Smooth, slippery and heavenly soft, Chinese steamed eggs requires minimum ingredients yet delivers a delicate look and flavour. Learn how to make it flawlessly.
I’m very lucky to have had a childhood full of sweet memories and many of them are food-related. My family didn’t have any sophisticated ingredients but every single dish my mum & dad prepared was so satisfying and delicious. Today, I’m sharing a super simple dish that always reminds me of my dear mum (now it has become my own children’s favourite dish): Chinese steamed eggs (蒸蛋羹), also know as water egg or egg custard.
Smooth, slippery and heavenly soft
It couldn’t be simpler to make Chinese steamed eggs: beat the eggs, add water then steam. Voilà, all done! However, it does require a bit of attention to detail to achieve the perfect texture: smooth, slippery and heavenly soft.
I consider myself a perfectionist especially when it comes to cooking, so I’d love to share my tricks on how to produce a bowl of flawless Chinese steamed eggs.
The perfect egg water ratio
The ideal egg water ratio should be around 1:2 in volume. Too much egg will result in a hard curd, whereas too much water will make it impossible to turn the mixture into a solid form.
For example, I normally use medium-sized eggs which measure about 50ml each. So I add 100ml of water. If you wish, replace water with chicken stock for a fuller taste.
The ideal water temperature
Warm water works best for Chinese steamed eggs. The right temperature helps the beaten egg and the water to combine. I would suggest around 45°C (113°F). But don’t rush to buy a thermometer! I have a simple trick: boil some water, then pour it into the same amount of tap water.
Getting rid of lumps and bubbles
In order to make the steamed egg super smooth, you need to remove any lumps and bubbles in the egg water mixture prior to steaming. If possible, use a sieve to filter when pouring the mixture into steaming bowl(s).
Two ways to steam
When it comes to steaming, I’ve got two options for you:
- Use a regular steamer if you have one;
- Use an ordinary pot that is wide enough to place your bowl(s). Sit the bowls directly in the boiling water. Make sure the water level is right: low enough not to splash into the egg bowl and high enough to complete 10 minutes steaming without drying out the pot.
Avoid dripping water from the lid
Unless using a traditional bamboo steamer which allows the steam to escape from the lid, I suggest you cover the bowls with cling film (pierce a couple of times). This is to prevent the condensation on the lid from dripping onto the smooth surface of the egg curd. See the image above: the bowl on the left wasn’t covered by cling film thus has an uneven surface.
Seasoning: less is more
Chinese steamed eggs doesn’t need sophisticated seasoning to impress your palate. Exactly like how my mum serves this dish, I only add a little light soy sauce and sesame oil, then cut through the curd several times to let the sauce penetrate. Simply delicious!
Add extra garnish
Sometimes, I garnish the steamed eggs with prawns and vegetables like asparagus, carrot, etc. In this case, you need to steam the eggs as usual for 7 minutes, then place in the garnish and steam for a further 3 minutes.
Chinese steamed eggs (蒸蛋羹)
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Warm water, double volume of the beaten eggs (see note 1 & 2)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp chive, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 drop sesame oil
Extra garnish (optional)
- Prawns, peeled and deveined
- Asparagus & carrot
Instructions
- Pour warm water into the beaten eggs. Add salt then stir well.
- Through a sieve, pour the mixture into 2 small serving bowls. Sprinkle chive over if using.
- Cover the bowls with cling film. Pierce to allow the steam to escape (see note 3).
- Steam for 10-12 minutes over a gentle heat (place the bowls in when the water starts to boil).
- If using extra garnish: Steam the egg as usual for 7 minutes, then place in prawns and vegetables. Steam for a further 3 minutes.
NOTES
Hope you find this “perfectionist’s guide” useful. Check out other scrumptious recipes using eggs as the main ingredient: Marbled tea eggs, Egg fried rice noodles, Tomato & egg stir fry.
Happy cooking!
Wei, these look absolutely perfect. What a beautiful dish!
Thank you so much Heddi! I’m always eating with my eyes first. Haha!
Tonight I made my first Chinese Steamed Egg. It turned out beautiful and delicious. The roasted sesame oil with the soy and fresh chives from my brother’s garden made it awesome. Wish I knew how to attach my pictures.
