There’s nothing quite as rewarding as cutting into a perfectly poached egg, whether you’re creating a noodle dish or simply having one on toast for breakfast. But poached eggs can be notoriously difficult to perfect, often falling apart in the water unless you possess a solid technique.

Food writer and Salt and Serenity founder Cindy has disclosed that you don’t need to depend on any specialist equipment to achieve a flawlessly soft, intact poached egg – as it can be accomplished entirely in a microwave. She explained: “Poached eggs are not something I ever made at home until a few weeks ago. They always seemed so complicated to make. Swirling the simmering water into a vortex and then gently lowering the egg into this seemed like a recipe for disaster.

“But then I started seeing people making them in the microwave all over Instagram. I wondered if it could really work. It took me over a dozen eggs until I finally cracked the code! (a little egg humour there).”

It might sound unusual if you’ve never tried it before, but creating a poached egg in a microwave is remarkably simple and requires just two minutes of your time.

By cooking the egg in a mug or bowl, it maintains its shape effortlessly, while the microwave gently heats it through, producing a soft, springy poached egg without any unnecessary fuss.

Start by boiling a kettle. Decant the boiling water into a heatproof bowl or mug, then stir in one teaspoon of vinegar.

Any type of vinegar will do. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which assists the proteins in eggs to coagulate, helping them retain their shape throughout the cooking process.

Tap the egg with a spoon to crack the shell, then transfer it to your heatproof mug or bowl. Cover with a plate and place in the microwave at roughly 80 per cent power for 30 seconds.

The required cooking time for a poached egg will differ depending on the microwave you have, and some trial and error may be needed to establish what suits you best.

It is equally important not to use full power, as this can set the yolk too quickly and leave the whites undercooked.

Once the 30 seconds have elapsed, remove the egg from the microwave and use a spoon to carefully turn it so the yolk is wrapped in the whites.

Next, simply cook the egg for an additional 10 seconds, and should it remain unset, continue in five-second bursts until fully cooked.

When the egg is ready, drain off the water and rest it on kitchen paper to soak up any surplus moisture.

The result is a perfectly formed, springy poached egg that is straightforward to make without any danger of it breaking apart.