April 3, 2016

Stir Fry Scrambled Eggs with Char Siu Pork 叉燒炒蛋

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By Published: 2016-04-03
It's been so nice and quiet these few days.  Spring is coming, it's getting warmer and I've started seeing little tender green buds everywhere.  Right now it is the long Easter holiday for the school kids here in Hong Kong and I've been lazing around the house a lot with my little girl at home.  It's so nice to have her to myself all day again!  

So we've been cooking (and baking) a lot as well and I suddenly realized that we had somehow missed out on writing about one of the most totally kick ass Chinese comfort foods, the amazing Stir Fry Scrambled Eggs with Char Siu Pork.   How could we have forgotten this humble and easy to make home style dish?  

Tender just set flakes of golden yellow eggs clinging to caramelized chunks of Char Siu, that yummilicious world famous Chinese barbecued pork.  This Stir Fry Scrambled Eggs with Char Siu Pork 叉燒炒蛋 is one of those soul satisfying Chinese dishes, a veritable rice slayer, that is really easy to make and guaranteed to produce shiny licked over plates and rice bowls. There will be nothing left, seriously!

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I have to confess that I did not grow up with this dish.  I grew up gobbling down Chinese Stir Fry Eggs with Shrimp and Grandma's Stir Fry Tomato and Eggs, both of them classic Chinese comfort food dishes in their own right.  But my 老公 grew up with this dish.  I think Stir Fry Eggs with Char Siu was invented, perhaps, to use up the odds and ends of the lovely Char Siu Barbequed Pork that is so ubiquitous here in Hong Kong and Guangdong and eaten really almost everyday.  (So lucky,  those darn Cantonese, amiright?)

For this dish you will, of course, need to get yourself some Char Siu 叉燒, also known as Chinese barbecued pork.  In Hong Kong you can get this tasty BBQ pork fresh and warm from the specialty barbecue meat shops known as Siu Mei 燒味 shops that are found in every neighbourhood.  You will want to get Char Siu that is fatty, the fattier the better.

It's the secret to the deliciousness, you render the fat from the fatty Char Siu and than use that rendered oil to cook the eggs into meltingly soft, tasty perfection.  Hey, why not indulge, this is comfort food!

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These Chinese stir fry egg dishes are great for home cooking because they are so simple.  Always just two main ingredients.  You'll always have eggs at home, right?  So all you really need the remember to buy is that second main, the shrimp, or tomatoes, or char siu.  Or if you forget even that, no problem, just make the silky two egg Chinese Steamed Egg Custard 蒸蛋.

Speaking of eggs, get some fresh free range eggs for the best tasting egginess possible.  Then it's just a simple whisk with a dash of salt.  Or, some add a spoonful of milk, cream or water, which I used to do, it makes the eggs a tiny bit more creamy.  But I've gotten lazy and don't add a thing anymore and have been just as happy with how my scrambled eggs come out.

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The only technique you will need for this simple dish is the ancient Chinese technique of stir frying eggs to tender, melting flakes.  Steel your mind, steady your hand,  just gotta be fast!  Tis a matter of seconds so have your serving plate ready at hand.  Once the eggs are 75% set, toss in your Char Siu and give it a quick toss with the eggs, turn off heat and quickly, quickly scoop onto your serving plate.  

Remember that the eggs will keep cooking after leaving the heat.  Also keep in mind that this dish is meant to have eggs in the soft, slightly runny stage.  If they get hard scrambled it just don't taste right!

Good Luck Stir Fry Egg Warriors, see you in the kitchen!

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Stir Fry Scrambled Eggs with Char Siu Pork
叉燒炒蛋
Prep time: Cook time:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb Char Siu, chinese barbecue pork 叉燒 (225g)
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp spring onions, chopped to rounds

Directions:

Slice char siu to 1/2" thick slices.   Add 1 tsp oil to hot wok, then add in char siu.  Stir fry over medium high heat until the fat rendered and the edges of char siu are browned in places, 2-3 mins.  Scoop to a plate, leaving the rendered fat in the wok.

Whisk eggs with salt until just mixed and whites broken up.

Heat wok to medium heat, add 1 tbsp oil then add in eggs all at once.  Spatula in hand, watch your eggs.  Once a skin of cooked egg forms at the bottom of the wok (this will be within a few seconds) use spatula scrape along the wok bottom, pulling the cooked skin of egg towards you and up the side of the wok.  One scrape for middle, one scrape for each side.  

This should bring all the cooked egg flakes up the side of the wok where the heat is minimal and allow the uncooked egg to pool in the middle to cook.   Repeat again as soon as egg skin is formed on bottom.

This all should all take place within a half a minute or so.  Fast.

When eggs look 75% away from soft slightly runny perfection, quickly dump in your char siu and use spatula to give a couple of flips to incorporate char siu throughout the eggs.  You want to do this when eggs are still runny so that bits of egg end up clinging sexily to the char siu.  Too late to add char siu and you end up with two strangers in a crowd!

Now immediately get it out of the hot wok and on to the serving plate.  Right away!!  The egg will keep on cooking after leaving heat so softly set but still runny is a good time to leave the wok.  This will set up as slightly runny, which is perfect.  Sprinkle spring onions over and serve.

This cozy little dish is always fun to cook cuz it makes me feel sporty: depending on my speed and wok prowess it comes out sometimes better, sometimes worse.  No worries though, it's so easy to make and so yummilicious to eat that you can practise until you get it right!

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6 comments:

  1. I love your comment 'two strangers in a crowd', so apt and funny!

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  2. Delicious and quick. Thank you for posting. Will definately make this again. Better than take out anyday.

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  3. Yummy...but your egg and charsiu are 2 stranger in a crowd🤔😊😅

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, could have been a bit quicker there. It's a tricky thing sometimes. Some days I'm spot on. Other days not so much.😋

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