Hi Leona! So happy that my recipe worked well for you. I would love to see the picture of your steamed egg. Unfortunately, photos can not be attached to comments on the blog. If you are using Instagram, you can tag me with your photo. Anyway, enjoy your time in the kitchen!
Thank you for this recipe! It’s delicious and makes me nostalgic. I tried it twice and second time was much better (the top looks smooth). However, the inside of mine are still airy with holes. What am I doing wrong? Am i whisking too much air into it? I will experiment with mixing the egg with chopsticks next time.
You are welcome Jen. Glad that you enjoyed the dish. I would suggest: 1. do not over beat the egg. 2. Try to filter twice the egg mixture through a sieve. That will help to remove the bubbles. 3. Maybe the heat is a little too high? Wish you good luck in achieving a perfect texture next time!
Thank you for the recipe. I actually made this in my rice cooker! It took a little longer then anticipated but everyone loved it. It also was a little bit more watery but was had very good flavor with the sesame oil and soy sauce! It wasn’t quite as pretty as yours! Hope to bump into more of your recipes.
You are welcome Patrick! Great to know it can be cooked in a rice cooker.
That was really helpful. I ate this two weeks ago in China and I’ve been trying to figure out what it is called. Now I know Zheng dangeng. The version I had was steamed with mussels.
Very happy to know you find my recipe helpful. Yes it tastes very nice with mussels.
Yes, it’s a wonderful dish. I’m surprised that I didn’t come across it earlier. Is it more common to find 蒸蛋羹 around the Yangtze than in Beijing or Canton?
This was awesome! I’d tried (and failed several times) to figure this out on my own. It turns out that I had been using way to little water. Upping the water really did the trick! Thank you!!
My pleasure! Very happy to know you’ve finally found the trick.
Hi Mam Wei ! I’m a SHS student and my teachers gave me an assignment to make a culinary business proposal. My friend recommended my group to make this and I tried to make it and it turns so GOOD. I was worried the egg is gonna overcook but it didn’t. Thank you very much for the recipe <3 Do you have any other recommended toppings other than the ones listed above ? Again, thank you very much 🙂
Very happy to hear that Feb! Other simple topping ideas: Chinese olive vegetable (Gan Lan Cai/橄榄菜), pork floss (Rou Song/肉松), stir-fried minced meat, homemade scallion oil, etc.
Thank you so much for sharing all these details. I just discovered this egg dish 2 days ago and I love it so much! I am trying to perfect it so I can get consistent results. I have two questions for you… 1) Are your eggs room temp when you make it? I know you say to heat the water, just wasn’t sure if the eggs are cold when you do this. and 2) is there a type, size or shape of dish that works best. I find that the outside of my egg custard is sometimes done too much while the middle is still raw.
Thank you so much in advance for your consideration 😀
Hi Dianne! I always use eggs stored in the fridge. If you are cooking 1 egg (plus water) in a bowl, it doesn’t matter too much about the shape or size. If cooking 2 or more eggs in one single dish, then you’d better use a large bowl or a deep plate. The goal is to keep the egg mixture as shallow as possible. That’s why in Chinese restaurant steamed egg of multiple servings is often served in plates rather than bowl.
Hi, can you put the bowl directly into the water, or do you need to prop it up with a steamer basket or something like that? Thanks!
You could cook that way but it will affect the texture so I recommend you prop it up somehow so that the egg bowl isn’t in contact with the water.
But in your guide you said one of the two ways to cook it was putting the bowl directly in the water?
Yes, you could put the bowl directly in the water if you don’t care too much about getting the perfect texture. Otherwise, pop it up with another bowl (placed upside down in the water). I will make sure to add more information on this when I update this post next time.
thank you so much ( fei chang xie xie) – brilliantly clear, brilliant results – especial thanks to you from a novice English husband wanting to please his wonderful Chinese wife with real Chinese food !
So happy to hear that Nick! It’s my great pleasure to share.
I’m kind of confused about the heating. When you say “gentle heat,” do you mean reduce the heat to a simmer once the water starts to boil?
Yes, turn the heat down to low once the water starts to boil.