By J. Kenji López-Alt
- Total Time
- 5 minutes, plus optional resting
- Rating
- 4(1,452)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe adapts a technique from making Chinese egg drop soup — gently poaching a thin stream of beaten eggs in simmering liquid — to a Western-style breakfast of scrambled eggs. The results are special and one of a kind. Drizzling the eggs into hot cream gets them to set into tender, velvety curds that end up bound with a rich custardy sauce, perfect for spooning onto buttered toast. The eggs are delicious without the herbs, but, given how rich they are, think of them as a special occasion dish, worthy of the added effort.
Featured in: The Scrambled Egg Technique That Impressed J. Kenji López-Alt
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Ingredients
Yield:2 to 3 servings
- 4eggs (from the refrigerator or at room temperature; either is fine)
- ½teaspoon table salt
- Freshly ground black or white pepper
- 2tablespoons minced fresh herbs, such as chives, tarragon, parsley and chervil (optional)
- 4tablespoons heavy cream or crème fraîche
- Buttered toast, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Break the eggs into a bowl. Add the salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add most of the herbs (if using), reserving a big pinch to garnish the finished eggs. Using a fork, beat the eggs very thoroughly, at least 30 seconds, until no streaks of white remain. You can proceed to Step 2 right away, but for even more tender results, allow the eggs to rest 10 to 15 minutes after salting and beating them. Have a silicone spatula and a serving plate at hand before you begin cooking.
Step
2
Heat 3 tablespoons of the cream in a small (8-inch) nonstick, well-seasoned cast-iron or carbon-steel skillet over medium-high heat until it bubbles vigorously, about 30 to 45 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Step
3
Drizzle the eggs from the bowl into the cream in a thin, steady stream, moving the bowl so that the eggs are drizzled all along the surface of the pan. Let the eggs rest for about 15 seconds, then begin stirring and folding slowly and steadily with the spatula until the eggs are as done as you like them. Remove the pan from heat and immediately drizzle in the remaining 1 tablespoon cream and stir vigorously to incorporate. Immediately transfer to the serving plate, sprinkle with remaining herbs and a few grinds of black pepper. Serve right away with toast.
Tips
- This recipe can be doubled, using a 10-inch skillet instead of an 8-inch skillet.
- For Velvety Brown-Butter Eggs, cooking eggs directly in browned butter can lead to tough, overcooked curds and a greasy texture. Browning the butter separately and cooling down the pan with cream before adding the eggs solves these issues, giving you tender, custardy eggs rich with brown butter flavor.Cook eggs through the end of Step 1. Skip Step 2. Instead, heat 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a small nonstick, well-seasoned cast-iron or carbon-steel skillet over medium-high heat, swirling constantly until the butter melts, foaming subsides, the milk solids take on a deep brown color and the butter gets a rich, nutty aroma. Immediately add 3 tablespoons of the cream and shake the pan to incorporate the butter. The cream should bubble vigorously almost immediately. Reduce heat to medium-low and proceed with Step 3 as written.
Ratings
4
out of 5
1,452
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Cooking Notes
Tim O.
Delicious made with half and half. Fewer calories than cream, butter or olive oil… I think!
Joe Roach
Rather than using a bowl, use a large measuring cup with a a handle and spout -- it is much easier to control adding the eggs to the pan that way.
Mary
The best scrambled eggs are to add cream cheese and a little milk to beaten eggs. Cook in butter in a double boiler over low heat stirring constantly.
Michael S
I guess the idea here is to replace to usual butter or olive oil with heavy cream. Worth trying. But I did not love the resulting flavor. And - though I may have blown the execution - I would not call the resulting texture "velvety".
Wisco
The brown butter version takes this from great to you’ve got to be kidding great. It’s rich but not cloying. The salt, herbs and rest prior to cooking are all important to bring out the best I love the silky texture of scrambled eggs after growing up on dried and over cooked basic eggs.
Suz
Lactose intolerant here! I had some coconut cream open in the fridge and decided to give it a go, fully expecting the end result would be too coconutty. So glad I experimented! Yes, you can taste a faint coconut flavour, but the texture of the eggs is incredible and this recipe feels very forgiving if you get distracted for a few seconds too long. Will be making this again.
Robert B.
Made this as written and it was exactly how Kenji describes it here - velvety. Great scrambled egg variation that after making once becomes very easy to eye ball. Added to the rotation! Another favorite for anyone interested is Ruhlman’s Soft Scrambled Eggs with Chive and Goat Cheese.
angela
Don’t listen to the haters who never actually cooked the recipe. This is the easiest and tastiest way to make velvety eggs, even easier than Kenji’s other method with corn starch. I only used the initial heavy cream to start and didn’t feel like we needed more the second time I tried it. Definitely adjust to your runny-ness preference. Awesome way to make eggs and I’ll never go back!
