Today, we’re making Chinese folded fried egg,
my favorite version of the common fried egg.
This is an easy home-cooked dish
that can be made in just a few minutes
for any meal of the day.
To start, my dad will give us some pro tips for preparation
before we even begin cooking.
It's best to take the eggs out and let them come to room temperature,
instead of frying them straight from the refrigerator.
He recommends leaving eggs at room temperature
for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
Now he’ll explain why.
First of all, you have more control over the temperature.
Also, the water won't create as much splatter while you're frying it.
If there's water, does that make it less tasty?
It's not a matter of taste,
rather...
When the water splatters, it can hurt you.
If you cook a room temperature egg, it'll finish cooking faster.
The difference between cooking a cold egg and a room temperature egg
just think of which one is easier to fry.
If you're frying it straight from the fridge, soak it in some cold water
to help warm it up a bit.
Also, before you fry,
crack it into a bowl,
then pour it into the wok.
You don't know if the egg
has gone bad.
If you broke a bad egg straight into the wok, that'd be a waste.
You'd have to get rid of the oil and wash the wok.
A full, unbroken yolk
means it's a good egg.
If the yolk is all broken,
that means the egg isn't fresh.
Another advantage of cracking eggs into a bowl first
is that it lets you gently place the egg into your wok or pan
exactly where you want it.
Today, my dad will teach you two variations of the fried egg,
starting with what my dad calls the “round” fried egg.
Let's learn the round fried egg first.
First, heat the wok.
The wok has to get sufficiently hot.
After it's hot enough, then add the oil.
That's how you prevent sticking.
We’ll heat the wok on high for about a minute.
The wok is hot enough now.
It's hot now, so I'll lower the heat.
Turn it to medium, then add the oil.
To fry eggs, use more oil.
Let's swirl it around.
We’ll add about 2 tbsp of oil to the wok.
I'm going to put the egg in now.
We’ll crack an egg into a bowl.
The yolk is whole, so this is good!
The wok is really hot now.
Pour it in slowly.
How did you know it was too hot?
It was smoking too much.
Okay, turn it down to low heat.
Did you turn it off?
Just very low.
Don't touch it yet.
"How do you keep the egg round?"
When you're putting the egg in,
don't touch it, let it form a solid bottom,
then slowly nudge it around.
If the bottom of the egg hasn't cooked yet,
and you go in with your spatula,
you won't be able to move it nicely or flip it.
You need to gently go under it with the spatula
to flip it over.
Yay!
Then it'll flip properly and stay round.
Give it a nudge.
That's fried.
So now we'll flip it.
For a round fried egg, just flip it over.
Once the egg whites start to set
and the edges are browning,
or after about 30 seconds for us,
we can flip the egg by slipping the spatula
under half of the egg
then flicking up quickly.
The cooking time after flipping
will depend on your stove
and how well done you want the yolk.
Now, I'm going to push it up the wok.
The upper sides of the wok are still hot, right?
I'm going to prop it up with chopsticks
while I fry the second egg.
After flipping and cooking for 40-50 seconds,
my dad puts the egg on the side of the wok here
because it lets the egg continue cooking much slower
and it also allows the excess oil to drain
before taking the egg out.
We'll leave the egg up here.
Let's pour this one in.
How high is the heat now?
Medium heat.
It also saves us time because we can start the next egg.
If you like a more cooked egg,
this is more cooked through from sitting up here.
It's been cooking longer.
So the egg is more cooked through.
Traditionally, is it runny in the middle or cooked all the way through?
From a Cantonese kitchen,
a fried egg is up to your preference,
or what your guest prefers.
If you ask for a more cooked egg, they'll make that for you.
Just like a steak.
You tell them how cooked you like it.
If you don't specify, they'll cook it through.
Or if you like it more cooked, flip it back over again.
That works too.
This egg is cooked enough, see?
I'm going to make this one less cooked through.
Here at the bottom, don't let it stick to the wok.
