Wash the eggs and place them carefully in a medium sized saucepan. Make sure to place the eggs in a single layer inside the pan.
Add water carefully to the pan. The water level should stay about 1 inch above the layer of eggs.
Sprinkle baking soda, turn on heat (keep the heat high) and bring the water to a boil.
Once the water begins to boil, cover the saucepan with a lid and reduce the heat to low.
To make hard boiled eggs, cook the eggs for 9 minutes.
To make soft boiled eggs, you only need to cook the eggs for 5 minutes.
To make medium boiled eggs, you can cook the eggs for about 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by adding the ice cubes to a large bowl of water (fill water to about half of the bowl).
Once the eggs are cooked, immediately turn off the heat and carefully transfer the pan from the heated stove to a cool place. This step is really important to prevent further cooking of the eggs.
Transfer the cooked eggs carefully to the bowl with cold water and ice cubes for an ice bath so the eggs will cool down and prevent any further cooking.
It is best to use a large spoon and carefully transfer each egg into the ice bath.
It is recommended that the eggs be placed in the ice bath for about 5 minutes of time. However, I usually place the eggs in the ice bath for several minutes more (about 10 to 12 minutes usually), unless I am in a hurry.
This helps the eggs to cool down really well and it helps with peeling the egg shells very easily.
Once the eggs are cooled enough in the ice bath, you can easily peel off the shells and give a quick rinse in fresh water if required and enjoy them right away or you can store them in food containers and store in refrigerator for another 2 to 3 days!
Enjoy the eggs with toast, oatmeal, pancakes, cereal etc for breakfast or brunch or you can enjoy them as a healthy snack or side dish with rice, pasta noodles etc for lunch or dinner.