Our family has been making egg dumplings, 蛋饺 (dan jiao) every Chinese New Year for as long as I can remember. The shape and color of these egg dumplings resembles the gold coin or gold nuggets of old China. It’s a symbolic food that you must have to be prosperous in the New Year, and a tradition that we carried from China to the US!
A Special Treat
To be perfectly honest, making these egg dumplings can be labor intensive! This job is usually given to a teenager. In other words, someone just old enough that they won’t accidentally burn themselves, but still young enough to not be able to say no to this somewhat tedious job. And—you guessed it—that person used to be me!
I remember using a small piece of pork fat instead of oil, running the pork fat again and again across a large, hot ladle set over the fire until it produced just the right amount of oil to fry one egg dumpling. I can still hear the pork fat sizzling (and smell the aroma when it hit the heat) like it was yesterday.
We like to add these egg dumplings to a famous Shanghai favorite, Yan Du Xian soup. They cook in minutes, so you should add them towards the very end.
You can also add these to any Chinese chicken soup, pork bone soup, fish soup, or even wonton soup.
What’s more, they can be made ahead and frozen! However, they should be simmered in a soup of some kind, as the time you cook these over the ladle isn’t long enough to cook the meat through.
I hope you don’t resent me for adding these egg dumplings to what I’m sure is already a laundry list of Chinese New Year dishes to prepare.
But knowing that these will bring wealth and riches to your family, you have to include them on your Chinese New Year menu! While it may be a little time consuming, put your favorite music on or find someone to chat with in the kitchen, and they’ll be done in no time. Again, speaking from experience!
Chinese Egg Dumplings: Recipe Instructions
In a large bowl, beat 5 eggs for a good 2 minutes. Set aside next to the stove.
In a separate bowl, mix the ground pork with the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, sesame oil, ground white pepper, water, minced scallion, and minced ginger.
Whip everything in one direction for at least 3 minutes, until the filling is well combined and starts to take on a sticky texture. Set aside along with the egg.
Pour a small amount of oil in a bowl, and grab a pastry brush. Set it alongside the egg and meat filling so everything is easily within reach.
Now, turn your stove on to medium heat. Hold your round stainless steel soup ladle over the open flame (if you have an electric stove, it will be tricky to maintain even heat).
With the help of a pair of chopsticks, rub the ginger inside the ladle all over using quick motions for a good two minutes or so. This step treats the ladle, so the egg will not stick to it. I’m not sure why it works, but it does! If the egg still sticks to the ladle, repeat this process one more time.
Once the ladle has been treated, brush the inside with some oil, pouring any excess oil back into the bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon of the egg mixture, and immediately turn the ladle in a circular motion to spread the egg mixture into a circle about 3 inches in diameter.
Add 1 teaspoon of the meat filling…
And use the chopsticks to ease the other half of the circle off of the ladle, folding it over to create a half moon shape.
Gently tap the edges closed so the inner raw egg seals the dumpling shut. That’s one! Repeat until you’ve used up all your egg and meat filling. This recipe makes 3 dozen egg dumplings.
Here’s a quick video showing the entire process:
Reminder that at this step, the egg dumplings are *not* fully cooked. You will need to cook these Chinese egg dumplings further in a soup, or you can steam them for 5 minutes.
Egg Dumplings, A Chinese New Year Must Have (蛋饺)
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs
- 8 ounces ground pork (or chicken)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons scallion (minced)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (minced, plus one additional thin slice of ginger)
- A large round stainless steel soup ladle
- Some vegetable oil and a pastry brush
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat 5 eggs for a good 2 minutes. Set aside next to the stove.
- In a separate bowl, mix the ground meat with the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, sesame oil, ground white pepper, water, minced scallion, and minced ginger. Whip everything in one direction for at least 3 minutes, until the filling is well combined and starts to take on a sticky texture. Set aside along with the egg.
- Pour a small amount of oil in a bowl, and grab a pastry brush. Set it alongside the egg and meat filling so everything is easily within reach.
- Now, turn your stove on to medium heat. Hold the ladle over the open flame (if you have an electric stove, it will be tricky to maintain even heat), and with the help of a pair of chopsticks, rub the ginger inside the ladle all over using quick motions for a good two minutes or so. This step treats the ladle, so the egg will not stick to it. I’m not sure why it works, but it does! If the egg still sticks to the ladle, repeat this process one more time.
- Once the ladle has been treated, brush the inside with some oil, pouring any excess oil back into the bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the egg mixture, and immediately turn the ladle in a circular motion to spread the egg mixture into a circle about 3 inches in diameter. Add 1 teaspoon of the meat filling on one side of the circle, and use the chopsticks to ease the other half of the circle off of the ladle, folding it over to create a half moon shape. Gently tap the edges closed so the inner raw egg seals the dumpling shut. That’s one! Repeat until you’ve used up all your egg and meat filling. This recipe makes 3 dozen egg dumplings.
