The Secret To Unforgettable Scrambled Eggs Starts With A Spicy Condiment

There are so many time, temperature, tool, and technique tips for making scrambled eggs, it can be easy to forget about enhancing ingredients. Sure, you probably have a preferred scrambled egg fat, but rely on that alone and you leave a whole host of tasty condiments on the table. Chili crisp, for example, can serve as both your cooking fat and a major source of superior scrambled egg flavor and texture.

Lest its title frighten more sensitive palates, the heat of the titular oil-soaked chili varies from homemade recipe to recipe, or store-bought jar to jar. Some of our favorite jarred chili crisps, for example, were more garlic than heat forward, while others packed more of a sizzle. It may require some trial and error, but there are excellent chili crisp picks for many spice tolerances. The best of them are also plenty salty, super savory, abundant with crunch via peppers and dried alliums, and rich with satiny oil that gives every other ingredient it meets more depth — all qualities that shine brightly on simple scrambled eggs. Plus, combining the two is easy.

A lot of chili crisp jars have a nice, thin layer of oil on top of all the wonderful elements that give the whole thing its "crisp." Spoon some of the oil out to use as your cooking fat, but typically only for a batch or two. It's not a renewable resource, and you don't want to deplete too much of said slick liquid (but it's extra satisfying that first time). Eventually, you need to switch to a regular, smooth chili oil, or a complementary but un-chilied sesame oil, which also helps create perfectly lovely chili crisp scrambled eggs.

Once your eggs are whisked and your pan is oiled, cook the protein on a low heat, stirring gently but consistently as they firm up. The chili crisp needs neither cooking nor toasting, but you do want it evenly distributed throughout the eggs. Add it in when the last ribbons of liquid are poised to disappear, stirring a few more times to finish. A teaspoon or so of chili crisp per egg creates somewhat subtle scrambled eggs with chili crisp. Get closer to a tablespoon and you have spicier, more flavorful scrambled eggs. You can always add more to taste once it's all on the plate.