Recipe : 3-kings egg (steam, silky eggs) | Food, travel, recipe & sights

Recipe : 3-kings egg (steam, silky eggs)

If there is one thing that I have never successfully cooked, it is the ubiquitous steam eggs. The Japanese has their chawan mushi. Meanwhile, the Chinese has their ’sui chee tan’ or very smooth, silky steam eggs.

This is the raw eggs waiting to be popped into the steamer. The cooked version should look as good as this but mine ALWAYS came out looking like some pimple teenager’s face or old woman’s face. Or both. Hrrmmppp….

My recipe today is call 3-kings eggs or samwongtan. It is actually a Cantonese dish as most other dialects will just steam their eggs plain, with minced pork or small whitebaits.

I cut one salted duck egg (the orangey thing), one century duck’s egg and put it in the plate I am supposed to use to steam. Use a wide plate so that your eggs cook faster and more consistently.

In another bowl, I beat 2 chicken eggs and flavoured it with a few drops of sesame oil, pepper and a few drops of vinegar. I am not sure why vinegar is needed but I watched it over on one of the cook show from Hongkong. Then, to make the smoothest, silkiest and softest eggs, add equal quantity of water. Use your judgement to add the same amount of water as the liquid quantity of your eggs.

Then, use a siever and pour the beaten eggs over the black and orange eggs. This will remove all the air bubbles.

The trickiest part is to maintain the right temperature and timing. The water meant for steaming has to be bubbling and hot when you put in the eggs. Keep checking and remove from fire as soon as the whole plate is cooked. But heh, it is easier said than done.

Despite my effort, I still got the eggs overcooked. After the eggs are cooked, usually I pour a teaspoon of oil on the surface for the extra sheen. Sprinkle some spring onions or I use Chinese parsley in above.

If anyone got tips how to make the kind of steam eggs like those sold in restaurants, please tell. If you are looking for the best-est samwongtan, go to Teik Seng.

Posted by lilian on October 27th, 2006 under Food, Recipe

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16 Responses to “Recipe : 3-kings egg (steam, silky eggs)”

  1. mc Says:
    October 27th, 2006 at 10:32 am

    Hi, my aunt once made steamed egg for us that was smooth and silky and i asked her how she did it. she said she steamed it on low heat for a longer time. i think that’s the trick - low heat so that it doesn’t overcook.
    btw, i love your food blogs :)

  2. pablopabla Says:
    October 27th, 2006 at 12:07 pm

    Just like what mc said, my wife also mentioned that only low heat is used.

  3. terence Says:
    October 27th, 2006 at 1:48 pm

    Aunty, a chef once told me not to put pepper when beating the eggs. Not smooth when steamed. Thats what he says lar. Sometimes the easiest looking dishes are the most difficult to cook.

  4. Shooi Says:
    October 27th, 2006 at 5:21 pm

    My mom’s trick is to mix hot water into the beaen egg. And cook over slow fire.

  5. lilian Says:
    October 27th, 2006 at 5:52 pm

    shooi - That’s a good idea. ‘Cos usually my eggs overcooked outside and the inner part still watery. I will give it a try and see.

    terence - Ya hor, those pepper make my egg ‘moh peng’ (pimply).

    mc and pablopabla - LOL, looks like that’s the only part I did wrong. I usually put it above my rice cooker steamer and I waited until it is real hot before doing it. No wonder, they curdled. Next time I am going to try all these tips using a normal wok to steam over low fire.

    Thanks all!

  6. Choonie Says:
    October 28th, 2006 at 2:34 pm

    My mother-in-law says that you should put in the eggs together with the water for steaming. Not when the water is bubbling and hot. When the water is bubbling and hot, that is also when your egg is cooked liao! Give it a try!

  7. kyrsty Says:
    October 28th, 2006 at 8:19 pm

    put on top of the rice when is boiling and when the rick cooker switch to warm…the egg will be ready :)

  8. girl_girl Says:
    November 2nd, 2006 at 9:47 am

    just put in the rice cooker when the rice is cooked…the egg will cooked perfectly after few minutes only. :)

  9. ChinShin Says:
    November 24th, 2006 at 11:03 pm

    hello, im Teik Seng Rice Stall’s owner’s daughter, may I know who’s on the line there? ^^

  10. lilian Says:
    November 27th, 2006 at 1:35 am

    ChinShin - The next time I eat at Teik Seng, I tell you who I am ok? Your dad is the one doing the billing, right?

  11. Steamed eggs : Best recipes, foods and travel Says:
    July 21st, 2007 at 12:14 pm

    [...] or three-kings-eggs, I decided to give it one more go. A lot of readers in my other food blog, Food Haven had given me useful tips on how to achieve that [...]

  12. elaine Says:
    July 21st, 2007 at 9:50 pm

    Will be visiting Penang soon. Anyone with recommendations as to where to find all the good food that I hear everyone speaks about? Where is this teik seng place?

  13. Recipe : Stir fried lala : Best recipes, foods and travel Says:
    October 15th, 2007 at 8:34 pm

    [...] Kedai Makanan Teik Seng is my regular stop for dinner and lunch. It is located next to Hup Loong, I think it is Leboh Carnavon, turn in from Chulia Street. [...]

  14. Diana Seah Says:
    October 25th, 2007 at 2:40 pm

    Hi Lilian,
    Just returned from a visit to Penang and tried all your recommendations at Teik Seng - they were all excellent! Also tried their gulai ikan which was very good too! Thanks for all your tips…love your blog!
    Diana

  15. weimin Says:
    November 2nd, 2007 at 10:31 am

    hi Lilian,
    nice to meet you here.
    im one of Teik Seng Rice Stall’s fans as well…
    i like their cooking. if you want any further infomation or even publishing Teik Seng Rice Stall. i can provide some informations for you.

    fans from UK.

  16. Pauline Says:
    November 16th, 2007 at 6:12 pm

    Pls. tell me where are the nice places to eat in Penang as I am going there during the school hols. Thanking you in anticipation

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