Inspired by a recent trip to China, this recipe for Chinese eggs with soy bean sauce is a quick, easy midweek dinner that’s savory and super tasty!
Eggs for Dinner
Eggs are a great, relatively low-cost source of protein that Chinese families often turn to for last-minute meals. Because they cook so quickly, you can whip up a dish in no time, and also use whatever you have in the refrigerator.
While eggs for dinner can be boring, this dish is anything but. Bill and I recently made a trip to Beijing, and we absolutely fell in love with this dish of scrambled eggs with bean sauce. My initial reaction was, “what a creative way to cook eggs!”
As with tomatoes in the classic tomato egg stir-fry, it helps to create an umami-packed tangy sauce that everyone loves. The use of the bean sauce elevates a basic egg dish to one that’s bursting with surprises.
I’m very excited to share this new method of cooking eggs. And this is a dish that you can try right away since you probably have everything you need in your refrigerator.
Possible Recipe Variations
I used soybean sauce for this recipe, which you can find from multiple brands, including Lee Kum Kee and Hai Tian (海天). Here are some examples below.
That said, you could look around your refrigerator and use your favorite sauce, like hoisin sauce, spicy bean sauce, or even Lao Gan Ma sauces to make your own version of this dish. The salt levels in these sauces vary (Spicy Bean Sauce – 辣豆瓣酱 – is especially salty), so you’ll need less than the 1½ tablespoons I call for in the recipe.
You can also include some vegetables to make it a complete meal. I used some diced green pepper, but you could also choose vegetables that don’t produce too much liquid, like peas, diced green beans, sliced onion, cabbage, or okra. Stir-fry them until crisp-tender before adding the sauce to finish the dish.
Serve this dish on its own with rice or a scallion pancake/wrap, or make it as a side dish to round out a meal!
Recipe Instructions
Prepare the sauce by combining the soybean sauce, sesame oil, light soy sauce, and water. Mix well and set it aside. Use more water if you have a relatively powerful high-BTU burner on your stove. Use less if your stove doesn’t get as hot.
Beat the eggs with Shaoxing wine and white pepper for a couple of minutes to make sure they’re really well-mixed.
Heat a wok over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke lightly. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to coat the bottom, and add the eggs. Cook until they are just barely cooked through, then remove immediately from the wok.
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok (still over medium-high heat), and add the pepper and scallion. Cook for 30 seconds, and add the sauce.
Bring to a boil. Add the cooked eggs and cook over high heat for 1-2 minutes, until the eggs and sauce combine and there is no visible liquid.
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Recipe
Chinese Eggs with Soy Bean Sauce
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1½ tablespoons soybean sauce or hoisin sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- ¼-⅓ cup water (depending on how hot your stove gets)
For the rest of the dish:
- 5 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola, vegetable, or avocado oil; divided)
- ½ cup chopped pepper (such as spicy long hot peppers, anaheim or serrano pepper, or mild bell pepper)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce by combining the soybean sauce, sesame oil, light soy sauce, and water. Mix well and set it aside. Use more water if you have a relatively powerful high-BTU burner on your stove. Use less if your stove doesn’t get as hot.
- Beat the eggs with Shaoxing wine and white pepper for a couple of minutes to make sure they’re really well-mixed.
- Heat a wok over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke lightly. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to coat the bottom, and add the eggs. Cook until they are just barely cooked through, then remove immediately from the wok.
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok (still over medium-high heat), and add the pepper and scallion. Cook for 30 seconds, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil. Add the cooked eggs and cook over high heat for 1-2 minutes, until the eggs and sauce combine and there is no visible liquid.
