Chicken-Paste Eggs

Name: Chicken-Paste Eggs
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 75 g Chicken breast (finely minced); 15 g Soaked dried shiitake mushroom, julienned; 7 Egg whites (1 for the chicken paste, 6 beaten into egg foam); 15 g Shaoxing wine (5 g for the paste, 10 g for the sauce); 1 g MSG; 38 g Cooked pork fat, minced; 15 g Water-starch slurry; 5 g Greens, julienned; 1000 g Lard (about 50 g actually used: 25 g for frying, 25 g for the sauce); 4 g Fine salt (3 g for the paste, 1 g for the sauce); 15 g Cooked ham, julienned; 150 g Chicken broth; 5 g Rendered chicken fat

A famous Wuxi specialty: chicken paste is combined with egg-white foam batter, deep-fried, and finished with a cornstarch slurry. The result is a pristine white dish with a silky, tofu-like texture.

35 min

Easy

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Ingredients

Chicken breast (finely minced) 75 g

Soaked dried shiitake mushroom, julienned 15 g

Egg whites (1 for the chicken paste, 6 beaten into egg foam) 7

Shaoxing wine (5 g for the paste, 10 g for the sauce) 15 g

MSG 1 g

Cooked pork fat, minced 38 g

Water-starch slurry 15 g

Greens, julienned 5 g

Lard (about 50 g actually used: 25 g for frying, 25 g for the sauce) 1000 g

Fine salt (3 g for the paste, 1 g for the sauce) 4 g

Cooked ham, julienned 15 g

Chicken broth 150 g

Rendered chicken fat 5 g

Instructions

Preparing the chicken paste

Finely mince the chicken breast and the cooked pork fat separately, then combine them in a bowl. Add 5 g Shaoxing wine, 3 g fine salt, 0.5 g MSG, and 1 egg white, and stir until a uniform chicken paste forms.

Preparing the egg foam

Place 6 egg whites in a mixing bowl and beat until they form stiff peaks (egg foam). First fold 3 tbsp of the egg foam into the chicken paste, then gently fold in the remaining egg foam until evenly combined.

Shaping and frying

Heat a wok over medium heat, add the lard, and heat to about 120 °C (about 30% of full heat). Using a soup spoon, drop the chicken paste into the oil in egg-shaped portions. Gently turn them with chopsticks; once the surface sets into a soft flower pattern and forms into chicken-paste eggs, lift each one out with chopsticks and drain on a slotted spoon. After all are shaped, reduce the heat to low, return the chicken-paste eggs to the oil, and gently turn them so they heat through evenly, then remove and drain.

Making the sauce and plating

In a separate wok over high heat, add 25 g lard, pour in the chicken broth, then add 10 g Shaoxing wine, 1 g fine salt, and 0.5 g MSG. Add the julienned ham, shiitake, and greens. Bring to a boil and thicken with the water-starch slurry. Lift the chicken-paste eggs with a slotted spoon and add them to the wok, gently tossing to coat. Drizzle in another 25 g lard, then slide the contents onto a serving plate and finish with the rendered chicken fat.