I've been working on this riff on an Asian noodle soup. As the final garnish, I want to drop an egg yolk in the middle of the individual serving bowls of soup, to warm for a couple of minutes in the boiling hot soup and to burst with the first stir. Sounds simple, right? It's giving me a problem though.
I use the whites in the soup. I need to separate the eggs at least about 10 minutes before I drop the yolks. Separated yolks are really touchy, they want to break before their time. That they are at room temperature (for reasons that should be fairly obvious) doesn't help. I've been holding the yolks in little custard cups. I've tried putting a little water (hot and cool) in the cups, I've also tried broth from the soup. Even doing those things, the yolks break as I try (ever so gently) to drop them onto the soup.
Any ideas?
Best Answer
Try this: http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/perfect-yolks
A container of oil is placed in a water bath that is held at a constant temperature. You can experiment with 62 - 65C to find what you prefer. Raw yolks are gently lowered into the oil and cook for about an hour. Remove gently with slotted spoon and serve. They can hold for a couple of hours, particularly if you use a lower initial temperature, then lower the temp to 60C after about an hour.
If you don't have a circulator, I am sure you can experiment and achieve similar results in a simmering pot of water.