Simply amazing homemade seasoned salted eggs

Brined eggs, or "salted eggs" (xiandan) as they are known in Chinese, are a staple throughout much of China, as this was a great way to preserve eggs in the days before refrigeration. But it's not only preservation that has made them popular: they can taste truly wonderful.

China's spotty record with monitoring its food supply means that it's not too wise to buy many of the more problematic Chinese products (including eggs), and although Taiwan's have so far not caused any problems, it's still impossible to find organic brined eggs or even relatively fresh ones. The solution? Make them yourself!

We adore brined eggs in our family, and we use them not only as a side dish for congee, but in other favorite dishes, as well. A steamed Taiwanese ground pork patty with pickles just isn't the same without some salty yolks studding the top, and since any extras are subject to first-come-first-serve, these dinners end up being wolfed down in record time so that dibs can be placed before anybody else gets a chance.

Barely cooked brined egg

Salty egg yolks are prized inside of baked Chinese pastries like mooncakes, where their sandy, savory, and even buttery flavors contrast perfectly with the sweet red bean paste. They are the perfect golden prizes to snuggle inside of Hakka tamales, and they lend a mysteriously cheesy flavor to the stir-fries that are described as "golden sand" (see next post). 

We first encountered this last style of cooking when we visited Shanghai, and it was so popular that we were served it at almost every dinner. Now that the memories of golden sand overload have faded, we have come to enjoy it once more. 

Traditionally, brined eggs are made with duck eggs, the large shells turning an even lovelier shade of blue during their weeks in the salt water. But since duck eggs are relatively hard to find, I've substituted large organic and free-range hen eggs; the taste is very similar to the genuine item, except for the fact that duck eggs tend to be a bit oilier. 

One thing nice about making your own brined eggs is that you can use any variety of egg you like and also can flavor the egg whites, something I've never seen done by other Chinese cooks.

You'll find that no commercial eggs are ever seasoned with anything but salt. However, when they are homemade, they can have their egginess edged with herbs, wine, and aromatics. In the recipe below, I've layered my eggs with ginger, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, Shaoxing rice wine, and lots of garlic. The resulting brined eggs have a remarkably well-rounded flavor that will make anyone a convert.

If you are planning to use these in a sweet, though, I'd suggest that you don't add any seasonings other than, maybe, warm spices like cinnamon and star anise, as otherwise they'd fight with your other flavors.

Those delicious golden orbs

Brined eggs are super easy and require only a few minutes of preparation. Then, the eggs just sit in a cool spot for a couple of weeks. How long they will take to become fully brined depends upon the size of the eggs and the heat of the room, but any egg that isn't quite ready can be easily incorporated into your morning scramble.

Homemade seasoned brined eggs
Xiándàn 鹹蛋 
All over China

Makes 1 dozen, easily multiplied

1½ cups sea salt
6½ cups boiling water
12 large fresh eggs, preferably organic and free range
1 inch fresh ginger, thinly sliced
2 whole star anise
1 tablespoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
3 dried chilies
3 whole garlic cloves, slightly smashed
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine

Easy & delicious

1. Clean a tall, 2-quart jar and its lid. Find a disposable plastic lid (like from restaurant takeout or a plastic yogurt container) that is about the same diameter as the jar; wash it carefully and drain.

2. In a large pitcher or bowl, dissolve the sea salt with the 6½ cups boiling water. Allow the water to cool down completely to room temperature before proceeding. (You don't want to cook the eggs at this point; they must be brined while they are raw.)

3. Gently lower the eggs one by one into the jar; toss out any that are cracked and use others egg, if you have extra. Add the ginger, anise, peppercorns, chilies, garlic cloves, and rice wine to the jar, and then fill it up with the salted water to about 1 inch from the top; toss out any extra salt water.

4. Squeeze the plastic lid into the jar so that it holds down the eggs and keeps them submerged in the brine. It's all right if the lid is at an angle, as the only thing that matters is that the eggs are under the water.

5. Cover the jar and place it in a cool place. Check one egg after about 3 weeks by cracking it into a bowl. The yolk should be hard and a dark orange, while the white will be clear and very salty. If the egg is cured enough, remove the rest of the eggs from the brine and store them in a closed container in the refrigerator until you want to use them; they are best within a couple of weeks. If they haven't cured completely, continue to brine the eggs, testing them every couple of days. 

