Best Egg Salad

This morning one of my like-minded friend went on about how easy it is to make your own mayonnaise for an egg mayo sandwich. Said sandwich was so tempting he ate his packed lunch way before brunch hour. Now I'm reminded of this egg salad made quite a while ago by chance. Reading one of Heidi Swanson's many tried and tested recipes and voila, how refreshing it was to find a gem that uses yogurt!

Those of you who stalk follow me on Instagram would not be surprised at my obsession with eggs or anything made with eggs. While I have shared various methods of egg cookery here, egg salads without mayonnaise was not part of my original plan. There was a short period of time 5 or 6 years ago when I repeatedly made batches of mayo laden, overcooked smashed eggs, too heavily seasoned with sesame oil; at the end of it I swore to myself - egg salads no more.

Till this.

As Heidi put it, the key is not to kill the eggs. Powdery yolks will not work for this application, so keep give sunny center some love and guarded restrain. Set yet still soft. I've learned to enjoy this level of doneness with anything calling for boiled eggs - scattered over fresh greens and lightly dressed with honey mustard, with nasi lemak, or the ever crucial soy sauce marinated syoyu tamago to go with a bowl of hot ramen soup.

The best thing about this discovery - the freedom to experiment with your favorite flavors. Celery is milder than scallions. If you have some shallots lying around, they work too - raw if you're like me, fried will up the umami factor and play down the sharpness. A bit of whole grain mustard, as an ode to the ditched mayo. A dash of smoked paprika for some heat but I bet sumac will be great too. Your creativity being the only limit, an egg salad will never be soggy and boring again!

Best Egg Salad

Recipe modified from this 101 Cookbook's Egg Salad Sandwich.

Yield: If it's up to me, not enough egg salad. This fills about 4 sandwiches.

• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-2 tablespoons full fat/Greek yogurt
• Salt and pepper
• 2 stalks scallions, thinly slices
• 1/2 bunch chives, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil. Now turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for about 6-7 minutes. Immediately place the eggs into a big bowl of ice water for about 3-4 minutes. Crack and peel each egg, place in a medium mixing bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon of the yogurt, a few generous pinches of salt and pepper, and mash with a fork. Mix just enough to break down some of the eggs, leaving some bigger pieces for texture. The soft yolks will add to the moisture, add more yogurt only if necessary.

Stir in the scallions, chives, mustard and paprika. Taste, and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Spread over toasted sourdough or buttery croissant for complete satisfaction.