Steamed egg is a five ingredient dish that goes wrong in about six ways. Too hot and it curdles into something with the texture of a bath sponge. Too much water and it will not set. Skip the strain and you get bubbles all through it.
Get it right and it is the best thing on the table. Silky enough that a spoon slides through without resistance, savoury from the pork, and it costs almost nothing to make.
The ratio
Everything depends on this. Beat the eggs, measure the volume, then add warm water or unsalted stock at 1.5 times that volume. Three eggs is roughly 150ml, so 225ml of liquid. Some households go to 1:2 for a softer set. Below 1:1 and you are making an omelette in a bowl.
What you need
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 225ml warm water or light unsalted stock
- 100g minced pork
- 1 tsp light soy sauce, plus more to finish
- Half tsp sesame oil
- A pinch of sugar and white pepper
- 1 stalk spring onion, finely sliced
Method
- Marinate the pork with the soy, sesame oil, sugar and pepper for 10 minutes. Spread it in a thin layer across the base of a shallow heatproof dish.
- Beat the eggs gently. You want them combined, not aerated. Whisking hard is how bubbles get in.
- Add the warm liquid, stir, then pour the mixture through a fine sieve into the dish. Strain it twice if you want it glassy. This removes chalazae and any foam.
- Skim off surface bubbles with a spoon, then cover the dish with foil. The foil is not optional. It keeps condensate out and stops the surface skinning over.
- Steam at 90C to 100C for 12 to 15 minutes. Lower is better if your oven lets you set it. The custard should wobble as one piece when you nudge the dish.
- Uncover, finish with a little more light soy and the spring onion.
If the surface has craters, it steamed too hot. Drop 10 degrees next time and add two minutes.
Why the appliance matters here
This dish is a decent test of whether an oven's steam is actually controllable. A rolling wok steamer runs at a hard 100C with no adjustment, which is survivable but unforgiving. A steam oven that lets you sit at 90C gives you a wider margin for error than any other method I have used.
The Teka HLB 8550 SC SteamGourmet is a 71 litre oven carrying three dedicated steam functions alongside twelve conventional ones, so it is a normal oven that also does this properly rather than a single-purpose box. The Mayer MMSO17-RG covers 30 to 250C with 15 cooking functions and comes with a steaming tray in the box, which saves you buying one.
The microwave route
You can do this in a microwave, and plenty of people do. Cover the dish, use 40 to 50 percent power, and go in 90 second bursts, checking each time. It will be slightly less even than steam because microwaves heat from the inside out and the middle sets before the edges.
The Electrolux EMSB30XCF is a 30 litre built-in combination microwave with convection and CombiGrill, which is the more useful shape of appliance if you have one slot and want it to do several jobs. The Mayer MMWG30B-RG is the simpler 25 litre microwave-with-grill version.
Both categories live in Microwaves & Combi Ovens, and the full-size options are in Built-in Ovens.
Questions people ask
What is the correct egg to water ratio for steamed egg?
Beat the eggs, measure them, then add 1.5 times that volume in warm water or unsalted stock. Three eggs is about 150ml, so 225ml of liquid. Going to 1:2 gives a softer, more delicate set that is harder to lift cleanly.
Why is my steamed egg full of holes?
The steam was too hot. Above about 100C the water in the custard boils and leaves craters. Drop the temperature to 90C, add a couple of minutes, and cover the dish with foil.
Do I have to strain the egg mixture?
You do not have to, but it is the difference between smooth and nearly smooth. Straining removes the chalazae and any foam you introduced while beating. Two passes through a fine sieve takes 30 seconds.
Cold or warm water?
Warm, around body temperature. Cold water lengthens the cook and increases the odds the edges set before the middle. Boiling water will start cooking the egg as you pour it.
Can I use stock instead of water?
Yes, and it tastes better. Use it unsalted or lightly salted. A salty stock plus soy on top pushes the finished dish too far.
Cook next
For the long, slow end of the same appliance, try double-boiled chicken soup. Still choosing between the compact appliances? Microwave, combi or steam oven walks through it, and oven capacity explained covers what you give up going compact.