I lived most of my 20s eating overcooked scrambled eggs. No one taught me to never turn up the burner past three. No one taught me how transformative a big chunk of butter could be. I didn’t know how unfortunate my situation was at the time. But I’ve since had my world opened up to the idea of a soft scramble.
Make the recipe once and you’ll have the technique down forever. Medium-low heat, gentle stirring, stop before the eggs are fully set. You can season them with anything, of course—salt and pepper, soy sauce and sliced scallion, grated cheddar and hot sauce—but for me, nothing beats white miso.
I first tried this on a whim. I was figuring out what to do with the scrapings of a tub of miso I’d almost finished. There wasn’t enough left to pull off a miso-forward recipe, like this glazed eggplant or these brown butter rice cakes, but I wanted to make some space in the fridge. So, I threw the dregs into what I was making at the time—scrambled eggs. It gave such a potent umami, I didn’t even need to salt them.
This has become my go-to for the last five years. A little miso goes a long way—figure 1 Tbsp. per 3 large eggs. The result is deeply satisfying and hard to put your finger on why. I’ve fielded questions from everyone I’ve made them for about what makes them so good. Even from my six-year-old, who isn’t big on the addition of “flavor” to his food.
Because the miso acts as a subtle backdrop—like salt, just better—the scrambled eggs are still infinitely flexible. Pile them on a bagel with cream cheese. Bundle them in a tortilla with avocado and salsa. Slide them onto a rice bowl alongside pickled veggies. Doctor them up with smoked fish and fresh herbs. In every situation, the miso will be working hard behind the scenes.
But before you race to the fridge, one last trick I wish someone had taught me sooner: Use an immersion blender to scramble the eggs. Compared to a fork or whisk, this method yields a superlatively smooth mixture (no separated whites and yolks) and fluffy end result. If you don’t have an immersion blender—yet—it’s also great for zipping up a quick tomato sauce, a creamy soup, and even a smoothie. But I think it’s worth it for the eggs alone.
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