Steamed Tofu with Salted Egg and Minced Pork (鹹蛋肉碎蒸豆腐) is a classic Cantonese home-style dish made with silky tofu, savoury minced pork and rich salted duck egg. It’s ready in under 30 minutes, high in protein, and the kind of dish I love to throw together when I want something quick, nourishing and no-fuss, but still super flavourful.
Table of Contents
- Watch How to Make It
- What is Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork and Salted Egg?
- Why I Love This Recipe
- Ingredients for This Dish
- How to Make Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork and Salted Egg
- Karen’s Top Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
Watch How to Make It
What is Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork and Salted Egg?
Steamed Tofu with Salted Egg and Minced Pork (鹹蛋肉碎蒸豆腐) is a classic Cantonese home-style dish. It pairs soft tofu with savoury minced pork topping and crumbled salted duck egg, which is steamed until everything is cooked and saucy.
The magic really comes from the salted egg. As it steams, the salty, savoury yolk melts into the pork, giving the whole dish a deep umami flavour.
This dish is a great everyday dish that I love to throw together when I want something quick, nourishing, no-fuss, high protein but still super flavourful.
Why I Love This Recipe
● Low-effort, high reward. No marinating overnight and barely any cooking required! Simply mix, steam, and dinner is done.
● Quick, nourishing and high protein. It goes very well with steamed rice and works as a light but filling weeknight meal.
● Very comforting. It’s the kind of comfort food that instantly makes me think of home.
Ingredients for This Dish
Here are a few key ingredients to note. You’ll find the full ingredient list and quantities in the recipe card below.
Salted duck eggs
Salted duck eggs (鹹蛋, haam daan) are duck eggs preserved in salt. They have firm whites and rich, creamy, savoury yolks that are commonly used in Cantonese cooking.
In Hong Kong, restaurants generally use raw salted duck eggs for dishes like this. But here in the UK, you’ll more commonly find pre-cooked salted duck eggs in Asian supermarkets (and on Amazon), and those are completely fine to use too!
I also find that the cooked salted duck eggs here tend to be less salty than the ones I’m used to having in Hong Kong, which is why we’re using 2 in this recipe.
The brand you’ll commonly find in UK Asian supermarkets (and on Amazon) is Shen Dan. I’ve also bought a big pack from Costco before!
For this recipe, I recommend using 2–3 Shen Dan cooked salted duck eggs.
For convenience, I’d also recommend getting jarred salted egg yolks sauce. You can just spoon a few dollops over the minced pork, so you don’t have to fuss around with whole salted duck eggs!
They’re also really handy and delicious for stir-frying veggies too!
Soft tofu
For this dish, I recommend using soft to medium tofu because I love the contrast between the silky tofu and the minced pork. You can easily find this at most Asian supermarkets too!
How to Make Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork and Salted Egg
1) Marinate the pork
Mix the minced pork with light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, sugar, white pepper and sesame oil. Separate the salted duck egg yolks from the whites. Mix half of the egg whites into the pork mixture — you don’t need all of them as salted egg can be quite salty. Save the rest for stir-fries, fried rice or other dishes.
2) Assemble
Slice the tofu into 1.5cm-thick pieces and arrange in an even layer on a deep, heatproof plate. Spread the marinated pork evenly over the tofu, then scatter the salted egg yolks on top.
3) Steam
Place a steaming rack in a deep wok and add about 2 inches of hot water. Place the plate on the rack, cover and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Steam for 10 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through and no longer pink.
4) Finish & serve
Optional: Scatter the chopped green onion over the steamed tofu and pork. Heat the neutral oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat for 1–2 minutes, or until a wooden chopstick or skewer inserted into the oil produces bubbles. Carefully drizzle the hot oil over the green onion and pork.
Drizzle with a little light soy sauce and serve hot with steamed jasmine rice. Enjoy!
Karen’s Top Tips
1) Don’t over-season the pork.
