EGG DUMPLINGS (蛋饺)
My family has been making dan jiao, or egg dumplings, for Chinese New Year for as long as I can remember. They look like old Chinese gold coins or gold nuggets because of their unique shape and color. We brought this meal from China to the United States as a tradition and a sign of good fortune in the New Year.
AN EXCLUSIVE TREAT
These egg dumplings are a lot of work, to be honest! A teen is typically assigned to this position. Another way of saying this is that you need someone who is just old enough that they won’t burn themselves, but young enough that they can’t say no to this tiresome task. I was once that person, as you may have surmised.
Pork fat was used instead of oil to fry egg dumplings, and a huge, hot ladle was set over the fire until it created just the perfect amount of oil to fry one. Like yesterday, I can still hear and smell the sizzling of pork fat (and, of course, the perfume that greeted it).
Yan Du Xian soup, a Shanghai delicacy, is one of our favorite ways to enjoy delicious egg dumplings. They take a few minutes to cook, so you should add them last.
Any Chinese chicken, pork bone, fish, or wonton broth can benefit from adding these ingredients.
Additionally, they can be prepared in advance and stored in the freezer! However, cooking them over a spoon isn’t long enough to fully cook the meat. They should be boiled in some soup.
There are already so many meals to prepare for the Chinese New Year, so I hope you don’t mind me adding these egg dumplings to the list.
But knowing that these will bring your family wealth and prosperity, you must include them in your Chinese New Year menu! To speed up the process, play your favorite music or have a conversation with a friend in the kitchen as you clean the dishes. Again, this is based on my own experiences!
INGREDIENTS
- 5 large eggs
- 8 ounces ground pork or chicken
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons scallion (minced)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger (and a thin slice of ginger)
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- Vegetable oil and a pastry brush
- A large round stainless steel soup ladle
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Beat 5 eggs for 2 minutes in a bowl. Place aside near the stove.
- In a separate dish, grind white pepper, water, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, sesame oil, minced scallion, and ginger into the ground beef. For at least 3 minutes, whip everything in a single direction until the filling is thoroughly blended and begins to feel sticky. Place aside with the egg.
- Take a bowl, add a little oil, and a pastry brush. Place it next to the egg and meat filling so that everything is conveniently close at hand.
- Now, preheat your stove to medium. Using a pair of chopsticks, rub the ginger within the ladle all over using fast motions for about two minutes. It will be challenging to keep the heat constant on an electric stove. The ladle is prepared in this stage so that the egg won’t adhere to it. Repeat this procedure if the egg is still stuck to the ladle.
- Brush some oil into the ladle after treating it, pouring any extra oil back into the bowl. Immediately after adding 1 tablespoon of the egg mixture, move the ladle in a circular motion to spread the egg mixture out into a circle with a diameter of about 3 inches. After spooning 1 teaspoon of the beef filling onto one side of the circle, use the chopsticks to carefully raise the other half of the circle of the ladle and fold it over to create a half-moon shape. To ensure that the interior raw egg seals the dumpling shut, gently tap the edges closed. Exactly one! Continue until all of the meat and egg filling has been used. 3 dozen egg dumplings can be made using this recipe.