A plastic lid holding things together

 6. Eggs that are not to be eaten within a couple of weeks should be hard boiled. To hard boil these eggs, just prick the round end of the shell with a pin or tack, place in a pan of cool water, and bring to a boil over medium high heat. (Doing it this way will reduce the chance of the shells cracking.) Simmer the eggs for about 7 minutes for room temperature eggs or 10 minutes if they're cold. Cool them down and refrigerate if you are not eating them right away.

7. You can keep the brine and use it again; just store it in the fridge. Or, make a new batch with different flavors. This brine is so cheap that you can afford to be wasteful here!

Golden sand & bitter melons

The last time we were in Shanghai a couple of years ago, it seemed like every cook in the city was terribly excited about a “golden sand” version of, well, just about everything possible. We got a bit exhausted from having this way too often, but now that some time has passed, my love for this lovely and delicious sauce has been rekindled.

Golden sand is nothing less than the yolks of Brined Eggs that are mashed and then stir-fried into a buttery sauce. Some of the things we had with the golden sand were less than stellar – combined with shellfish, for example, it’s an overkill of fatty, salty flavors (sort of like crab with drawn butter, at least to my taste) – but when it’s used as a visual and textural and flavorful contrast to the main ingredient, the result can be inspired.

Shanghai memories

My favorite rendition was when it was matched up with bitter melons. Everything was exactly right in this combination: the beautiful jade color of the vegetable against the amber crumbles of salted egg yolk, the crunchy melon sliding on the creamy sauce, and the slightly bitter and yet slightly sweet flavors mingling with the salty and, yes, really buttery aromas from the golden sand made this a winning trifecta.

The bitter melons are cut into thin batons, blanched, quickly cooled down, and only then tossed in the sauce. This serves to leach out most of the bitterness and essentially cook the melon very rapidly, which preserves its exquisite color and crispness.

Bitter melons in golden sand 
Jīnshā kŭguā 金沙苦瓜 

Shanghai
Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish

2 medium bitter melons

Boiling water

6 yolks from Brined Eggs, or storebought

2 cloves garlic, peeled and trimmed

1 green onion, trimmed

¼ cup fresh peanut or vegetable oil

2 to 3 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons sea salt

The raw & the cooked

1. Wash and dry the bitter melons and trim off both ends, as well as any damaged areas. Cut the melons lengthwise in half and scoop out both the seeds and any pith. Cut the melon halves crosswise into 2-inch or so lengths, and then slice these pieces lengthwise into thin (¼ inch) strips.

2. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and blanch the bitter melons for less than 1 minute, or until they turn bright green and taste barely cooked. Rinse the bitter melons with cool tap water in a colander set in the sink, and then drain thoroughly.

3. Use a fork to mash the yolks. Finely chop the garlic and green onion.

4. Pour the oil into a wok and heat it over medium-high until it starts shimmer. Add the mashed egg yolks, garlic, and onion, and stir-fry them until the sauce foams up; add the sugar and salt. Toss in the well-drained bitter melon and mix it quickly to heat the vegetables through. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour the melons onto a serving plate and scrape all of the sauce out of the wok on top of them. Serve while still very hot.

Foaming salted yolks

Tips

Bitter melons aren’t really melons… they’re a type of squash. The problem lies in the translation, because the name in Chinese for both melons and squash is gua 瓜. 

You can get a good sense of how weird these names are when you consider that a watermelon is called a “western gua” (xigua 西瓜), and a pumpkin is referred to as a “southern gua” (nangua 南瓜). Why? Beats me. One is sweet, the other not so much. Watermelons may have traveled from Central Asia into China, which definitely is to the west, but the pumpkin originates in the Americas, which is nowhere south of China. I give up.

A general rule is, the lighter the green of the bitter melon, the less bitter it is. For this dish, a pale green is recommended, unless you enjoy more astringent flavors.

One beautiful vegetable

Bitter melons are in season during the fall before the first frost. Select ones that are heavy for their size, and try to avoid any with bruises, as these vegetables spoil easily.

Store the melons in the fridge, preferably with a piece of paper towel around them to soak up any moisture, since they are prone to rot. Use them up within a day or two, if at all possible.

This recipe is for brined chicken eggs. If you are using duck or goose yolks, be sure and adjust the amount accordingly. Also, these latter two kinds of eggs tend to have a gamy or fishy flavor. To combat this, cut each yolk in half, sprinkle them with a bit of white liquor or rice wine, and steam them for about 5 minutes. Cool the yolks before mashing.