I’m not a cook (or a consumer) who’s easily enticed by trendy dishes, particularly those showered in Instagram fame. But I think Australian cooks, who have a real knack for elevating ordinary breakfast staples, tapped into something special with folded eggs.
Behind the Recipes
Make Tender, Beautifully Swirled Eggs in Just 10 Minutes
Australia’s rippled spiral of folded eggs pairs the softly set luxury of a French omelet with the speed of a scramble.
By Published Apr. 2, 2024.
The dish is nothing more than scrambled eggs wound into a butter-yellow rosette as they cook. But that simple manipulation reshapes both their aesthetic and the eating experience.
My first folded eggs, which came perched on a thick slice of buttered toast at a local outpost of Bluestone Lane Café (one of many stateside Australian-inspired all-day breakfast cafés), were uniformly set and tender, while portions of the top—particularly the valleys between the spiraled ripples—were moist and custardy, like the tender belly of a perfect French omelet.
And despite their delicacy, these eggs were cohesive and stable atop their toast plinth, so much so that I could have hoisted the whole thing up and eaten it out of hand.
By the time I’d finished my plate, I was dreaming up ways to make a habit of folded eggs—perhaps with some meal-stretching accompaniments. They’d be lovely draped over a raft of steamed asparagus. Or avocado toast dabbed with hot sauce. Or a mound of fried rice drizzled with chili crisp. Or . . .
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If you watch enough videos about making folded eggs (which is the easiest way to learn), you’ll realize two things.
First: There are multiple—sometimes contradictory—approaches to achieving a graceful, golden swirl.
Second: It takes a batch or two to get the motions down. Which is no big deal, since all you need are eggs, salt, and enough fat to slick the pan.
I whisked two eggs with a bit of salt, which made quick work of breaking down the whites’ ropy consistency so they merged readily with the yolks to form a uniformly golden mixture, and rapped the bowl on the counter to pop any large bubbles on the surface of the whisked eggs, lest they mar the rosette’s silky aesthetic.
Then I heated an 8-inch nonstick skillet (small enough that the eggs would settle into a thick layer, giving me time to shape them before they firmed up) with a bit of butter, poured in the eggs, and grabbed my heatproof spatula so I could start “folding.”
Bring More into the Fold
The delicate yet cohesive structure of folded eggs means they can be elegantly draped over foods like buttery steamed asparagus, avocado toast, or (my personal favorite) a mound of fried rice drizzled with chili crisp.
How to "Fold" The Eggs
About that word: It’s confusing in this context, because what you really want to do is roll the eggs around the perimeter of the pan, gathering the setting egg into a rosette.
Start by pulling a bit of the egg across the pan, tilting it so that the remaining liquid egg runs to the opposite side. Then, continuously wind the eggs with the spatula against the side of the pan, tilting it as you go so that the runny egg flows toward the heat of the burner so it can firm up. (Side benefit: This also keeps the forming rosette furthest from the burner so it doesn’t overcook.)
It looks like a bit of a mess at first, but roughly three-quarters of the way around the pan, the rosette starts to take form. Once you’ve incorporated every last bit of egg into the mound, you’ll see ridges on top forming an attractive spiral and hollows between those ridges that cradle shallow pools of still-liquid egg.
Step-by-Step Photos: How to Make Australian Folded Eggs
Pour egg into sizzling butter; let set briefly.
Draw some of egg from 1 side to other, tilting pan so eggs fill space. Let sit briefly.
Push some of set egg toward pan edge. This will form center of rosette.
Start rolling rosette around pan’s perimeter, collecting more egg as you roll.
Tilt pan so raw egg flows away from rosette.
Midway through rolling, rosette fully forms.
Roll until all egg is worked into rosette. Top of eggs will look loose.
Cover skillet.
Take Cover to Cook the Top
When the eggs are nearly done, cover the skillet and allow it to sit off the heat for about a minute to trap residual heat that will set the surface just enough that it’s not runny but is still glistening and translucent. If you like your eggs more solid, add a splash of water to the pan before covering it. This will produce enough steam to cook the top to opacity.
Note: Whether or not you add water, steam will cause the eggs to puff and lose some of their rosette shape; if necessary, tidy the edges of the eggs before transferring them to the serving plate.
Adjust Based On Your Doneness Preferences
I wanted that raw egg to cook through a bit more, so I made another batch and clapped the lid on the pan, sliding it off the burner to capture residual heat that would gently cook the top of the spiral.
A minute later, I lifted the lid to reveal a golden spiral that was perfectly set but still translucent and tender. (If you like your eggs more solid, add a teaspoon of water right before covering; it will produce enough steam to cook the top to opacity.)
When you slide it onto the plate, over toast or vegetables or rice, you’ll marvel that this glistening spiral is nothing more than your workaday scramble nudged into shape with a spatula. Yet another reason to love eggs.
