Secret Steamed Golden Eggs

This dish is inspired by Witch With a Wok (Lee Moon-jung)’s Secret Steamed Golden Eggs from the Netflix show Culinary Class Wars Season 2. It features silky, jiggly steamed eggs as the base, topped with runny poached eggs, finished with fragrant scallion oil and soy sauce.

Table of Contents

• Watch How to Make It
• What Secret Steamed Golden Eggs?
• Ingredients You’ll Need
• How to Make Secret Steamed Golden Eggs
• Tips for Making Secret Steamed Golden Eggs

Watch How to Make It

What is Secret Steamed Golden Eggs?

I recently finished watching Season 2 of Culinary Class Wars on Netflix, and Witch With a Wok (Lee Moon-jung)’s final dish Secret Steamed Golden Eggs immediately caught my eye.

I was sad to see her eliminated because I wanted to see more of her Chinese-inspired creations! With so many chefs coming from fine dining backgrounds, this dish stood out to me because I LOVE Chinese steamed eggs.

My Chinese steamed egg recipe has gone viral a few times, and I’ve made quite a few different versions such as Chinese steamed egg with minced pork and Chinese steamed trio egg. So I’m pretty familiar with that silky, jiggly base. What made this dish special was what came next.

On top of the steamed eggs, she added six gently poached eggs with perfectly runny yolks, then finished everything with sizzling scallion oil, soy sauce, and a touch of chilli flakes.

I’m impressed by how a dish with less than 10 ingredients can be so simple, comforting and yummy!

Ingredients You Need

Here are a few key ingredients to note. You’ll find the full ingredient list and quantities in the recipe card below.

• Eggs – eggs are of course the star of this dish! In the show, Witch With a Wok adds about six eggs (!!) on top of the steamed egg. Six is a lot, so you can adjust to your liking. When I was recipe testing, I used three or four on top to avoid overcrowding.
• Warm water (1.5× the egg volume) – using warm water is the secret to having pudding-like silkiness. For my three eggs, it’s usually around 150ml, so I add about 225ml of warm water to get that perfect jiggly texture.
• Shaoxing cooking wine – I don’t normally add it to my steamed egg, but after seeing Witch With a Wok use it made me try it, and it does add a nice subtle depth.
• Light soy sauce – this is the main seasoning, giving just enough umami to balance the delicate egg.
• Chilli powder – I also saw Witch With a Wok add a pinch of chilli powder at the end. It’s just a subtle hint of spice, not overpowering, but it adds a nice little kick to the dish.
• Ginger and green onions – they brighten the dish and layer in extra flavour. I like to infuse the oil with ginger and some green onions for aroma, then garnish the egg with chopped green onions at the end.
• Hot oil – the finishing touch that makes everything aromatic and delicious. Sizzle it over the green onions right at the very end.

How to Make Secret Steamed Golden Eggs

1) Make the Silky Egg Base

Beat 3 eggs with salt, Shaoxing wine and white pepper.

Measure the eggs and add warm water at a 1:1.5 ratio (for example, if your eggs are 150ml, add 225ml water). Mix well so the egg and water are fully combined, then skim any bubbles.

Heat a deep, heatproof plate in a steamer for 1–2 minutes. Pour in the egg mixture, cover and steam on high for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Keep the lid on and let the residual heat steam the egg for 4 minutes.

2) Gently add the whole eggs

Gently crack 5 eggs into a bowl, making sure to keep the yolks intact.

Gently place the whole eggs on top of the silky egg base. Cover and steam on high for 1 minute after the water boils. Turn off heat and let residual heat cook for 3-4 minutes. The egg whites should turn white, but the yolks should remain runny, like poached eggs.

3) Make Scallion Oil & Finish

Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a small pan over low-medium heat. Add 2 green onions (1-inch pieces) and cook for 5 minutes to infuse. Turn the heat to high until the oil is hot enough (use a chopstick to test: bubbles will form around it).

Garnish steamed eggs with 1 chopped green onion. Pour hot oil over to sizzle, then season with light soy sauce and a pinch of chilli flakes. Serve with rice.

Top Tips

Use a 1:1.5–2 egg-to-water ratio

For silky, jiggly steamed eggs, adding enough water is really important. The more water you add (up to double the volume of the eggs), the softer and more delicate the texture becomes. A 1:1.5 ratio gives you a smooth, slightly firm custard; closer to 1:2 gives you an ultra-jiggly, melt-in-your-mouth result.

Gently mix, don’t over-whisk

When beating the eggs and water together, mix gently to avoid creating too many bubbles. Bubbles will cause the surface of the steamed egg to look rough and pockmarked instead of smooth and glossy.

Preheat the dish before steaming

Steaming the empty plate for 1–2 minutes before adding the egg mixture helps it cook more evenly from the bottom up. This prevents uneven textures and helps the egg set nicely without overcooking the top or undercooking the centre.

Don’t over steam the whole eggs

The cooking time for the whole eggs on top really depends on your dish and its surface area. For my deep plate with four eggs, I steamed on high for just 1 minute, then turned off the heat and let it sit covered for 4–5 minutes in the residual heat. This is enough to set the egg whites while keeping the yolks runny.

More Cantonese Steamed Dishes You’ll Love

• Cantonese Steamed Pork Belly in Black Bean Sauce
• Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai
• Cantonese Steamed Chicken with Fermented Bean Curd

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