Table for One
The 6-Minute Breakfast That Gets Me Through the Day, Every Day
Why soft-boiled eggs are perfect for one.
Table for One is a column by Senior Editor Eric Kim, who loves cooking for himself—and only himself—and seeks to celebrate the beauty of solitude in its many forms.
Martha Stewart drinks celery juice. Khloé Kardashian eats oatmeal with a protein shake. I...have a 6-minute egg with toast, orange juice, and coffee.
When it comes to breakfast, we all have our go-tos. It is, for me, the one meal of the day when I feel zero remorse whatsoever for repeating myself, rarely straying to other sources of protein, carbohydrate, or fructose. Because when something works, it works.
On the weekends, maybe, I'll cook bacon or have a brekkie quesadilla from leftovers. But even in those moments, I'll always have my egg first, boiled straight from the fridge in a tiny pot of water for six minutes, then propped up in its cup on a small plate dusted with Magic Spice™, my signature concoction of secrets and herbs: brown sugar, salt, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and celery seed.
Here's how to make a perfect soft-boiled egg:
- First, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. (I use this stainless-steel butter warmer. Because it's so small, it comes to a boil almost as fast as my electric water kettle, which I use for coffee.)
- Then, with a spoon, carefully lower in one large organic egg. (I eat so many eggs a week, so they're the one thing I buy organic.)
- Put the timer on for 6 minutes exactly, lowering the heat to about medium-low so the water simmers gently. (Mostly I do this so the egg won't crack.)
- At the 6-minute mark, run the egg under cold tap water to halt the cooking process before placing it into its little cup. (If you don't have an egg cup, then
get one immediately because they're totally cute!a shot glass works, too.)
The eating of this egg is mostly ritualistic: I take a sharp knife and chop off its top, scooping up the bit of white that's there. I sprinkle the spice mixture over the beheaded egg and dive my spoon into the yolk, which, if I've cooked it correctly, gushes out. Every time I do it, I feel a great sense of satisfaction at how dramatically the yellow dribbles out over the sides and onto my plate. I use the toast to sop up this spillage, and dig my spoon into and around the shell to get the rest of the white.
Even when I think I want a second egg, I'm reminded of that first breakfast scene in 2018's Call Me by Your Name, where Armie Hammer's character eats a soft-boiled egg with such luscious fervor, he makes it look like the most delicious thing in the world. When his host family offers him another, he refuses. "No, no, no. I know myself too well," Oliver chuckles, pouring himself a glass of apricot juice. "If I have a second, I'm just gonna have a third and then a fourth, and then you're just gonna have to roll me out of here."
In André Aciman's novel, from which the Academy Award–winning film is based, the protagonist Elio (played by Timothée Chalamet) narrates, "I had never heard someone his age say, I know myself. It intimidated me."
I wouldn't go so far as to say that my single egg makes me feel especially surer of myself. But that scene, both in the book and in the film, showcases how satisfying it can be to eat just one perfectly soft-boiled egg. Whether you're having it on its own or with Magic Spice, toast, and orange juice, it only takes an egg to start the day feeling in control and filled with purpose.
I'm not a breakfast person, but what this micro-meal has taught me is that, if I can make a habit out of putting on the coffee first thing in the morning, along with the water, toasting a slice of good sourdough from my local bakery, and boiling a single egg—then it forces me to pause, if only for one brief moment, while I sit to eat. What better time to have that feeling of calm than at the start of my day?
This, in turn, makes me appreciate the morning more (which is helpful for someone who is 100-percent not a morning person). What this means, as well, is that I can go to work feeling less harried than those dark days when I used to stumble out of bed and crash into the office like a storm. Instead, I walk. I feel cool, calm, and collected by the time I make it to my desk, mind and body ready to go until lunch.
Is it celery juice blended with Kardashian-branded protein powder? No—but I’d say it’s just as fortifying.
| 1 | large organic egg |
| 1 | pinch Magic Spice Blend, recipe follows |
| 1 | slice sourdough bread, toasted |
| 1 | large organic egg |
| 1 | pinch Magic Spice Blend, recipe follows |
| 1 | slice sourdough bread, toasted |
| 1/3 | cup dark brown sugar |
| 3 | tablespoons kosher salt |
| 3 | tablespoons smoked paprika (you can use regular sweet paprika if you don't like the taste of smoked) |
| 1 | tablespoon garlic powder |
| 1 | tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper |
| 2 | teaspoons cayenne pepper |
| 1 | teaspoon celery seed, crushed in the palm of your hand |
| 1/3 | cup dark brown sugar |
| 3 | tablespoons kosher salt |
| 3 | tablespoons smoked paprika (you can use regular sweet paprika if you don't like the taste of smoked) |
| 1 | tablespoon garlic powder |
| 1 | tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper |
| 2 | teaspoons cayenne pepper |
| 1 | teaspoon celery seed, crushed in the palm of your hand |
Written by: Eric Kim
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49 Comments
Check Amazon for contraptions to cut the top off soft boiled eggs.....the one I got has an inverted metal cup that sits on the top of the egg and you drop a weighted ball to crack around the top. I find you need to insert a thin paring knife in the crack to lift off the top so you don't get a bunch of shattered bit when you dip your toast. I will be very sad when this cheap plastic, China produced appliance bites the dust.....
I always had trouble cracking the top off WITHOUT spilling the youlk. I'm so single (and old) I only use paper plates for any sticky food, lol.
I only own one shot glass, and it holds my Beauty Blender makeup sponge! Haha!
Unfortunately eggs and I don’t like each other unless the egg is hidden well (like in a cookie, ie no eggy taste) but for some reason i do own lovely egg cups that i use to hold kosher salt and pepper so they don’t get lonely in the cupboard
I love eggs.
I scoop my soft-boileds out into a small bowl with butter & salt & pepper & have toast with no jam, just butter, to sop up the eggy-ness. With coffee & OJ.
Lately I have a new work schedule, due in at 4:30 am.
I miss the breakfast minutes so much!
in a cup, already eviscerated from the shell but with some shell in the egg moosh), very heavily peppered and salted came out. I would immediately start to cry just from smelling them. My grandmother tolerated no nonsense from anyone-kids or adults-so she would tie a large cotton napkin around my neck, pull my head back using my long ponytail as her "handle" and shovel the eggs into my mouth with an old soup spoon. Of course, I'd cry harder and would have my runny nose and tears mixed in with soft boiled egg drool running down my chin. Yet and still, the spoon kept coming until the cup of eggs was empty. This stopped when my mother got her own place, became a working mother and Carnation Instant Breakfast replaced Nana's *cough* nutritional torture breakfasts. To this day, I cannot bear to look at runny egg yolks and yes, I have processed this in therapy.
This is nowhere near the same thing, but reminds me a little of the way my grandmother would PACK the white rice into our bowls to trick us into eating more. We could never finish it because...volume.
By the way, I always enjoy your writing, too, WA. Thank you.
My late uncle was a Freudian psychiatrist and he used to tell me that certain kinds of religious upbringing was one of the biggest causes of people eventually coming to The Couch. I disagree. I think it's food! lol
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