A quick and easy Chinese Steamed Eggs with Soy Garlic Sauce recipe for a hearty, comforting meal. Especially when paired with hot white rice. Soft, silken, custard eggs drizzled with a savory soy garlic sauce.
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**Recipe originally published: February 23, 2022, Post updated: April 29, 2023
Chinese Steamed Eggs
For those times when all you want is some comfort food to warm you up, or when you’re feeling a bit under the weather, this Chinese steamed egg with a plate of hot rice would definitely hit the spot. A timeless recipe that’s so simple and easy to make, you can whip it up within 20 minutes!
The base of the dish is just of whisked eggs and water that’s steamed, then you can add on your additional toppings for flavor. It’s often seasoned with just some soy sauce and sesame oil. But I love garlic, and will include it every chance I get, so I add that and some green onions to the mix too.
If I’m ever in a bind on trying to figure out what to eat (because let’s face it, that happens), this dish is definitely one I pull out from my back pocket.
Silky, Creamy, Custard Steamed Egg Recipe
Chinese steamed egg also goes by the name “steamed water egg”, which alludes to the requirement of only 2 main ingredients–eggs and water. It’s also known as “egg custard” due to its creamy and custard-like texture.
I strain the egg mixture with a sieve in order to get that silky smooth surface. You can opt to skip this step, but you might end up with a bumpy texture.
As always, I enjoy my eggs on the spicier side of things, so I normally add a bit of chili powder to the sauce for some heat. You can skip it if you want. You can have this dish with hot rice for an effortless meal, or pair it up with other side dishes such as 15-Minutes Bok Choy Mushroom with Oyster Sauce and Chinese Crispy Lemon Chicken.
Ingredients You’ll Need
(For full ingredient measurements, please proceed to the recipe card below.)
- Steamed eggs: For the base of the dish, all you need are eggs and water.
Soy Garlic Sauce
- Garlic & green onions: The aromatics.
- Neutral oil
- Light soy sauce
- Gochugaru/chili powder (optional): Adds a spicy flair to the flavorful dish.
- Sugar
- Sesame oil
How to make easy Chinese steamed eggs with soy garlic sauce
Steamed Eggs
- Break 4 eggs in a measuring cup and whisk.
- The ratio of water added is 1:1. Add as much water as the amount of eggs (I use a pyrex to easily measure).
- Strain the eggs with a sieve into bowls or into one big bowl (optional step)
- Cover with foil or saran wrap and poke a hole with a fork.
- Steam eggs for 10-12 minutes over medium heat (only add eggs when the water is boiling).
Soy Garlic Sauce
- While the egg is steaming, sauté garlic and green onions in neutral oil over medium low heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Turn off heat and add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir.
- Pour sauce over the steamed eggs and serve. Enjoy!
Notes for Chinese Steamed Eggs with Soy Garlic Sauce
- Warm water: Use warm water as it combines easier with the eggs.
- Substitute water: You can even substitute the water with chicken stock or vegetable stock if you wish for extra flavor.
- Extra seasoning: You can season the egg with a bit of salt and pepper but I find that the sauce is more than enough flavor and seasoning for this dish.
- Medium heat: Prevent using high heat when steaming as it can give your eggs a course texture.
- Use saran wrap or foil to cover the bowl: This helps to prevent the condensation from the lid of your steamer to drip onto your eggs, which creates indentations to the surface.
- Strain the egg mixture with a sieve: This removes the lumps and air bubbles in the mixture, and gives you that silky smooth surface finish.
Here are other egg recipes for you to try out:
- Chili Oil Fried Eggs
- Malaysian-Style Soy Sauce Eggs (Telur Masak Kicap)
- Sambal Telur (Eggs with Sambal)
- Ramen Egg (Ajitsuke Tamago)
- Easy Onsen Tamago (Japanese Hot Spring Egg)
Easy Chinese Steamed Eggs Recipe Video
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Easy Chinese Steamed Eggs with Soy Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
Steamed Eggs
- 4 eggs
- water
Soy Garlic Sauce
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 stalk green onions diced
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp gochugaru/chili powder optional
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
Steamed Eggs
- Break 4 eggs in a measuring cup and whisk.
- The ratio of water added is 1:1. Add as much water as the amount of eggs (I use a pyrex to easily measure).
- Strain the eggs with a sieve into bowls or into one big bowl (optional step)
- Cover with foil or saran wrap and poke a hole with a fork.
- Steam eggs for 10-12 minutes over medium heat (only add eggs when the water is boiling).
Soy Garlic Sauce
- While the egg is steaming, sauté garlic and green onions in neutral oil over medium low heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Turn off heat and add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir.
- Pour sauce over the steamed eggs and serve. Enjoy!
Absolutely love this recipe 💞
Really happy to hear that! :)