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Here’s a recipe from my mother for a simple Cantonese dish that transports me right back to my childhood. It was one of three or four dishes served at dinner, along with steamed white rice. She makes different versions of it, sometimes using dried scallops, sometimes dried shrimp, but whatever ingredients she uses, the basic steamed egg is the same – light, healthy and above all, delicious!
Helen,
What size (diameter) dish do you cook this in? Then people serve themselves from the dish on the table? (as part of a meal)
It sounds a lot like chawan-mushi because it’s a custard, though the Japanese dish is cooked in small individual dishes. Also no oil or shoya poured over it. But might they be “related?”
I’ve been fascinated with chawan-mushi for a long time—love custard, but not sweets! But oddly, I’ve only made it one time during the whole year I’ve been doing my “Japanese cooking project!”
The first time I made chawan-mushi, long ago, I used small dishes set into a bamboo steamer over a wok with water. Since then, I usually steam food in bamboo steamers over a straight-sided pot. Custards can be tricky to judge when they are done enough and not over-cooked. I’ve lost a recipe that cooked in a bain marie in the oven. That one seemed to turn out quite reliably.
Hi Tess,
My mother uses an 8 inch stainless steel dish, about 2, maximum 3, inches deep. And yes, then it’s served as one of several dishes in a shared meal – it’s really rare not to share at a Chinese dinner.
I’ve had chawan-mushi before, but it’s served in small dishes as individual portions, as you point out. There’s possibly some connection there!
My mother is coming over in a few weeks’ time, so I’ll get her to make this so that I can take some photos and add it to the post…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen Yuet Ling,
I make steamed eggs with or without minced pork for my children – it’s a staple for Chinese children. I normally use 3 eggs and the amount of water I eyeball. I don’t even think about measuring it now, it comes with practice.
I marinade the meat before hand with salt, sugar and a little sesame oil. I beat the eggs and water and meat together in the dish (I use a ceramic dish) using chopsticks. For children, I don’t add any other ingredients, except a couple of dashes of light soy sauce on top when the dish is ready and taken out of the wok.
One tip, make sure you keep the lid on the wok until the dish is cooked – like a souffle it ruins the dish if you remove the lid too early.
It’s one of those simple, classic dishes (a kind of comfort food) that seems easy enough, but takes time to master. But well worth it, particularly if you have children and want to feed them something filling and healthy.
Susan S. Cheung
Thanks for the added tips Susan! I’ve never made it before, but I do love to eat it. Getting hungry just thinking about it. Just a few more weeks before my mother arrives to make it for me!
Helen Yuet Ling
This is one of my favourite dishes! My dad often makes it, with or without pork, sometimes with a salted duck egg in the middle, with small dried shrimps, or the larger dried prawns. Once he experimented using soya milk instead of water… can’t say that worked out too well (sorry Daddy!). It’s a quick dish I often find myself making. My dad usually makes it in a shallow claypot set in simmering water… the trick is to not let the water get too hot or bubbles will form and an ugly and wrinkled bulbous surface, too :S
ps I just noticed you changed your header graphic – love it!
I like the idea of steamed egg with a salted duck egg! I can’t remember the last time I had salted duck egg, but the taste is so distinctive. As I won’t have the dish that my mum uses to make it, she’ll have to improvise when she gets here. We’ll see if the result is the same!
I’m going to try and change my header more, I was getting a bit bored staring at the same one every day…
I also, like your mom, use a stainless steel bowl most of the time! But I’ve also used a really cheap metallic nabe, then my boyfriend got me a chawan, but I found it takes far longer to cook the egg (because it’s so deep, instead of wide and shallow like the vessels we Chinese use!). I’m guessing you can use any kind of bowl, but it’s just that the metal ones are more conductive to a quicker-cooking custard … always an advantage!
Good point. It’s not the most attractive dish in the world (the one my mother uses), but it does the job quickly and effectively! Getting very hungry thinking about it…
Looking forward to our meal too!
My mom used to put a couple of salted eggs into the steamed egg. It was one of my childhood favourites too. My mom makes it in a Pyrex casserole. She also mentioned that you should avoid mixing the egg too much. Bubbles on the surface will make the top kinda tough and not smooth. Some people put the egg mixture through a sifter.
Hi souvenir kattunge
Hmmm, I really must get some salted eggs and get my mum to add them when she makes steamed egg for me. Thanks for the tips by the way! Very useful to know…
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen
I am so curious about this recipe, that I’ve bookmarked it for future reference. I’ve tried and failed on 3 accounts in making the basic steamed egg without any meat; presenting with a massive crater at dinner to my dad. Had my mum forgot to buy the eggs, I would have made and given feedback about your recipe within this post!
I find it interesting how the recipe uses the hot oil to ‘finish’ off the dish, as I’ve only seen my mum do this with her steamed fish dishes!
One more interesting thing I found is that, using the small versions of dried scallops (about 1-2cm diameter ones) makes the dish so much more yummy. Being not a massive fan of dried scallops, because I found them too stringy and sticking to my teeth, the mini versions of them are much more to my taste!
Dana
Hi Dana
It would be great to have your feedback in the future! As you can see from the above comments, there are many ways to make this seemingly simple dish. Of course, I’ve only eaten it – I’ve never attempted to make it! When my mum uses dried scallops, she shreds the large ones into tiny pieces, or uses the broken bits that you can buy more cheaply. Large whole ones are saved for special occasions!
Looking forward to hearing from you…
Helen Yuet Ling
My mother is always cooking my favorate dish when i was young,i very appreciate it since forever.
And your recipes are so cool ! I am a chinese food amateur and like cooking the dish myself,I’ll try it,I hope I could cook this dish as yours,thanks for sharing again.