Cooking is an essential skill for anyone — men and women — it can be the difference between life and death. If I were to be stuck in an apocalyptic world, with only raw rice seeds and raw vegetables at my disposal; I would die.
The truth is I don’t know how to cook. My talents go as far as heating a HotPocket in the microwave or assorting fruit bowls. My mother has always pushed me to cook because “what would I do without her?” She was very mean during our lessons as a kid, so I quickly began to hate the idea of cooking and I never attempted to cook when someone was home.
I was so bad at cooking that I couldn’t even make eggs. Not boiled, scrambled, sunny-side up, nothing. I recall a moment when my mother boiled eggs for dinner and she told me that when I got hungry I was welcome to heat them in the microwave. Well, silly ol’ me grabbed the eggs and put them in the microwave for 2 minutes (as instructed) and before 30 seconds went by, I heard popping. I was greeted by an explosion of eggs inside my microwave. My mother never mentioned to me that I was supposed to cut them in half to avoid an explosion, she assumed I would know as a 13-year-old.
After that mess, months later, I was home alone and hungry. I decided to make myself a sunny-side-up egg and my attempts were horribly unsuccessful. The yolk was popping and the whites were burning up. I ran through about 4 eggs, all going into the trash until I made a “decent” egg. I was deeply humbled when I bit into the egg, it was rubbery and salty. The whole kitchen smelled like burnt eggs, it was all terrible.
I gave up cooking for years after that. Sunny-side up eggs have always been my favorite and I usually relied on my younger brother to make them for me. But I’ve finally accomplished the great feat of making sunny-side-up eggs at the age of 17 years old.
One day, I was at my boyfriend’s house. He is good at cooking and he was making sunny-side-up eggs and had me watch over him in the kitchen during the process. He explained how he likes to make them and when he was done making the eggs, they were delicious.
Taking a mental note of everything he had explained, I decided to steal the method. Days later, I was hungry and remembered his technique, so I took on the challenge of replicating it. The egg was so delicious and I couldn’t believe that I, the worst cook in America, made such a beautiful egg.
I know the importance of having the skill to cook for yourself because there won’t always be someone there to do it for you. Many of us are close to being on our own like going off to college and one day we’ll find ourselves despising the cafeteria food and wishing we could cook because we don’t have money since we’re broke college students. I definitely think I’ll be in a similar situation but at least now I can finally make eggs. Knowing that other people may be in a similar situation as I was years ago, I would like to share the easiest and quickest way to make sunny-side-up eggs.
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes or higher depending on how runny you want the yolk to be
Ingredients:
- Egg
- Stick of Butter
- Salt or any seasoning of your choice (Garlic, Pepper, etc.)
Preparation:
- Grab a non-stick pan and paint the surface with a reasonable amount of butter.
- Place the pan on the stove and turn the heat to light.
Cooking:
- Grab your egg and crack it over the pan, as close as possible to avoid the yolk from splitting.
- Now you want to grab your seasoning of choice (I prefer salt) and lightly sprinkle it all over the egg. Avoid putting it on one single area so it’s not oversaturated.
- After, you want to grab a clear lid to put over the pan so that the heat is contained within the lid and the egg cooks faster. Also to avoid any splashing butter to burn you.
- After a few minutes, the egg should be done. Grab a spatula to pick up the egg for plating and enjoy!
There should be no shame in not knowing how to cook. It’s never too late to learn. I know many people who learned the skill at the young age of seven, while all I know how to make at seventeen is an egg. The important part is trying your best because just like any other skill, practice is key! No one is going to get a three-course meal right the first time. I’m sure chef masters like Gordon Ramsey and Bobby Flay have had their fair share of kitchen disasters, but now I won’t be one of them.
Ever since mastering sunny-side-up eggs, I’ve gained the confidence to attempt different types of eggs such as scrambled and boiled, which are still a work in progress. Besides eggs, I’ve attempted other dishes like croissant bakes and pizza rolls. They’re not at the standard yet but I’m determined to get better each time I cook.
More than anything, I’ve started to enjoy cooking altogether and trying out new recipes I see on TikTok or Pinterest. It has been incredibly calming these past few days and I no longer feel hesitant when I’m in the kitchen.
