Monday, November 17, 2008

Fried Egg

UK and Ireland
Fried eggs are commonly regarded as
breakfast food, sometimes served on toast, or in a sandwich, often with bacon or sausages. It is also an essential part of the full breakfast commonly eaten in Britain and Ireland. Fried eggs are often served with ham or gammon steak as a popular pub grub meal. They are almost always cooked "sunny side up", though the term is not used locally.

North America
North Americans may choose among the following methods:
'Over well', — cooked on both sides until the
yolk has solidified
'Over hard', also called 'hard' — cooked on both sides until the
yolk has solidified.
'Over medium' — cooked on both sides; the yolk is of medium consistency and the egg white is thoroughly cooked.
'Over easy', also called 'runny' — cooked on both sides; the yolk is a thin liquid, while the egg white is partially cooked. This is occasionally called 'sunny side down.' These are also commonly referred to as 'dippy eggs' or 'dip eggs' by Marylanders and by
Pennsylvania Dutch persons living in southern Pennsylvania, mainly due to the practice of dipping toast into the yolk while eating. Also called 'treasure eggs' in southwestern Pennsylvania.
'Sunny side up' — cooked only on one side; yolk is liquid (the oil or fat may be used to
baste the sunny side, however.) The egg white is often still rather runny as well. This is often known simply as 'eggs up'. Covering the frying pan with a lid throughout cooking allows for a less "runny" egg.
Another style known simply as 'Fried' - eggs are fried on both sides with the yolks broken until set or hard. These are common in fried egg sandwiches and in Asian cuisine.

Spain and Latin America
A single sunny-side-up egg served over white
rice is a popular side-dish eaten at lunch time in Latin American countries. In Spain, it is served with tomato sauce and called Arroz a la Cubana. In Brazil, a runny egg placed over a steak with a side dish of rice and black beans is called a Bife à Cavalo, literally "Horse-Riding Steak". A similar dish, with the name Bife a Caballo in Spanish, is also common in Argentina and Uruguay with fried potatoes and salad replacing the beans and rice. In Mexico, a popular breakfast starts with fried eggs and a fresh tomato, onion and cilantro salad. Red chile is optional, or a blender style sauce.

Russia

Yaichnitsa
The Russian version of fried eggs is called yaichnitsa (Russian: яичница). Multiple eggs are cracked into a saucepan or frying pan and cooked without flipping. The whites flow together and individual portions (one or more yolks surrounded by white) are divided up after the whole pan-full has cooked.

Japan
Fried eggs with ham, sometimes with
salad, is a popular western-style breakfast item in Japan. It is often called 目玉焼き (medamayaki), literally 'fried eyeball', because of its supposed resemblance to the eyeball of a fried, whole fish. It is usually seasoned at the table with soy sauce or "sosu" (fruity Japanese Worcestershire sauce), depending on the preference of the diner.

France
Fried eggs are served atop the croque madame (distinguishing it from the
croque monsieur), and also sometimes on other foods such as pizza and steak haché, in which case it is referred to as oeuf à cheval (literally "egg on horseback").

Korea
In Korea it is common to put a fried egg on top of a dish known as
bibimbap (mountain vegetables over rice, usually with a spicy pepper sauce). However, it is more common to see fried eggs as side dish with rice.

Southeast Asia
Nasi goreng, one of the most popular dishes in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, is often served with a fried egg. A fried egg served over white rice, topped with a dab of oyster or hoisin sauce, is also popular in east Asia. Fried eggs are also sometimes used in a Vietnamese breakfast roll.

Philippines
In the Philippines, fried eggs are often cooked like a sunny side egg but the yolk is half cooked by sprinkling with salt and oil on it while being fried giving it a distinctive pink colored membrane. It is served in the morning with garlic rice and a choice of breakfast meat such as beef tapa, longaniza, fried milkfish, dried fish, tocino (caramelised pork), Spam, or corned beef. In addition, fried eggs are eaten in a dish called arroz a la Cubana, seasoned ground beef with raisins, cubed potatoes, tomato sauce, and olives, along with white rice and fried ripe plantains.

India
In India, fried eggs, usually referred to as "poached eggs," are sometimes known as omlette or bullseyes as a reference to "bullseye" targets. They are commonly served alone or as accompaniment to a variety of dishes including
appam, dosa, paratha etc. Bullseyes are commonly prepared over pans smeared with a variety of oils such as coconut oil and palm oil. During or after the frying stage, they are sometimes sprinkled lightly with condiments such as black pepper, chili powder, green chilis and salt. Bullseyes are a common street vendor dish in South India. Some restaurants also refer to them as Egg Fry (over hard) or Egg 'Half Fry' (sunny side up).

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