16 Eccentric Egg Dishes from Around the Globe

Golden strands, light custards, fish-flavored rolls, orange balls of fried batter: these sound like bizarre ways to describe eggs, but culinary traditions throughout the world go far beyond the fried and scrambled eggs you eat for breakfast.

1. Fios de ovos

Fios de ovos resemble a golden egg nest, but they're actually egg strands that form a snack or a base for desserts, such as Dom Rodrigo. Cooks prepare fios de ovos by drizzling an egg mixture into boiling sugar syrup like a baker icing a cake. The result is a heap of bright yellow hairlike strands, ready for almonds, cinnamon and other flavorings.

2. Eggs and Brains

If the pork brains on your plate make you cringe, try eating them with some fluffy scrambled eggs! The Fannie Farmer Cookbook teaches you how to scramble eggs with brains or prepare the organs with bacon or brown sugar. A dash of Tabasco sauce gives your eggs and brains a spicy kick, but you probably don't need help waking up with this dish on the table.

3. Onsen tamago

Japan's hot spring visitors enjoy a special treat: an egg poached in the steaming waters. After half an hour in the springs, the yolk hardens while the whites remain soft. Visitors often eat their onsen tamago (hot spring egg) with a savory sauce and chopped spring onions.

4. Telur gulung

Telur gulung is a different kind of egg roll: an Indonesian street food made from rolled fried eggs. Vendors make telur gulung by mixing raw eggs with water and spices, then pouring the mixture into a pan greased with cooking oil. The egg mixture dries and hardens as they quickly roll it on a stick, ready to enjoy with sauce.

5. Datemaki

Omelet lovers enjoy tamagoyaki, a Japanese omelet made by rolling the layers of egg as you cook. Datemaki adds fish cakes or shrimp paste to the recipe, giving the omelet a savory undertone. To prepare datemaki, cooks bake the egg mixture in the oven, then roll the egg with a mat and slice the omelet like sushi.

6. Tokneneng

Chicken, duck and quail eggs become unrecognizable when street food vendors prepare tokneneng. The bright orange batter, colored with annatto powder or food coloring, encases a deep-fried hard-boiled egg. Vendors serve this snack with spicy sauce.

7. Deemer Pataudi

Many Indian dishes make eggs the centerpiece of the meal instead of a minor ingredient. Deemer pataudi starts with a hard-boiled egg covered in mustard paste with other sauces and spices. The cook steams the egg in a banana leaf and serves it with rice for a nutritious, filling meal.

8. Kuru-tamago

Like other Japanese hot springs, Owakudani sells eggs boiled in the steaming waters. However, the sulfurous water gives kuru-tamago a distinct black shell that makes the eggs resemble oval rocks. Cracking them open reveals a regular hard-boiled egg, but locals swear that each kuro-tamago you eat adds seven years to your life.

9. Nargisi kofta

Cutting open the meatballs in a dish of nargisi kofta reveals hard-boiled eggs smothered in rich, savory curry. Yogurt, ghee and cashew paste add creaminess to the minced meat and spices. Indian chefs serve nargisi kofta as a side dish, but egg lovers can devour a plate as a full, hearty meal.

10. Egg Oatmeal

You might eat the occasional bowl of oatmeal with fried or scrambled eggs on the side, but egg oatmeal recipes invite you to stir the runny yolk directly into the oats. This sounds strange, but proponents swear that the egg makes your oatmeal more savory and delicious.

11. Cloud Eggs

Cloud eggs look more like meringues, but the fluffiness comes from pure egg whites. A bright yellow yolk rests in the center of the fluffy peaks. This dish looks complicated, but anyone can make cloud eggs--simply beat them with a mixer and bake them in the oven to firm up the whites.

12. Cured Egg Yolks

When you visit a fancy restaurant, the waiter might sprinkle bright yellow shreds over your pasta. However, you're not about to dig into a topping of shredded cheese. Cooks bury egg yolks in platters of salt until they're firm but grindable, giving pasta, meat, butter and other ingredients a delicious umami flavor. Make cured egg yolks at home with salt, sugar and raw eggs, then liven up your recipes with the salty tang.

13. Çılbır

Centuries ago, only royalty could have tasted the luxurious ingredients used to make Çılbır. This Turkish dish starts with a poached egg or two. Afterward, the cook smothers the eggs in garlic yogurt sauce, warm butter or olive oil and red pepper flakes. Slicing into the yolks completes the dish with a luscious yellow sauce.

14. Creamed Eggs on Toast

Perfect for Easter brunch, hard-boiled eggs smothered in a roux sit on top of browned toast slices. Creamed eggs on toast resemble scrambled eggs, but the hard-boiled eggs and runny sauce mixed with cayenne pepper, curry powder and other spices create a unique flavor profile.

15. Chinese Steamed Eggs

Chinese steamed eggs are a classic comfort food like chicken noodle soup. Simmering eggs in a steamer turns them into a light custard that you can customize however you want: add vegetable or chicken broth, enhance with soy sauce or serve with mushrooms and scallions.

16. Gyeran-jjim

Gyeran-jjim is Korea's version of steamed eggs. Instead of a snack, cooks serve gyeran-jjim as a side dish, frequently loaded with savory ingredients, such as fish eggs, anchovy broth, salted shrimp, fish sauce, zucchini and chopped scallions. The result is a puffy custard-like dish that you devour with a spoon.

Have you tried any of these worldly dishes? Which ones made you rethink the ways that you can prepare eggs? Share your thoughts in the comments.