The Unexpected Ingredient You Should Fry Your Eggs With Next Time For Elevated Flavor

Though many of us take modern grocery stores for granted, they're pretty amazing places when you think about it. Refrigeration and modern transportation have made it possible for us to access a plethora of interesting and delicious ingredients, leading to tasty discoveries such as how to give cookies a deep, nutty flavor by upgrading them with sesame oil. In fact, sesame oil is quite versatile; not only does it add beautiful umami flavor to your favorite shrimp and eggplant stir-fry, it can also make your breakfast more enticing.

Fried eggs are a quick, simple breakfast and keep you full, but they're far from the most exciting choice. However, infusing them with a bright new flavor is as simple as switching your cooking fat from olive oil or butter to sesame oil. The sesame oil not only crisps your fried eggs to perfection, it also acts as a seasoning by imparting a warm nuttiness, distinct tang, and light fruity flavor that should have you looking forward to your habitual toad in a hole or breakfast sandwich. Said sandwich may even taste better than the highest-ranked fast food egg sammie.

It's tempting to use a ton of sesame oil to give your eggs an almost deep-fried texture and rich sesame flavor, but this not only risks the eggs soaking up too much oil and becoming spongy, it's also a good way to create a hard, dry yolk. Even if you like your eggs over-hard, a crumbly yolk is pretty disappointing. If you want to add that fried texture and infuse your breakfast with the most sesame flavor possible, try making sesame seed fried eggs. Just sprinkle sesame seeds onto your eggs and flip them briefly to create a crunchy, gorgeously nutty crust. This technique lets you use a reasonable amount of sesame oil without skimping on bold flavor, with the added bonus of a fun, crisp texture. You can also swap out plain sesame seeds for a homemade version of Trader Joe's Everything but the Bagel Seasoning.

Sesame oil is also delicious when infused with other flavors, providing even more options to literally spice up your morning meal. Chili crisp blends using sesame oil as a base offer a beautiful balance of flavor and texture, while lemon-infused oil brings brightness (as would garlic-infused blends). Sprinkle the finished product with fresh herbs to cut through the oil's richness and make your breakfast feel special.