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French ‘Oeufs Brouilles,’ Recommended by French Restaurant Chef, Offer Fluffy Scrambled Sweetness

By Yukako Oishi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:30 JST, March 30, 2025

Dishes made with eggs can be simple, yet profound. When asked to propose a “dish with eggs as the main ingredient,” Noboru Tani, a French restaurant chef, chose oeufs brouilles — French-style scrambled eggs. For the dish, eggs are slowly heated while being stirred until they become soft and fluffy.

“You could say egg dishes are my specialty. I love using eggs in recipes,” Tani said.

“First of all, look at this,” he said, cracking an egg into a heatproof bowl. “An egg can be divided into four elements.”

The elements are: the yolk, the sticky and thick part of the egg white, the more liquid part of the egg white and chalaza, which looks like a piece of white ribbon.

Each element has a different taste, texture and temperature at which it solidifies.

“Unless you keep that in mind, you won’t be able to handle eggs well,” Tani said.

To make oeufs brouilles, beat the eggs with something like fresh cream and heat while stirring until the mixture becomes fluffy.

If these key steps are followed, it is an easy dish even for beginners.

To obtain a more uniform texture, remove the chalaza before beating the yolk and egg whites together.

“The secret for a smooth texture at the end is to heat gently,” Tani said.

In this version of oeufs brouilles, the egg mixture is cooked using an improvised bain-marie. A deep pot is filled with a small amount of water, which is brought to a rolling boil. The bowl is placed on the pot, making sure that its bottom is not touching the water. This will allow the temperature to rise more gently, allowing the eggs to solidify more slowly.

Cook until the eggs reach your preferred texture. “I remove from the heat when small chunks begin to form. I like a texture similar to that of the inside of a [Japanese] omelet,” Tani said.

Adding fresh cream not only improves taste, but also raises the temperature of solidification.

For an aesthetic touch, an egg shell can be used for serving. Using the heel of a kitchen knife — the base of the blade — softly hit the egg and rotate. If done properly, the shell will come off like a lid. The inside of the shell is washed, then dried.

Taking the first bite, the gentle flavor of the egg spread around my mouth. Butter and a bit of salt enhance the flavor of the egg. It is best eaten with toast.

“It’s also good to mix in thinly sliced truffle,” Tani said. Plating the food with luxurious ingredients will be sure to add a special touch.

Fry egg in a dish

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Fry the egg by filling the pan with a thin layer of water, and lining with a gratin plate.

When Tani was younger, he studied under Paul Bocuse, a legendary French chef.

For one dish, instead of frying eggs directly in a hot pan, Bocuse would spread a thin layer of butter on a gratin dish, sprinkle a little salt, crack in an egg and place it in a frying pan.

“It’s easier to fry the egg by filling the pan with a thin layer of water and placing a gratin dish in it,” Tani explained.

Drizzle in some reduced red wine vinegar. Break the yolk and mix with the egg whites to enjoy the combination of flavors.

Oeufs Brouilles

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 eggs
1 tbsp fresh cream
10 gram unsalted butter
Bread

Directions:

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and remove the chalaza.

2. Beat the eggs with a whisk. Add the fresh cream and a bit of salt and beat further before adding the butter.

3. Boil a small amount of water in a deep pot.

4. Place the bowl over the deep pot, ensuring that the bowl is not touching the water, and heat. While melting the butter, continuously stir with a rubber spatula. Skim any egg chunks that form on the bottom and edges of the bowl, mix back in and heat until everything is evenly cooked. Remove the bowl and plate the eggs.

5. Toast bread and serve on the side in thin slices.