Make egg and soldiers with only a kettle and a toaster

I like to eat egg and soldiers a lot. Sadly I've never met an American person who knows what this meal is, so for those of you reading this I will explain: you soft-boil an egg so the yolk is runny, then you dip toast into the yolk and eat it. It's delicious.

Things you will need
1. A kettle
2. A toaster
3. Eggs
4. Bread

Things you might need
1. Netting (from oranges, tangerines, etc.)
2. Some string

I was making this meal at work so I didn't have access to a proper cooker. I also purchased my own kettle even though there is one at work because there's a possibility of the eggs cracking and yolk going everywhere. The kettle only cost £5 from my local supermarket, so it's not an expensive piece of equipment.

Step 1 Preparation

First of all, if you've bought a new kettle then you should boil some water in it and pour it away to clean it out. It shouldn't matter too much because you won't be drinking the water from it, but better safe than sorry.

If you have some netting like the kind oranges often come in then you need to make a small sack from it so that the eggs can sit in it without falling out.

Make sure you remove any paper or labels from the netting before putting it into the kettle. The ink on them might go everywhere and ruin your lunch.

If you have two open ends in the netting then use a small length of string to tie up one end completely.

The other end needs to have string threaded all the way around it so that it can be pulled closed like a drawstring on a pair of shorts, or a sports bag.

When it's done you should be able to hold the egg up in the netting using the ends of the drawstring. Make sure you don't cut the string too short as it will be used to dangle the eggs into the kettle.

Comments

[Ysabeau]

This a "oeuf à la coque" in French.
Fine idea to make it in a kettle.

[lemonie]

Is your water hard or soft?

L

[essteeyou]

It's kind of hard, not overly though.

[lemonie]

I've got soft peaty-hill-water.

L

[caitlinsdad]

Ask any American what an Egg McMuffin is and they will know. Soft-cooked eggs are actually illegal to serve in many restaurants/diners because of health safety laws on salmonella. I do prefer runny eggs sunnyside up with corned beef hash though. Most Americans do not use a water kettle, it is safe to drink straight from the tap and you can't cook eggs in a coffee maker. Thanks for sharing.

[essteeyou]

The tap water here in the UK is also safe to drink without boiling. Kettles are used for making hot drinks, not for purifying the water here. :) It's rare to find a house witbout one.

I used to find it frustrating when I lived in America that I had to boil water in a pan or in an old-fashioned kettle.

Thanks for commenting.

[caitlinsdad]

Ah, tea-drinkers. :)

[essteeyou]

Typically, yes, although I hate tea and very rarely drink coffe or hot chocolate. I probably use a kettle for eggs more often than anything else now. :)

[Kozz]

Anecdotal, but I'm an American, and it's true I've never heard of this.

After you eat your toast & yolk, do you throw away the soft-cooked egg white?

[essteeyou]

I eat it with the spoon I used to break the egg open with. No point wasting good food.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. :)