The salted egg whites and yolks are already quite salty, so you don’t need a heavy marinade. You can always drizzle a little more light soy sauce over the dish at the end if you want more flavour.
3) Spread everything out evenly.
Make sure the tofu is arranged in an even layer and spread the minced pork into an even, flat layer on top. This is especially important when steaming so everything cooks evenly.
3) Don’t skip the sizzling hot oil!
It’s optional, but drizzling hot oil over the green onion and pork makes everything extra fragrant and brings the whole dish together.
More Cantonese Steamed Dish Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but the texture will be quite different. Firm tofu holds its shape better but won’t have that soft custardy texture that makes this dish so comforting. If soft tofu isn’t available, you can use medium tofu.
No, salted duck egg (white and yolk) can go straight onto the pork before steaming. The steaming process cooks it fully.
This is completely normal, it comes from both the tofu and the pork releasing moisture as they cook. You can drain some off before serving, or spoon a little over your rice, since it’s packed with flavour.
This dish is best steamed and served fresh, since the tofu can turn watery if it sits too long. You can prep the pork marinade and dice the salted egg ahead of time, then assemble and steam just before serving.
Steamed white rice is the classic pairing. It’s also great alongside a simple stir-fried green vegetable, like choy sum or bok choy, for a well-rounded, no-fuss meal.
Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork and Salted Egg
2
servings15
minutes13
minutes734
kcalA cozy, high-protein Cantonese steamed tofu with minced pork and salted egg, ready in under 30 minutes. Perfect with steamed rice!
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
300 g soft tofu
125 g minced pork
2 salted duck eggs, yolks and whites separated
1 green onion, finely chopped (garnish)
1 tsp light soy sauce
- Pork marinade:
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper powder
2 tsp sesame oil
- For finishing (optional):
3 tbsp neutral oil
Directions
- Separate the salted duck egg yolks from the whites. Set the yolks aside and reserve half of the egg whites for the pork. You’ll only need about half of the egg whites for the pork mixture, as the salted egg can be quite salty. Save the rest for stir-fries, fried rice, or other dishes.
- In a bowl, mix the minced pork with light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, sugar, white pepper and sesame oil. Mix in half of the salted egg whites.
- Slice the tofu into 1.5cm-thick pieces and arrange in an even layer on a deep heatproof plate. Spread the marinated pork evenly over the tofu, then scatter the salted egg yolks on top.
- Place a steaming rack in a deep wok and add about 2 inches of hot water. Place the plate on the rack, cover and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Steam for 10 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through and no longer pink.
- Finish with sizzling oil (optional). Scatter the chopped green onion over the steamed tofu and pork. Heat the neutral oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat for 1–2 minutes, or until a wooden chopstick or skewer inserted into the oil produces bubbles around it. Carefully drizzle the hot oil over the green onion and pork.
- Drizzle with a little light soy sauce and serve hot with steamed jasmine rice. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 1 serving g
- Total number of serves: 2
- Calories: 734kcal
- Fat: 59.8g
- Saturated Fat: 11.7g
- Cholesterol: 973mg
- Sodium: 614mg
- Potassium: 446mg
- Carbohydrates: 9.1g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Sugar: 2.7g
- Protein: 38.3g
- Vitamin A: 38.6mcg
- Vitamin C: 1.6mg
- Calcium: 270mg
- Iron: 7mg
- Vitamin D: 1.8mcg
- Vitamin E: 5.2mg
- Vitamin K: 28.4mcg
- Thiamin: 0.6mg
- Riboflavin: 0.6mg
- Niacin: 3.3mg
- Vitamin B6: 0.5mg
- Vitamin B12: 6.1mcg
- Folate: 92.4mcg
- Pantothenic Acid: 2.4mg
- Phosphorus: 353mg
- Magnesium: 34mg
- Zinc: 3mg
- Selenium: 53.8mcg
- Copper: 0.1mg
- Manganese: 0.1mg
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