Three-egg steamed custard

Ingredientsserves 4

Method

1. Peel the century egg and cut it into wedges; crack the raw salted egg, keep the white and dice the yolk (dice a cooked salted egg whole).
2. Beat the chicken eggs gently with the salted-egg white, a pinch of salt and the warm stock or water, without whipping in air; sieve into a shallow, wide dish.
3. Scatter the century-egg wedges and salted-yolk pieces evenly through the liquid so every spoonful gets all three eggs.
4. Cover the dish with cling film or a plate and steam over gently boiling water on low to medium heat for ten to twelve minutes until just set; the centre should quiver when nudged but not be liquid.
5. Rest three minutes off the heat, dress with soy, sesame oil and spring onion, and serve hot over rice.

Take care

• Contains egg, soy and wheat (soy sauce) and sesame (sesame oil). A raw salted duck egg must be cooked through in the custard; the century egg is ready to eat. Buy century eggs from a brand that states it is lead-free.

The story

The dish exists because Hong Kong larders always had the two preserved eggs (salted egg for congee, century egg for the century egg and pork congee) and a mother wanting to use one of each; DayDayCook’s explainer on the difference between them is the reference. The chilled, sliced loaf version came across from Taiwan, and the two styles now sit side by side on Hong Kong recipe sites. It is a kids’ dish because the yellow, black and gold pattern on the spoon is the whole attraction.

Same technique

Steamed whole fishPork patty with preserved mustardSpare ribs in black bean sauce

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.