Cantonese style Scrambled Eggs (黄埔炒蛋)

Hey guys, a few notes: 1. First off, quick note that more traditional than the toasted sesame oil in the seasoning of the egg would be some more melted lard. Personally, I just feel that the frying lard ends up incorporating with the egg in a way that renders the melted lard in the egg itself sort of optional. The most correct way would be to swap that ~1 tsp of toasted sesame oil with ~1 tbsp of lard. Up to you. 2. Looking at that quantity that I was frying with again… I re-measured it, and found that I was really much closer to two tablespoons. Apologies, it’s one of those things that I always end up eye-balling. 3. If you’re working with a cast iron wok, you actually don’t need to put the egg on and off the flame. Just pre-heat you wok, add in the egg, and turn off the flame. The residual heat will do the rest. The on/off the flame bit is actually sort of our own approach to mimic lifting the wok up to the lip of the wok burner like they do in restaurants. Note that the on/off the flame thing we do here would be considered very non-standard. But it gets us to a very nice end result IMO. 4. On that note though, there’s a million ways to execute this dish. Just type “黄埔炒蛋” into YouTube, and you can look at the sheer diversity of what you find. Here’s a good video showing another classic ‘step-by-step’ approach https://youtu.be/8SVZ1AXLqP4 and then there’s also this dude, who’s just… impressive https://youtu.be/oWUsCCCuoS8 . The layering technique that we show in the video is simply one approach among many. 5. Another classic approach is the step-by-step approach linked above, but keeping the egg at a doneness more similar to what we show in our video. After you finish frying, you then flip the egg on the plate so that the cooked portion on top cooks the uncooked portion. Also a very cool approach – we just love the gooey/ribbon-y look that this layering technique provides (and hey, we do have YouTube thumbnails to make after all). Reportedly this was Chiang Kai-Shek’s favorite way to have eggs. 6. There are many legends of Chiang Kai-shek making these sorts of eggs – one is that he’d whipped the egg white hard enough so that they’re stiff enough that chopsticks can stand in the whipped white. This is basically the Chinese equivalent of ‘stiff peaks’, and is employed in a handful of dishes. We did try testing it, and that gives you… a pancake lol. There could definitely be something we’re missing there, but because we’ve only seen that ‘chopstick story’ online and not in any of our books, we’re tentatively willing to write that one off as a potentially confused rumor. If you do follow that method though, let us know because I did think the idea of a ‘meringue scrambled egg’ was very cool. 7. These eggs could have gotten their name from Chiang Kai-shek’s time at the Whampoa military academy, or they could have gotten their name from the Tanka boat people that lived along the Huangpu river by the old port in Guangzhou. The latter is the story that Steph’s Dad shares. Their technique was reportedly as Steph described in the outro, and yeah… we just couldn’t seem to get something not-greasy there. While it’s possible that hey, it was the early 1900s, maybe people just liked stuff dripping with lard… we’re leaning more towards that there’s something that we’re just not understanding. Unlike the ‘stiff peaks’ story, there seems to be a lot more solid basis here. So if you know anything, definitely let us know. 8. Oh btw, if you’re curious about how hot ‘bubbling around a pair of chopsticks” is… we’re working at ~180C if you pool the oil in your pan/wok. 9. As I say in the description, butter can work. Personally I would try for something clarified like ghee or clarified butter if convenient (to avoid browning), but on a whim I tested it with some bog-standard Western butter and it works fine. It obviously provides a different flavor than the lard, but I’d still call it the same category of ‘thing’. I also tested this once with bacon grease – delicious in its own way, but undeniably morphs into that ‘American Breakfast’ flavor. 10. Oh, and by the way... uh... sorry to any Cantonese people watching. This video is another entry in an ongoing list of instances of "Chris tries to respect Cantonese food and culture by... absolutely butchering the language and pronouncing words like they're Mandarin" lol. Again, I really am sorry, I'm just... not one of those language guys - took 12 years for me to reach even this level of Mandarin haha. I know I should learn. One day, promise. EDIT: To everyone that's saying that these are 'undercooked', do you also hate this - bit.ly/34bnfOV and this - bit.ly/3i9lxlT ? Because this's about as cooked as the former, and definitely way more cooked than the latter... Totally cool to have different preferences though, of course. If you want it a bit more done than shown here, you can flip the egg onto the plate when finished. The residual heat'll really help everything cook completely though

I made these today for my wife who’s of Cantonese descent, and she gave them the major seal of approval and said it was just like her Grandma used to make for her. Thank you for making this recipe so accessible!!

As a Cantonese watching you do this...all I can say is...thank you for honouring the authenticity of Cantonese cooking and not bastardising it. You are legit. I sent this video link to all my family and friends...stay safe and once again...um koi (thank you)

This video is already so old but I only recently discovered it and just stood in the kitchen and was SO hungry and only really had eggs i could do something with. Then I remembered this recipe because I didnt really wanna do my regular scrambled eggs (just eggs, milk, carbonared water, salt, pepper) and thought id try. I didnt follow ALL steps but the end result was still SUPER delicious. One of, if not the, best scrambled eggs ive ever eaten. Will do again, maybe even for my family.

Made this recipe exactly with exception of 1 tablespoon duck fat. Totally delicious 😋 well seasoned with nice textural contrast. I sat there after one bite and told myself this is absolutely the best eggs I have eaten in my 57 years. Well done Cantonese people 🙏.

I'm really liking the infographic on the side with measurements. It really makes it much easier to follow along.

Him: To get started with Cantonese scrambled eggs you’ll need... eggs. Me: my god Him: there’s more Me: no.

This has no business being as good as this is with how simple it is never making scrambled eggs any other way again

“To get started with Cantonese scrambled eggs, you’ll need… eggs.” Every 60 seconds in Africa a minute passes

very interesting egg cooking method, I think I would want mine just slightly more cooked but not by a lot more.

Much appreciated that you went out of you way to show it with a standard cooking set up for us over here in the West. Thanks!

I've been making this for like 2 years now from your recipe and it's basically my go-to. Everyone I've made this for loves it. Thanks so much!

This is my favorite scrambled egg recipe by far! I come back and watch it every so often for reference, so delicious

"To get started with Cantonese scrambled eggs, you'll need... eggs." Me: ✍️✍️✍️✍️

Oh my goodness. I've been looking for this cooking method for four years now. My family and I went on a trip, and I had a beef noodle soup topped with this kind of egg and I remember loving its fluffy yet firm texture. I thought I would never be able to eat it again. Thank you very much!

Honestly, I love Gordon's scrambled eggs but after watching this video, it simply gives variety on the ways I can cook eggs now. Tysm, will definitely use this technique

Absolutely tremendous way of cooking scrambled eggs, pretty much the only way I make them anymore. It's got all the best qualities of a classic French omelette but without all the crazy difficult technique.

My Grandmother from Holland used to make scrambled eggs very similar to this. she used pan fried cabbage in them. The only way I can eat cabbage. Thanks for this; she passed away before I learned how to make them. I made them with fried cabbage, and cried when I ate them because I miss her so; its been 37 years since she died. now I need to teach my sons so it can be passed down with the family cookbook. Again thank you so much.

I’m gonna make this for my girlfriend tomorrow morning for breakfast. She loves traditional Asian foods and I like cooking for her

Thank you for a very detailed notes on this. You are the first YouTuber I encountered this way. No details are spared. Absolutely great!