• I suggest not cooking too many eggs for the first time if you are trying out because you may find yourself having to experiment with the timing to get to the right consistency

STOVE-TOP METHOD:

Get the eggs out from the fridge first:

• Get the eggs out from refrigerator 5 minutes before getting ready to cook. This is important because if it's cold from the fridge, the eggs might crack when coming into contact with the hot boiled water

Cook the eggs with residual heat:

• Bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil in a saucepan. Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove. Use a slotted spoon to gently lower the eggs into the water and cover with a lid and set a timer for 7 minutes. Please note that this time is what works for me. You may have to experiment +/- with the time to get to the right consistency because of the size of eggs, the temperature of the eggs, the heat on your stove, etc. There are so many variables are at play here

Test one egg for doneness:

• After 7 minutes, use a spoon to get the eggs out and submerge in ice-cold water or you can immediately use the back of the spoon to crack the shell and let the egg slip out into a bowl. Use the spoon to scrap the remaining egg whites clinging to the inner shell
• The egg white should be white in color and runny, soft custard-like, while the yolk appears to be whole but it's very soft and very runny when you break it with a spoon. If you see this, then you have yourself kopitiam style soft-boiled eggs, If the white is still transparent, it needs another minute

AIR-FRYER METHOD:

• Please use the time as a reference only. My air fryer is a basket-style and has a capacity of 7-quart and 1700 watts. The style, the size , and the power of your air fryer affect how long you need to cook them ,etc, etc. So, you most likely have to experiment with timing.
• Put the eggs in the air fryer basket. There's no need to preheat the air fryer. Set the temperature to 200 F (100 C) and air fry for 9-10 minutes. If your air fryer temperature can't go this low, you can use the "keep warm" or "reheat" function
• The egg white should be white in color and runny, soft custard-like, while the yolk appears to be whole but it's very soft and very runny when you break it with a spoon. If you see this, then you have yourself kopitiam style soft-boiled eggs, If the white is still transparent, it needs to be cooked for another minute or so
• Remove from the air-fryer and submerge in the ice-cold water to stop the cooking process

Serving:

• Season with ground white pepper and a little bit of soy sauce and if you have a toast, I like to mop the yolk with the toast! HEAVEN!