Prawns in soft egg

Ingredientsserves 4

Method

1. Rinse the peeled prawns, pat completely dry with kitchen paper and marinate ten minutes with a quarter teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of cornflour and a pinch of white pepper; the cornflour stops them weeping into the egg.
2. Beat the eggs gently with half a teaspoon of salt, the sugar and the cornflour water (a teaspoon of cornflour in two tablespoons of water); do not whip them to a foam.
3. Heat the wok with two tablespoons of oil, stir-fry the prawns forty to sixty seconds until pink, curled and just cooked through, lift out, cool a minute, then stir them into the egg.
4. Wipe the wok, heat it well, add the remaining two tablespoons of oil and swirl so the whole surface is coated; the oil should be hot but not smoking.
5. Turn the heat to its lowest (or off, under a heavy wok), pour in the prawns and egg, wait ten seconds, then push from the edge to the centre in slow folds so soft curds form.
6. At eight parts done, still glossy and only just holding together, slide it onto the plate; it finishes in its own heat. Scatter the spring onion and serve at once.

Take care

• Contains egg and crustacean (prawn). The egg is served soft by design; the prawns are cooked through in step three before they go into the egg. Cook the egg firm for young children, the elderly and in pregnancy.

The story

The soft-egg technique belongs to the restaurant and the cha chaan teng (滑蛋蝦仁炒河 is on the menu), and home cooks copy it because it needs nothing but eggs, a few prawns and nerve at the stove. Every Hong Kong cook has a rule for it and the rules contradict each other: cornflour water, extra oil, heat off, heat low. It is what a Hong Kong mother makes when a child will not eat anything else.

Same technique

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Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.