This is my mother's Mother of all Recipes: Auntie Ruby's Fried Eggs.

The secret is out. This is one dish which demands good culinary skills. Succeed with it, and you will know that you have arrived as a chef.

So what do you need to make perfect fried eggs?

Firstly, good eggs. And I mean, really good ones. And the best ones comes from 60-day grain fed chicken, no less. It has to be free range ones and laid within 24 hours. Get it from your local egg seller. Say it quickly in one breath: "Free range 60-day grain fed chicken eggs laid within 24 hours please." If she says "huh?", move on.

This seller does not know her trade.

Not only that, eggs need to be fresh. How do you know? Here is another Auntie Ruby secret. Hold the egg 4 feet from the ground. Drop it. If the egg does not break, you will know it is super fresh. It was laid within 24 hours. From the hen to your table in a day. Impressive. If it splatters on the floor, you know you have been had.

And another secret is the oil. Oil makes a huge difference in how this dish turns out. There is one brand that stands apart from the rest when it comes to eggs: Lambda Olive Oil. Touted as the Rolls Royce of Olive oils, it is unfiltered, full of purity, has very low acidity 0.29 ° with intense fruity notes and a unsurpassed flavor. It will set your eggs apart. It may cost more than US$50 per bottle but hey, treat the genesis of life (even if it is a chicken's) with respect.


And the way you prepare it is important. Here is where culinary skills kick in. Have you seen how the Roti Prata Man flips his prata? (Photo - I found this great photo of a local and rather famous ieat food blogger friend flipping his). That is the secret to fluffy ones. Every time.

So for fluffy flipping good eggs, you do the same. Fry it in the oil for 2 minutes. Then lift up the egg gently, hold it with your pair of hands and do a 45 degree angled horizontal flip 3 times in the air. Do it very quickly.  Be very careful not to splash any hot oil. You want to lambda the egg, not your face. And the skill lies in doing that without the runny yolk running out. For you don't want to egg your face either.

Lastly, sprinkle some sauces. Savoury or sugary, black, white or brown, it is up to you.


There you go: Auntie Ruby's Fried Eggs.

Don't be fooled.

This eggs may look ordinary but they are gourmet stuff, fit only for the most discerning of connoisseurs.

Note: I should add that this is one of my favourite dishes, actually.  I cook it regularly, but not the "Auntie Ruby way," as described in this post. And to quote an old adage, not everything in life needs to be taken seriously, especially on this day...:)