Sesame Seeds Are The Crunchy Transformation Your Fried Eggs Need

Crunchy fried eggs don't always mean you accidentally drop a bit of shell into the frying pan. It could mean that you've discovered fried eggs topped with sesame seeds. Bringing these two ingredients together in the same pan is a pretty straightforward deal. Fire up the burner to medium-high heat, then a little olive oil and a dab of butter to the pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds directly into the hot oil, then gently drop a raw egg on top. When the edges of the egg begin to brown, flip it over and add a few more sprinkles of sesame seeds to ensure you get a taste of yum in every bite. Cook the egg until it reaches your desired level of doneness.

At this point, you could take the egg from the flame and eat it as-is, but you'd be robbing yourself of some pretty spectacular flavor. At minimum, season your food with salt and pepper before plating, adding a bit of height to ensure an even sprinkling. It tastes even better if you experiment a bit further with flavor. If you really love the taste of sesame, then using sesame oil instead of the butter gives your eggs a light nutty flavor. Other flavored oils, like chili oil or garlic-infused olive oil, add extra taste to the egg without requiring more seasoning.

You could also add fresh herbs, peppery greens like fresh arugula, or aromatics like chopped green onions or pickled red onions. And, of course, mixing in black and white sesame seeds amps up the flavor, crunch, and visual appeal.

On the simplest level, this dish could be the basis for a fried egg and toast. Slice up some avocado, sprinkle on salt, pepper, and garlic, and then slide the egg on top. But why stop there? Breakfast meats such as bacon, link sausage, or chorizo flanking the egg-topped toast complete the dish and make it a flavorful breakfast.

However, just because you're eating eggs doesn't mean you're limited to breakfast options. The sesame seeds put these eggs in the realm of your favorite Asian dishes, too, opening up the possibility of a lunch or dinner meal featuring this amped-up fried egg recipe. For example, you can easily use these pint-sized ovals of speckled yellow sunshine to dress up a bowl of instant ramen or a dish of fried rice (made all the more unforgettable with a dash of mirin). 

Finally, think about reworking your favorite fried egg sandwich recipe with this sesame seed variant. Make it a work of art by mixing up Sriracha mayo and slathering it on your favorite sandwich bread. Insert sliced ham and the sesame seed fried egg between two slices of your favorite bread and munch on your perfect fried egg sammie until it's gone, one nutty crunch at a time.