Chinese Steamed Egg 蒸水蛋
By Michael · from our van kitchen
Steamed egg is on our dinner table all the time. If you look at our dinner shots over the years, it’s there next to the beef and broccoli again and again. This one is really my mom’s specialty, so this recipe is hers.
The night I filmed her making it properly was a special one. Archie was only a few days old, we were back home in the middle of the van build, and my mom was cooking for all of us. She’d been making soup for Rina for her postpartum recovery, and alongside it she made her steamed egg. You can watch her make it.
Chicken broth, not water
The big thing about my mom’s steamed egg is that there’s no water in it. It’s just the chicken broth. Two eggs, half a can of broth, a little salt and a little pepper. If she’s doing four eggs, it’s the whole can. That’s why it’s so flavourful.
It’s the same reason I love the steamed egg at Korean barbecue. I usually order it, and I’ve said it on camera more than once: it’s one of my favourites because they make it so flavourful, like a soup. My mom’s version has that same idea at home.
Heat the plate first
Before the egg goes in, she puts the empty plate in the steamer to heat it up. Then she pours the egg into the hot plate, covers it with another plate, and steams it on high heat for 12 minutes. When it came out it was very silky.
Another time, at her house after Spencer’s birthday weekend, she put a little oil on the bottom of the plate first so it doesn’t stick. That one did three eggs and stayed in for about 7 to 8 minutes, and it came out perfect.
My duck egg version
I’ve made it myself too, with duck eggs. I go 1 to 1, egg and water, with a little chicken concentrate, cover the bowl with foil, and leave it in the steamer for about 8 minutes. My mom’s specialty is the broth version, though.
When it’s done right, it’s jiggly. One night at dinner it came to the table and all I could say was: look at how jiggly this is.
Ingredients
My mom's version
- 2 eggs
- Half a can of chicken broth (a whole can for 4 eggs), no water
- A little salt
- A little pepper
My version
- Duck eggs
- Water, 1 to 1 with the eggs
- A little chicken concentrate
Steps
- Beat the eggs with the chicken broth. Two eggs take half a can; four eggs take the whole can. No need to add water, just the broth.
- Add a little salt and a little pepper.
- Get the steamer going on the stove and put the empty plate in first, so it heats up.
- Pour the egg into the hot plate. (Another time my mom put a little oil on the bottom of the plate first so it doesn't stick.)
- Cover it with another plate.
- Steam it on high heat for 12 minutes.
- My version: beat the duck eggs with the same amount of water, add a little chicken concentrate, cover the bowl with foil and leave it in the steamer for about 8 minutes.
Amounts are what I said in the video. Where I didn't measure, it says "to taste". Cook it your way.