Steve P
Heavy cream is quite low in lactose.
Anna
Make this recipe! Just made it for the first time using half & half and fresh chives (I reduced to about 1 tbsp) and the eggs turned out exactly as pictured and absolutely delicious.
PADR
While I followed the recipe pretty exactly and the results were resplendent, I am not sure whether I really got the hang of Kenji’s technique … or just made incredibly rich, slow-simmered eggs. (Delicious, sure, but not the point of this recipe.) This is the kind of recipe where it would help to have a video, to see what the “egg ribbon” is meant to look like and how vigorously the cream should be simmering. Content gods, take note!
xtina
Made this recipe nondairy with oatmilk, vegan cream cheese and a little bit of oil. First time eating soft scrambled eggs like this. Delicious!
Pam
First time making these fabulous scrambled eggs and it definitely won’t be the last! So good! Thanks for this wonderful recipe!!!
Kim
Made as directed,using crème fraiche. Came out perfectly. It was delicious, and very rich.
BW
I agree! I add 1.5 tbd whipped cream cheese to 3 eggs. Whisk well. You will still have some lumps. Melt 2pats butter in small non stick pan on medium low heat. Add egg mixture. Continuously stir with silicone spatula. Add salt, pepper and grated cheddar if you wish. Eggs will slowly expel moisture and cook throughly while staying very soft. It takes a whopping 10 minutes of continuous stirring to cook but these eggs are creamy, delicious and just about foolproof.
Eric H
Delicious with some uncooked, chopped red onion added at the serving!
Bree La Fin
I made this after searching for creme fraiche, as I had most of an absurdly priced package left after ikura caviar and blinis night. Used dill and parsley as my herbs as that's what I had. Figured dill and eggs are bfs, despite dill not being listed. Was luscious and a welcome surprise, nearly justified the $10 creme! Didn't have table salt, was a little shocked a NYT recipe called for it! Subbed Diamond Crystal kosher, same amount, and let sit the full 15min before remixing. All was well.
pamela s
My favorite way to make scrambled eggs! The only thing I changed was using a saucepan instead of a skillet. My BIL is Chinese-Canadian & has always used a pan. The results are always pillowy curds. Perhaps it makes the technique easier.
Kevin
Spectacular way to turn leftover egg whites into stand alone breakfast treat
Mark T
Fantastic recipe! Echoing what another commenter said, even though the cooking times are all very short, the recipe is very forgiving. I was probably 10-15 seconds long on every step and it still turned out great. Also, I didn’t add the cream at the end and it was still a lovely texture. Next time I’ll remember to buy chives though. Fyi for 3 eggs instead of four, use 2 tbsps 1 tsp of cream initially.
marjorie
Too much salt for me. Use a bit less. Otherwise, delicious
Mary L
I loved scrambled eggs that were cooked slowly and stirred constantly, but so much work for breakfast! These are as good or better. So happy to have this recipe!
Noel
Too much salt!Taste wise ended up tasting quite salty.Probably just use 1/4 teaspoon next time and see how that is. Made exactly per the recipe (with chives).
Ed
All these variations of how to cook scrambled eggs crack me up (no pun intended). Keep it simple, flavor however you want with herbs, etc. but the important thing is technic. A pad of butter is all you need in your pan to prevent sticking. A wisk is your best friend. Beat the eggs with the wisk in a bowl first then scramble in the pan with the wisk. Key is low heat, and constant wisking. I have an induction range and it makes it easy to regulate temp and avoid overcooking.
Beth
Combine this recipe with J. Kenji's recipe for extra-creamy scrambled eggs (combine the cornstarch-water mixture with the eggs, then add it all to the pan with the cream). You're welcome.
JTK
Beating the eggs thoroughly and letting them rest is one of the keys to scrambled eggs. I used a Ninja smoothie cup, pulsing for about 10 seconds to whip the eggs properly. Yes, it's one more thing to clean but totally worth it for these scrambled eggs.
Joanna
For the effort, this was the most perfect scrambled egg recipe I’ve ever made! Extremely easy and quick too. They tasted at least as good as the half-hour, many ingredient scrambled egg recipes I’ve made over the years. My new favorite!
Bill
A little too salty but otherwise good.
Dee
I prefer boiled or poached eggs but if I am making scrambled, this is what I’m having!
Bern
Dill can be used as well, if one does not have sour cream we found plain full fat greek yogurt was an acceptible substitute
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