This is my easy Chinese Steamed Eggs recipe that will take you less than 20 minutes to make. It has to be one of the simplest yet satisfying meals you could make. Topped with sesame oil, soy sauce, chili oil, chives, and green onions, and served with sticky rice, I think you're going to love it.
When I traveled across China, these steamed eggs were one of my favourite comfort foods to eat. I can’t even explain how easy this is to cook. All you have to do is whisk some eggs, combine it with chicken stock, steam it, and add on any toppings!
If you're looking for some more egg recipes, then you'll love my miso-marinated eggs perfect with sticky rice, sardines and eggs great served with bread, or my easy egg and spam ramen!
A great dish to serve up with this steamed egg recipe are my roasted cabbage wedges in a gochujang sauce, aka buldak fire cabbage...it's a real crowdpleaser!
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Why you'll love this recipe
Quick: This recipe takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook in a steamer which is such low maintenance.
Simple: You only need 2 ingredients for this recipe: eggs and chicken stock. You could also just use water but I find that the chicken stock adds a really nice seasoned flavour.
Customisable: One of the main reasons why I love these Chinese steamed eggs is because they're so customisable. You can add any kind of toppings you like from chives, chili oil, green onions, kimchi...whatever you fancy!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Eggs: This steamed eggs recipe serves 2 people and uses 4 eggs. So, if you want to halve the portion size or double it, then go for it, making sure to use an appropriately sized bowl.
Chicken stock: Many recipes just use water to make Chinese steamed eggs, but I find that chicken stock adds a really nice flavour to the dish. You could also use veggie stock too.
Garlic: The egg dish can be a very mild flavour, so I like to add grated garlic to it. You'll find that when you sieve the eggs, the garlic will be left behind, so feel free to scoop that out and sprinkle it back into the eggs. You can leave this out if you'd rather not have it, or you could use garlic powder.
Ginger: Freshly grated ginger adds a really nice spice to this dish. Once again, same with the garlic, when you sieve the eggs, the ginger gratings will be left in the sieve so just scoop them back into the sieved egg mixture. You could also use ginger powder.
Sesame oil: Once your eggs are cooked, you want some fun toppings! Sesame oil is a great condiment to add a nutty flavour. You could also use peanut oil.
Soy sauce: Light soy sauce is the perfect seasoning to our Chinese steamed eggs. You could also use teriyaki sauce if you don't have soy.
Chili oil: Pick out your favourite chili oil or make some homemade!
Chives: For extra toppings, we want some greenery. I love adding chives. You could also add cilantro/coriander, red chillies, or edamame beans.
Green onions: Finely sliced spring onions are great for this recipe. You could also have some tofu or extra protein with this dish.
To serve: I love serving my Chinese steamed eggs with sticky rice. You could also serve it with toast or noodles.
See the recipe card further down this blog for more details and the full method!
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: Crack 4 eggs into a large bowl and whisk. Then you want to whisk in the warm (35C/95F) chicken stock until well combined. Grate in your garlic clove and ginger. Give it a stir.
Step 2: Place a sieve over the top of your steaming bowl (big enough to hold your egg and chicken stock mixture), and pour your egg mixture through the sieve into the bowl. Feel free to scoop any remaining grated garlic and ginger that gets caught in the sieve and sprinkle it into your new egg steaming bowl. Remove any air bubbles off the top of the eggs with a spoon. You want the surface to be as smooth as possible.
Step 3: Next up, place a steaming support on the base of your pan. You can also use a bamboo steamer for this if you'd like. Pour in 1 inch of boiling water, place the pan on low heat.
Step 4: Delicately place your egg bowl onto the steamer and place on the lid. Leave to steam on low heat for 15 minutes. To check if your egg is done, remove the lid and give the pan a jiggle. If there is still uncooked egg, keep steaming it (see notes for if there's excess water on the surface).
Step 5: Once your eggs are cooked, remove your bowl from the steamer with a cloth and then top with sesame oil, soy sauce, chili oil, chopped chives, and green onions. Enjoy with sticky rice!
What to do with leftovers
Storage: These steamed eggs store brilliantly, simply place any leftovers in an airtight container and into the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also store your steamed egg bowl in the fridge with plastic wrap over the top.
Reheating: If you're storing the eggs in an airtight container, place in the microwave with a loosely fitted lid until piping hot. Careful as the eggs might gently explode a bit so keep an eye on them. What I would recommend if you've stored the eggs in their steaming bowl. Then just re-steam them for 5 minutes to heat up.
FAQs
I'd recommend using a steam, wooden or ceramic bowl when steaming.
If you can tell that the eggs are cooked but there's a little watery surface, then simply remove the bowl and either use kitchen towel to soak up the water, or gently pour it down the sink. It's just the steam water condensation.
Any kind of steamed or fried veggies would be delicious for greenery and crunch. You could also serve this with scallion chicken which is one of my favourite chicken recipes.
More delicious recipes!
If you tried this Steamed Eggs recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
Easy Chinese Steamed Eggs (20 Minutes)
Equipment
- 1 sieve
- steamer
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 250ml chicken stock warm (35C/95F)
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
For the toppings
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon chili oil
- Chives finely sliced
- Scallions finely sliced
To serve
- 2 portions sticky rice
Instructions
- Crack 4 eggs into a large bowl and whisk. Then you want to whisk in the warm (35C/95F) chicken stock until well combined. Grate in your garlic clove and ginger. Give it a stir.
- Place a sieve over the top of your steaming bowl (big enough to hold your egg and chicken stock mixture), and pour your egg mixture through the sieve into the bowl. Feel free to scoop any remaining grated garlic and ginger that gets caught in the sieve and sprinkle it into your new egg steaming bowl. Remove any air bubbles off the top of the eggs using a spoon. You want the surface to be as smooth as possible.
- Next up, place a steaming basket/platform on the base of your pan. You can also use a bamboo steamer for this if you'd like. Pour in 1 inch of boiling water, place the pan on low heat.
- Delicately place your egg bowl into the steamer and place on the lid. Leave to steam on low heat for 15 minutes. To check if your egg is done, remove the lid and give the pan a jiggle. If there is still uncooked egg, keep steaming it (see notes for if there's excess water on the surface).
- Once your eggs are cooked, remove your bowl from the steamer with a cloth and then top with sesame oil, soy sauce, chili oil, chopped chives, and green onions. Enjoy with sticky rice!
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