Turkish Fried Eggs with Chili Crisp

Start your day with these insanely delicious Turkish fried eggs with chili crisp, sesame breadcrumbs, and smashed cucumber salad. The little touches give this classic Mediterranean breakfast a beautiful Asian twist!

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Recipe

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5 from 1 vote

Turkish Fried Eggs with Chili Crisp

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keyword: vegetarian

Servings: 2

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Scallion yogurt sauce

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• ⅔ cup chopped scallions
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Sesame breadcrumbs

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup panko
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Smashed cucumber salad

• 2 Persian cucumbers
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint

Remaining ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• ¼ cup chili crisp
• mint, scallions, and cilantro for garnish

Instructions

• Make scallion yogurt sauce. Blend yogurt, scallions, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• In a medium saute pan, add oil, panko, sesame seeds, and salt, stirring to combine. Heat over medium heat and cook until breadcrumbs are golden brown, stirring frequently, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate to cool.
• Prepare smashed cucumber salad. Trims ends of cucumbers and cut in half lengthwise. Use a mallet, rolling pin, or the flat side of a knife to smash the cucumbers. Slice cucumbers and place in a bowl.
• Whisk rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and salt in a medium bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Pour dressing over cucumbers. Add cilantro and mint and toss to combine.
• Fry eggs according to your preference.
• Assemble plates. Spoon scallion yogurt sauce on the bottom of the plate and place fried eggs on top. Drizzle chili crisp and top with smashed cucumber salad and sesame breadcrumbs. Garnish with extra herbs and serve immediately.

Notes

The scallion yogurt sauce, sesame breadcrumbs, and dressing for the smashed cucumber salad can be prepared the day before.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make yogurt sauce

Let's start with the scallion yogurt sauce, which forms the base of the Turkish fried eggs. Even though we're adding scallions to the mix, it's just as easy to prepare as the original garlic yogurt.

All you have to do is blend Greek yogurt with fresh scallions, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice until it's silky smooth.

The scallions give it this beautiful color and a mild oniony bite that's way more interesting than plain yogurt.

Make sure to season the yogurt well with salt and pepper - taste as you go because this sauce needs to be flavorful enough to hold its own against all the other components.

If you don't have a blender, you can finely chop everything and whisk it together, but the blended version is definitely smoother and prettier. Feel free to make the yogurt sauce the day before.

Step 2: Prepare breadcrumbs

I don't know about you, but I always enjoy Turkish eggs with bread to soak up all the flavors. But if you don't have bread on hand, you can make the switch as I did and prepare sesame breadcrumbs instead.

Even if you don't usually enjoy the dish with bread, I recommend preparing this topping because it adds extra flavor and texture.

To make the breadcrumbs, combine panko with olive oil, sesame seeds, and a pinch of salt in a medium pan over medium heat. Toast the mixture until golden brown; this takes about 4-5 minutes.

Keep an eye on those breadcrumbs because they can quickly go from golden to burnt. Stir them constantly and watch for that perfect golden brown color.

Once they're done, immediately transfer them to a plate to cool and stop the cooking process. You can also prepare the breadcrumbs the day before.

Step 3: Make cucumber salad

Next, it's time to make the cucumber salad. This is probably the most therapeutic part of the whole recipe.

Take your Persian cucumbers, trim the ends, and cut them in half lengthwise. Then, grab a mallet, rolling pin, or even the flat side of a knife, and gently smash those cucumbers.

You're not trying to pulverize them, just break them up so they can absorb all that delicious dressing.

The irregular shapes and cracks are perfect for holding onto the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and salt mixture.

Toss in some fresh cilantro and mint, and you've got this bright, crunchy salad that cuts through all the richness beautifully.

Step 4: Fry eggs

Now that all the components are done, we're finally ready for the eggs. You can choose to stick with the traditional recipe and make poached eggs, or make fried eggs as I did.

When I was a student at the Culinary Institute of America, my chef instructor taught us the secret behind perfectly fried eggs. In fact, I still follow this method as a professional chef.

Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat until the oil starts to shimmer. Crack your eggs into the pan and let them sizzle gently. For crispy edges without overcooking the yolk, tilt the pan slightly and spoon the hot oil over the whites while they cook. This helps them set evenly and gives you those lacy, crispy edges.

Once your eggs are cooked to your liking, it's assembly time. Spread that gorgeous scallion yogurt on your plates, nestle the fried eggs right on top, then drizzle that chili crisp generously. Top with the cucumber salad and sprinkle those golden sesame breadcrumbs, followed by fresh herbs.

I will admit, I was a little worried that my husband wouldn't like this dish. He always enjoys his fried eggs with a dash of soy sauce and white pepper. Luckily, he loved it! And guys, I did too. There are so many beautiful layers of textures and flavors going on that these Turkish eggs with chili crisp might just be my favorite version.

For another breakfast egg dish with fantastic flavors, check out my Calabrian chile fried eggs!

Make-ahead and storage tips

• Make-ahead: You can make the scallion yogurt sauce, sesame breadcrumbs, and sauce for the cucumber salad the day before.
• Store: Keep leftover components in separate containers in the refridgerator for up to 3 days.

More Mediterranean breakfast recipes

Looking for more Mediterranean brunch ideas? Try these: