Monday, February 06, 2006

Steaming Eggs

I don't usually cook rice in a rice-cooker. I steam them in a double boiler as I don't like to use one big pot which can cook up to 12 cups rice, to cook a measly 2.5 cups.

Recently my mother-in-law gave me a used rice-cooker. It's an old National model with a squat body and a stainless steel cover. I figured I might as well regress in my use of kitchen appliances as modern ones have let me down. I've scratched two non-stick rice cookers so badly that I dared not use them anymore for safety reasons.

Using an electric rice-cooker has its advantage. I can steam food on top of the rice. Steamed egg was on the menu for dinner today. So I cracked two eggs into a stainless steel plate, added in some hot water (just read somewhere that cold water makes the egg mixture froth) and salt. When the button popped up signifying that the rice was cooked, I quickly put the egg mixture on top of the rice. If I dawdle, the egg will not be done perfectly.

The steamed egg turned out beautifully. It had the smooth consistency of tau-foo-fah. Mmm... mmm... But it wasn't flawless. There were yellow specks of egg yolks. I should've beaten it more thoroughly.

Steaming egg in a rice cooker is the way to go. If steaming it in a wok, one has to keep the fire on low-to-medium. If the temperature becomes too hot, it curdles up the egg and makes it look like sandpaper.

Don't ask me for measurement. For everyday dishes, my cooking uses the agak-agak (approximate) method. If you're a novice, you may like to try out this recipe I found at Recipezaar. You may want to cut out the garnishing if you'd rather keep it simple.

Steamed egg

2 eggs, beaten
150 ml water
salt
1 pinch white pepper powder
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon spring onions, chopped
2 teaspoons soya sauce
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon tomatoes, chopped (to garnish)
1 teaspoon spring onions, chopped (green portion only, to garnish)

Method :

1. Beat eggs, one at a time, in a bowl.
2. Add water, salt and white pepper powder.
3. Pour into a serving bowl- preferably, stainless steel or ceramic.
4. Steam for 8 minutes.
5. Now heat oil in a pan.
6. Add garlic and spring onion.
7. Stir-fry for a few minutes till the raw smell of garlic is gone.
8. Remove from heat and put on the steamed egg.
9. Put soya sauce in a bowl.
10. Add water and sugar to the soya sauce and mix well.
11. Pour this mixture over the steamed egg.
12. Add a tsp.
13. of chopped tomato and a tsp.
14. of the green portion of the spring onions as a garnish and serve immediately.

If you have some crab sticks in your fridge, slice some into the egg mixture. Not only does it lend colour to the dish but it tastes yummy too.

9 comments:

Kak Teh said...

So many recipes, solittle time to try! But this sounds fun!

Anonymous said...

eh? but i love my electronic smart fuzzy-logic rice cooker. can cook up anything from steamed fish to lap-cheong in a matter of minutes! never tried to steam before...maybe i have this fear of things not cooked right. I am not chef, you know, in fact, although none of my food has ever poisoned anyone since i moved out, my cakes, I promise you, can kill dogs if you throw it at them!! :-) so, don't ask me to bake. or cook anything more sophisticated from fried rice. otherwise, the risk is yours to take.

blinka.Li said...

i guess i would omit the soya sauce part as it will make the colour darker ler...:P

Lydia Teh said...

KT, It's simple too.

Jane, let me know how it turns out.

Marsha, steaming eggs in your smart fuzzy-logic rice cooker should be ok. They're quite easily done. Your cakes remind me of my first attempt at scones. They became as hard as rock cakes, would probably kill cats too.

blinka.li, that's true. If you add the soya sauce into the egg mixture, instead of a pale yellow, your steamed egg will turn the colour of Nescafe with coffeemate.

ROYAL JESTER said...

Malas sgt, just goreng. But this is indeed the healthy version of eggs. But do you know you're not supposed to eat more than 2 eggs a week?Something to do with cholestrol level? The egg yolk seems to be the culprit.Any dietician/nutritionist care to confirm?

bibliobibuli said...

never thought of doing this!! okay that's tomorrow's dinner taken care of!

Lydia Teh said...

pu1pu3, steaming is easier than frying! No need to wash extra utensils. Just place plate on top of rice, voila! Egg yolks have received a lot of bad press. To be on safe side, cut down on yolks. Usually I don't eat the yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Scrambled and omelette - gasak saja.

Sharon, Glad to have a part in your menu-planning.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lydia! You know, I love steamed eggs. And 'pak cham khai'. Because when I am pressed for time and tummy is growling, those two dishes are fast and easy. I can just mix the steamed egg with rice and have a blast. All the while (before Amy Beh came along) my steamed eggs were pockmarked - Nic used to laugh his head off at my measly attempts. Now that Amy Beh (an ode to the Cooking Queen!) has cleared the air (and you too!) about steaming perfect eggs I made a smooth like taufufah steamed egg last night. Seriously, are eggs that bad? I love eggs in all ways...fried, steamed, boiled, softboiled, etc. And I used to take 2 softboiled eggs everyday when I was in school. MayaKirana

Lydia Teh said...

MayaK, That's great. I don't like pockmarked eggs, they don't look nice and they don't taste good either. I love eggs too, to be on the safe side, I don't eat all the yolk.