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What happens

Heat moves slowly from the shell to the centre. Proteins are tiny folded balls. Heat unfolds them. Then they link into a net that holds water. That is what set means.

Part of the white sets at 62°C. Most needs 80°C. The yolk sets near 70°C.

Boiling water is far hotter than 80°C. It keeps pushing heat in. Off the fire, the water cools as the eggs cook. So they overcook much more slowly.

In your kitchen

1. Boil about 1 litre of water for 2 to 4 eggs. Turn off the fire.
2. Add the eggs and cover. Tray eggs: 5 minutes for a kopitiam soft white, 7 for a set white. Chiller eggs: add 2 minutes.
3. Test your pot once. Write the time on the wall.

Stay safe. Runny eggs are not for young children, pregnant women, or old or sick guests. Use pasteurised eggs for them.

What happens

Brown meat is not caramel. Meat has almost no sugar. The brown comes from the Maillard reaction. Proteins and traces of sugar react on a hot, dry surface.

Now the wet piece. Water cannot get hotter than 100°C while it boils. So the wet face stays near 100°C for a long time. Browning waits until it is dry.

All meat leaks juice as its inside warms, seared or not. Ten cold pieces cool the pan and cover the floor. The juice cannot boil off fast enough. It pools, and the meat simmers.

In your kitchen

1. Pat the surface dry with paper. Wet from a marinade? Drain it in a colander, then pat it.
2. Heat the pan, then a thin film of oil, until the oil shimmers.
3. Leave a finger of space around each piece. Listen for a sizzle, not a hiss.

Brown in batches. Two small batches brown faster than one big pile.

Stay safe. Colour does not prove meat is cooked. Check chicken and minced meat with a thermometer. Wet meat spits in hot oil, so stand back.

What happens

Steam at 100°C heats food faster than oven air at 200°C. Air is light and conducts heat poorly, so little heat reaches the food. Steam turns back into water on the cold food. That gives off a lot of heat.

Food cooks from the outside in, so thick food is slow. The outside gets hot while the centre stays cold. Twice as thick takes about four times as long.

Wet food cannot get hotter than about 100°C. Extra heat boils off its water. Once the surface is dry, it gets hotter and a crust forms.

In your kitchen

1. Steaming fish, bao or kuih? Wait for a hard boil and plenty of steam. Put the food in and keep the lid on.
2. Thick pieces cook slowly from the outside in. Cut them thinner or smaller.
3. Wok or fryer: cook in small batches. Let the oil get hot again before the next batch. Use a thermometer.

Stay safe. Steam can burn worse than boiling water. Open lids away from you. Never put water on an oil fire. Turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Cool a burn under cool running water. Do not use ice.

What happens

Starch thickens only when it gets hot. In cold water, starch grains just sink. Heat lets them soak up water and swell many times bigger. Long starch chains leak out and tangle.

Boil and stir too long, and the sauce thins again. Hot stirring breaks the swollen grains apart.

A starch sauce gets thicker again as it cools. So take it off the heat a little thinner than you want.

In your kitchen

1. Mix the starch into cold water first. It sinks fast, so stir again just before it goes in.
2. Stir it into simmering liquid. Let it bubble about 1 minute, then take it off the heat.
3. Add lime, tamarind or vinegar at the end. Strong acid boiled with starch cuts its chains.

Stay safe. Hot starch paste sticks to skin and burns. Stir with a long whisk. Hold starchy food above 60°C, or cool it fast. Follow your local food rules.