twinkie or an egg
Recipe: soy sauce eggs
I have always had this thing for the number 13 – I like it (in part because it is a prime number). And Friday the 13th is even better because I love Fridays. But the best thing about Friday the 13th? I always get an email from my friend, Jack. He usually tells me he misses me and Jeremy or that he hopes to see us next time we’re in So Cal. And then he ends with JASON JASON JASON KILL KILL KILL! This has been going on for over 16 years. I got one of his emails this morning right before we left the house. A great start to a fantastic day.
powder + bumps + breckenridge = sweetness
It really feels like spring skiing, which I’m not all that thrilled about because it gets so darn hot. However, the fresh powder overnight and the bluebird conditions today are pretty hard to beat. Breck was surprisingly unbusy and we hit freshies all morning. By afternoon, the powder became heavy, the runs were getting tracked up, I was sweating like a pig, and my quads were on fire.
totally worth the pain
jeremy hunts for pockets of powder
After washing up at home, we met some good friends of ours in Boulder for sushi. They don’t live in Colorado anymore, but they usually come back to visit twice a year. These friends have a little two-year old daughter who is delightful, entertaining, and incredibly well-behaved.
kids like dirt
did you say edamame?
some sushi for the adults
The drowse is starting to set in, but I wanted to get this recipe out of the archives because a recent email with Bee made me realize I have neither cooked nor blogged much in the way of Chinese dishes lately.
making soy sauce pork
I grew up eating soy sauce eggs, which are hard boiled chicken eggs cooked in soy sauce chicken (or pork or beef) broth. My mom makes them all the time and they are fantastic served cold as part of a plate of Chinese cold cuts for an appetizer, or served in a bowl of steaming Chinese noodle soup, or just eaten on their own. Mom liked to bring them on our camping trips or take them on flights for a snack. She even tucked one into my lunch on occasion as a loving treat.
peel the hard boiled eggs
The problem was that I already stood out in my school because I looked very obviously Chinese where the rest of the students were white or black, but not Asian. Add a tan colored hard-boiled egg to my lunch and the kids around me had all manner of exaggerated grossed out reactions – because this was southern Virginia and well… as I’ve said before, kids are stupid and they’re assholes. Once was enough to know that I should just hide the egg until I could eat it at home because I was tired of being teased, tired of ignorant people, tired of having to explain my culture.
poke the peeled eggs with a fork
These days when I think back to those times, I regret that I didn’t have the guts to stick up for my culture. Kids want so badly to fit in. At least, I did. I feel ashamed of myself for having been ashamed of my culture. It wasn’t until junior high when I embraced being different and began to accept being Chinese (and all of the baggage that comes with it – good and bad). I am glad I came out on the right side of things. Laugh at my soy sauce eggs now and I’ll ask you how hot you like your can of whoopass soup served up.
simmer the eggs in the broth
I have always just made these eggs based on my mental image of my mom and grandma making them. It wasn’t until I wanted to blog the recipe, and hence required actual instructions, that I called to check with my mom – you know, to make sure I wasn’t doing it wrong for the past 20 years. Here is the funny thing about my parents: they are retired. They are so excited when I call to check a recipe with them that they both get on the phone and talk over one another giving me two, sometimes three sets of instructions, while simultaneously arguing with each other.
deliciously dark
Dad told me not to let them simmer for too long in the broth. I asked why and he said they would get dark in color. “But I like them dark, Daddy.” He told me some Americans get wigged out by the dark color, so lighter might be better. And that feeling of being an outsider came back to me – the whole idea that we have to change something good in our culture because some people can’t get their heads around the fact that soy sauce turns boiled eggs brown. WTF? I simmered them for double the time that Dad suggested and they were still lighter than I am used to (and lighter than I like).
great in a bowl of chinese noodle soup
Some white friends in college used to say I am more American than they are – a twinkie (yellow on the outside, white on the inside). Living in Colorado, all I see are white people and so yes, in my head, I think I am white. But there is nothing that makes me feel more Chinese than when I cook or eat (authentic) Chinese food. It’s something I’m proud of and it’s something that I am proud to share.
