When I was a little kid, growing up in communist Poland we didn’t have Cheerios for breakfast. Corn flakes were hardly ever available. We usually ate open-face sandwiches of some kind. Sometimes we had oatmeal or semolina with hot milk, which I hated. Eggs were on the menu as well. Usually scrambled or soft-boiled.

The soft-boiled egg is the most sentimental memory of my childhood breakfast. Perhaps because its eating involved using a special, little egg holder cup. In that time of scarcity, little things like that meant a lot to me. I guess they still do, that’s why I have such a huge collection of ceramics and dishes in my house. Back then, however, I didn’t have a lot of toys so little trinkets like that amused me even more. My favorite soft-boiled egg holder was the one that my mom brought for me from Czechoslovakia. It was made out of white plastic and looked like a little chicken standing on the plate that was attached to his legs. It held one egg and that little plate was for holding egg shells. I guess my love for cool design and functionality in one began when I was a child. So when my parents asked me if I wanted to have a soft-boiled egg for breakfast I was always very excited, because I got to eat out of my one and only plastic chicken and I got to dispose of those egg shells in the little tray. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world! I am not sure if this holder is still around. I remember it got cracked so it probably ended up in the trash after me and my brothers moved out of the family home. But the memory of that little, cute egg holder remains in my head to these days.

Soft-boiled eggs are not so popular in the US and I don’t eat them that often anymore. I only have two kinds of egg holders in my kitchen. But sometimes I do prepare them for breakfast and it always triggers memories from my childhood. So here is to the soft-boiled eggs breakfast and the chicken that held it. The simplest in the word recipe, for my favorite, is 5-minute boiled egg breakfast. Because the perfection in the soft-boiled egg is a matter of seconds. This is how I do it. This is how I like it.

5 minutes soft-boiled egg breakfast

Shopping List:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 thick slice of sourdough bread or freshly baked, crusty roll
• fresh butter (unsalted)
• salt

Now follow these steps:

1. Cut the roll in half and spread cold, solid butter over it.
2. Fill the small pot with cold water (enough to cover both eggs) and bring to a boil; when water starts boiling gently drop each egg in (using a spoon); boil on medium heat for 5 minutes (exactly!); remove pot from the heat and pour cold water over eggs; remove eggs from the water after 20 seconds.
3. Serve immediately in egg cups; use the side of a small spoon to crack and remove the pointed end of the egg, making a hole in the shell large enough to fit the spoon.
4. Season with salt.
5. Enjoy with the little bites of crispy roll.

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