The Slow-Cooked Egg

You may have noticed them invading your Sunday brunch experience and wondered if the good-old poached egg was being pushed off the map. The slow-cooked egg, 63-degree egg, or 60/60 egg, is cooked slowly at a consistent temperature, leaving the consistency of the whole egg a lot runnier.

The white is like thin custard, and the yolk thick and smooth. As well as at breakfast, slow-cooked eggs work well with Japanese food. We chat to head chef and owner of Chaco Bar in Darlinghurst, Keita Abe, who cooks his eggs at exactly 62 degrees.

Broadsheet: Why 62 degrees, and not 63?

Keita Abe: There was no real meaning to it – it just has to be over 60 degrees. I found 62 worked for me after experimenting many times.

BS: Any preparation tips?

KA: Fresh eggs are always best. Make sure they are at room temperature before you start cooking them – leave them out of the fridge overnight before you use them.

BS: How will you know if you got it right?

KA: No excess water should come out when you crack the shell and it should come out in a nice ball shape. The white and the yolk should have a similar consistency.

BS: Why slow-cooked eggs instead of poached?

KA: In Japanese cuisine, we often serve raw eggs with dishes like sukiyaki. Australians are not used to eating raw eggs, so the slow-cooked egg is a happy medium. You get a nice sticky, gooey texture and a different flavour.

BS: What dishes does it work best with?

KA: Breaded pork [tonkatsu], a fricassee of mushrooms and sukiyaki.

Chaco Bar

238 Crown Street, Darlinghurst

(02) 9007 8352