Gently, like this.
If the egg can move, then it won't stick to the wok.
Let's make this egg runnier.
For a runnier yolk,
don’t continue cooking it on the side and just take it out.
You can see the egg yolk inside, right?
These first ones are very similar
to over easy or over medium eggs with crispier edges.
The other version my dad calls folded eggs.
In Cantonese, ho baau daan is commonly translated as purse egg,
describing the way that the egg whites fold over the unbroken yolk.
This resembles the traditional ho baau
a pouch or small bag that was used to carry everyday items,
also seen as a token of love.
The character ho can also refer to lotus
and how an egg resembles a lotus flower
when it is cooked in the oil.
The purse egg is unique
in that the cooked egg whites form a sort of pouch
around the less well-done yolk in the middle,
creating a thicker egg with more variety in texture
compared to a traditional over easy or over medium egg.
Now let’s see how to make it.
I only added oil once but I fried several eggs in it.
I'm adding a bit more oil.
This is the third egg.
We’ll start off the same way, placing the egg in the oil.
All right, the heat is on.
This one is a folded egg.
In the folded eggs, you can sprinkle a bit of salt on.
You can choose to salt the egg now, or later when you serve it.
It's time to flip the egg.
You need to make the egg white stick to itself.
Now, at the same point we would normally flip it,
we’re just going to fold over half of the egg onto itself.
The yolk is broken here, but my dad doesn’t mind.
Which style do you prefer?
I like both!
We have all of these ingredients listed on our blog at madewithlau.com
along with step-by-step instructions and video clips
to guide you as you make the recipe at home.
Now, we’re going to flip the folded egg after it’s slightly browned,
or after 30-40 seconds.
Pull it up to the side, and it can fry while the oil drains off.
Is the side less hot?
It's still hot but slightly less so.
It's still cooking the egg.
As a general rule for both versions,
we want to start with heating the oil on high,
then lower the heat right before you put in the egg.
For a crispier outside,
we’ll cook on higher heat for a shorter amount of time.
To cook the inside more,
lower the heat and cook for longer.
Let's add this egg now.
We’ll do the same side-of-the-wok cooking method
while we add our next egg.
See how it's folded?
All right, let's turn the heat down again.
Sprinkle some salt on.
We’ll season this one also with a pinch of salt.
Fold it over.
The egg whites are folded over now.
It's folded up.
Let it fry.
What if I don't have a carbon steel wok?
You can do this with a frying pan.
If you like it less cooked, take it out sooner.
For a more cooked egg, leave it in longer.
"What is the difference in cooking time
between having it more well-done and having it more runny?"
It's pointless to go by time.
It depends on the temperature of the wok,
that's how you know.
How can you tell that the egg is still raw,
or it has been cooked through？
When it's raw, the middle is more plump.
When it cooks through completely, it sinks down.
Fried egg is not a difficult dish at all,
but it’s an excellent dish to develop your cooking intuition.
As my dad mentioned, it’s not enough
to only rely on exact cooking times,
as everyone’s equipment, ingredients,
and preferences are different.
Instead, you have to pay attention while cooking
and adjust your methods if needed.
Even if it’s not perfect,
you’ll at least have gained experience
to do it better next time.
I also wanted to make a special shoutout to thank all of our
wonderful Patreon supporters for helping bring this video to life.
If you enjoy our videos and are interested in supporting us directly,
head on over to patreon.com/madewithlau to learn more!
It's not difficult to fry eggs.
It's very simple.
Honestly, when you're frying eggs,
it's not really a big deal if you break the yolk.
Isn't that right?
Now, this one.
We've finished frying the eggs.
Some of these are round,
and some of these are folded.
Some are more runny,
these are more cooked, see?
I hope you all enjoy this!
Hong Doy, time to eat fried eggs!
Cheers!
Fried eggs!
Cheers! Cheers, Cammy!
Hot!
Hot?
Is it hot?
You wanna try, Cammy?
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