Steamed Egg Custard
A savoury custard steamed until it is just set, smooth enough to take the shape of the spoon.
Egg. Not vegetarian — contains chicken stock.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 330 ml warm chicken stock or water, at about blood heat
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 spring onion, green part only, finely sliced
Method
- Beat the eggs with the salt until the whites and yolks are one colour, but stop before they foam. Bubbles beaten in now end up as holes in the set custard.
- Pour the warm stock in slowly, stirring as you go. Warm rather than hot: hot stock will begin to cook the egg in ribbons before it is anywhere near the steamer.
- Pour the mixture through a sieve into a shallow heatproof dish. Skim off any foam that collects at the edge.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil, or sit a plate on top. Without a cover, water dripping from the lid pits the surface.
- Steam over water held at a bare simmer for 12 minutes. A hard boil underneath is what makes a custard rise, split and weep; keep the heat low enough that the water only shivers.
- Test it by tilting the dish. The centre should wobble as one piece. If liquid runs, give it another 2 to 3 minutes and test again.
- Spoon the soy sauce and sesame oil over the top, scatter the spring onion on, and serve it in the dish.
Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.
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