We had a small potluck last Friday, which would have been super easy to prepare for had I not cut my finger and have to go to the hospital for stitches on Wednesday. It really wasn’t too bad (the tetanus shot was worse) except that the ER doc instructed me to not cook, wash dishes, or do much else with my left hand for a few days. Great!
My mom saved the day (probably for the umpteenth time in my life) and came over to cook for my potluck. I know: my mom is the BEST. She asks me what I want her to go buy and cook? (I know! She went grocery shopping for me too.) I explain that we’re having a “No Kitchen Required” viewing party so I wanted to make something a little out of the ordinary. Seems suitable right? How about century eggs? a.k.a “1,000-year old eggs” a.k.a. “peedan”. How about that Chilled Peedan and Tofu dish?
My mom says, are you having white friends over? They won’t like that… I say yea, a mix of people, and they all love food and are adventurous. Don’t worry. My mom is not convinced. She tried to suggest some other dishes and I pushed on for century egg. She gave in and compromised offering another dish with century egg chopped up with regular eggs and salt duck eggs? It’s less noticeable. I said, “I don’t know what dish you’re talking about but it’s a deal.”
That is how making this dish at my place came about and since this is a Kelly Hsu Lee original, I had to come up with a name. I know that sprinkles usually refer to sweet sugary colorful bits so allow me this departure. As I ate this dish (which is such a good intro into century eggs and salt eggs), I just kept thinking about how it’s a delicious savory sprinkle for my rice. It is an ingenious mixture of regular hard boiled eggs, century eggs (peedan), and salt duck eggs, paired with the classics of bacon and scallion. Hence, Three Egg Sprinkles.
Three Egg Sprinkles
~8-10 servings
- 4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
- 4 century eggs, chopped
- 5 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 2 hard-boiled egg whites, chopped
- 2 salt duck eggs, chopped
Instructions –
1. Heat a wok on medium-high heat until smoke just starts to come off the wok. Add bacon and stir, breaking up and clumps. Reduce heat to medium. Stir periodically as the fat renders out and the bacon gets crispy.
2. Add the century egg and stir-fry until the mixture dries up the moisture from the yolks. Stir in the hard-boiled eggs and extra whites toss until combined. Add the salt egg and toss until well combined. Add the scallions and toss until mixture looks dry. Serve with rice.
Left-overs can be kept in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to five days. Refresh the dish by tossing in a heated wok until warm.
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i love this story. i can’t help but feel that chinese moms can be pushy, but in the end, they’re just the best. of course, i am technically a chinese mom myself (zomg), so i may be biased.
kt, you just made me realize that I am a Chinese mom too. ROFL
Brilliant!!
I am gonna try this for my family.
I make your mom’s Taiwanese Cucumber all the time and have even passed it on to my family and friends. So good.
Love your posts.
Aww, thanks Nina!! Your comment made my day!
thank you for all your posts. I’m a college student, and I have recently moved into an apartment so I have to cook dinner for myself now. I live with two other Koreans, and none of us are super great at cooking. My korean friends have such limited number of dishes that they can make (mostly soups), and it made me forget all these different varieties of chinese foods there are. I really didn’t seem to remember what Chinese foods I ate growing up, but this serves as a great reminder! Thank You! I really would like it if you can post more simple chinese recepies I can try during exam times. I’m really beginning to crave some home made chinese food now that exam week is almost over (rather than ramen, pizza, and burgers).
Ellie, these are some of the easier recipes: Whenever I know I’ll be busy, I like to keep the Za Jiang Mien sauce around in the fridge so I can just cook some noodles and I’ll have a meal in minutes.
Za Jiang Mien
Ma Po Tofu
Beef & Peppers