1. Chef Pfyl recommends breaking the egg into a small dish first, so you can check it is good and the yolk not broken. It also makes it easier to slide into the water.
2. He likes to swirl the water and slide the egg into the centre so the white swirls around the yolk.
3. When cooked - about 2 to 3min - lift out with a slotted spoon and check with a finger to see if the yolk is bouncy.
4. Rest the spoon on a teatowel or paper towel to drain.
5. If you are not using the eggs straight away you can put them in a bowl of cold water for a few hours, then drain them and trim off the flaky white. Reheat in boiling salted water for to 1min.
6. You can serve poached eggs in many ways - on buttered toast, or as eggs Benedict on ham on a toasted English muffin topped with hollandaise sauce.
Daniel Pfyl, hospitality management lecturer at Otago Polytechnic, shares some professional techniques to make your cooking easier.
This week, how to poach eggs.
Use a deep pan and plenty of water; not a frying pan, which is too shallow. The water should be at least 8cm deep, with a tablespoon of vinegar to a litre of water to help prevent the white dissipating. The fresher the egg, the better it will hold together.
To check earlier Trick of the trade columns visit: http://www.odt.co.nz/news/tags/trick-trade
More information on cooking from the Otago Polytechnic can be found on www.otagocookeryl4.blogspot.com
