and stays soft and puffy and contrasts really nicely with the toasted side. Works really well with avocado toast and other sandwiches.
ChefMogul February 1, 2021
Made it with sauteed scallions, raw chopped celery and red pepper, and capers. Seasoned the dressing with the spices above (Dijon, Old Bay, a tad of smoked paprika), plus some Aleppo pepper. FANTASTIC. Strongly recommend this combo!
AntoniaJames January 29, 2021
And then there's this Thai cousin, I suppose, a favorite going back years ago to when the recipe was first posted here: https://food52.com/recipes/24650-yam-khai-dao-fried-egg-salad ;o)
Jojo F. January 29, 2021
Loved this, Kristen! Delicious lunch today! I fixed mine similar to how I make my tuna salads: with dill-infused dijon mustard (instead of mayo) and chopped up pickled veggies (I prefer the ones from Stone Hollow Farmstead, like onions and garlic scapes: https://food52.com/shop/products/7388-stone-hollow-pickles ... but you could also use cornichons!). Today, I used a shallot instead of onion. It was great!
Marcie S. January 29, 2021
I like a touch of smoked paprika and sautéed leeks instead of onions. Brilliant to fry the eggs!
Marcie S. January 29, 2021
I like a touch of smoked paprika and chopped cornichons or dill pickles.
