Savory egg custard with clams and shrimp
4 servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| ½ | cup | Juice from canned clams |
| 1¼ | cup | Low-sodium chicken broth |
| 1 | teaspoon | Oil |
| 1 | teaspoon | Rice wine |
| 1 | teaspoon | Light soy sauce |
| ¼ | teaspoon | Sugar |
| pinch | White pepper | |
| 4 | Eggs | |
| ½ | cup | Canned whole baby clams |
| 3 | tablespoons | Chopped Chinese garlic chives, or green onions |
| 6 | mediums | Shrimp, shelled, deveined |
| 1 | teaspoon | Oyster sauce |
Directions
This steamed egg dish exemplifies the simplicity of Chinese home cooking it takes about 5 minutes to prepare. The Chinese use a heat- proof porcelain shallow bowl 7 inches wide by 3 inches deep with sloping sides to steam this egg dish. A 1 quart ceramic souffle dish or a Pyrex bowl works just as well. To ensure a smooth, silky texture, avoid high heat when steaming.
Combine the clam juice, chicken broth, oil, wine, soy sauce, sugar and pepper in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cool completely.
Lightly beat the eggs in bowl. Slowly stir the cooled broth mixture into the eggs until thoroughly mixed. Avoid over-beating.
Scatter the clams and 2 tablespoons of the chives in the bottom of a 1quart heat-proof bowl. Strain the egg mixture through a fine mesh sieve over the clams.
Bring the water in a steamer to a boil over high heat. Place the bowl on a rack above the boiling water. Cover, reduce heat to a gentle boil, and steam for 2 minutes, or until the eggs begin to set.
Carefully remove cover from steamer, and scatter the shrimp on top of the custard. Cover and steam for 5 minutes longer, The custard is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Carefully remove bowl from the steamer. Drizzle with oyster sauce and garnish with remaining chives. Spoon over rice. Serve hot.
Serves 4 to 6.
PER SERVING: 90 calories, 10 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 5 g fat (1 g saturated), 160 mg cholesterol, 186 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.
From an article by Joyce Jue, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/11/92.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; February 22 1993.