China · Home-style

Steamed Egg Custard

The everyday steamed egg, set as smooth as jelly and savory-sweet, served for breakfast or alongside a meal. Plain, cheap and worth the small effort.

53 minutes · 4 servings · Easy

Steamed Egg Custard

Steamed egg appears at breakfast counters and family tables across China, and cooks genuinely disagree about whether it belongs at breakfast or at the end of a banquet. Some strain the mixture and cover it, others steam it open in a pan of water, and both camps insist theirs is the correct one. A little vinegar in the bowl takes the raw smell out of the egg, which matters more with supermarket eggs than it used to.

Ingredients

  • eggs2 pieces
  • salt3 g
  • sesame oil4 ml
  • light soy sauce8 ml
  • white vinegar2 ml

Directions

  1. 1

    Crack two eggs into a bowl and beat them.

  2. 2

    Add 3 g of salt.

  3. 3

    Add 2 ml of white vinegar to take away the eggy smell; this is optional.

  4. 4

    Add water measuring 1 to 1.5 times the volume of the egg, at 70 degrees, and stir until even.

  5. 5

    Strain the egg and skim off the froth; this is optional, but unfiltered egg steams with bubbles that do not look well.

  6. 6

    Put 300 to 500 ml of water in any pan, bring it to a boil and lower in the bowl of egg.

  7. 7

    Choose one steaming method.

  8. 8

    How do you know it is done?

  9. 10

    Add the sesame oil and light soy sauce and eat.

Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.