spinkled with green onions and a drizzle of soy sauce
Soy Sauce Eggs
[print recipe]
soy sauce chicken broth
6-12 eggs (as many as you like)
Make hard-boiled eggs. [Hard-boiled eggs: I usually place eggs in a pot, then fill the pot with cold water until the eggs are covered. Bring to boil over high heat. Boil for 3 minutes. Then cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let sit for 8 minutes. Drain the hot water and rinse with cold water for 30 seconds. Let cool.] When the eggs are cooled, peel the shell off of each egg. With a fork, poke each egg about 1/4 inch deep (or just to the yolk) about 12 times all around the egg. Just make sure the pokes are evenly distributed. Set the eggs in a pot with the soy sauce chicken broth (I usually toss the eggs into the pot as the soy sauce chicken is finishing cooking). Let simmer for 40 minutes. Cover and turn off heat. Let the eggs soak in the broth for another hour or until they are slightly lighter than desired color (they will darken a little when you remove them from the broth). Remove eggs from broth. Refrigerate. Serve as a cold cut or in Chinese noodle soups, etc.
March 14th, 2009 at 1:04 am
If it’s not your race or culture, it’s something else. We all have something that makes us an outsider. It takes a while to embrace that everyone is weird. FWIW, those eggs look and sound delicious to me. I think I really must try them.
March 14th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Gotta try these, Jen!
My daughter is now in the same place you were. She’s not ashamed of her culture but just does not want to explain or have to stand up for herself when other kids call her lunch gross. And what do they get? Lunchables and candy. She went through a lot of hurt feelings but now thinks they are stupid and not worth the effort. There are few Indian things she will take – I sneaked some cilantro chutney into her sandwich the other day and it was promptly noticed. The reaction went from eww to it’s green, how disgusting to your lunch is exotic. She wants none of either extreme – she just wants to eat her lunch in peace.
Twinkie is new to me. I have heard of South Asians immigrant children being called coconuts – brown on the outside, white on the inside. It’s not used in a complimentary tone though. :-(
Have a great weekend!
March 14th, 2009 at 3:24 am
Jen here the expression is bananas, yellow on the outside, white on the inside. I’m not sure if it’s considered insulting or not though.
Love the idea of these eggs. Similar to marbled eggs which I love.
March 14th, 2009 at 3:37 am
I don’t mind days like Friday the 13th…
What gorgeous bright shots! Everything looks soooo good and extremely well presented!
Cheers,
Rosa
March 14th, 2009 at 4:23 am
Thank you… your post opened a few floodgates here. I went through the very same crap in school, having to explain myself and why I had what looked like funny food in my school lunches. (Not to mention why I looked different from a lot of them.) I was also an Army brat, which didn’t help matters, since we moved around so often. (And then there was the constant explanations; “what is a Samoan? You sure you didn’t mean Somalian?”… there’s lots more, and more “creative” ones from the kids.)
Those days still bring back some really bad memories… but it’s nice to know that I am not the only one that went through that experience.
March 14th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Would you believe it… while I was in COLLEGE at BERKELEY, of all places, I made a pot of soy sauce eggs and let the broth simmer for hours. My housemate’s boyfriend came for a visit and immediately exclaimed, “IT SMELLS SO WEIRD HERE. Why are you cooking that?? It makes the house smell weird! Eww!” I swear, some people just never stop being ignorant dumbasses.
March 14th, 2009 at 6:02 am
My kids are friends with kids of all colors, backgrounds, ethnicities, etc. Just an example of how my kids don’t see color…..my oldest had a friend Marcus, whom I had yet to meet. He kept telling me that he wanted his hair cut “just like Marcus’. Ok I said. Well then I finally got to meet Marcus and lo and behold…the kid has a 2 foot afro. Ummmm, I’m afraid I have some bad news regarding that haircut son, lol. I was proud that he never saw his as a color, just another kid. Maybe that’s the way he was brought up, but I’m hoping that we as a society are changing. I hope.
March 14th, 2009 at 6:07 am
I think you encounter that crap everywhere. I grew up in SC. Use your imagination.
There’s a children’s book on this subject, in which a little boy in NY is embarrassed by his mortadella sandwiches. He dreams of peanut butter and jelly. But it makes his father sad, and eventually he embraces the cries of “Thomas eats stinky meat!” and once everyone else tries his sandwich they relax because it’s sooo good. Optimistic, but helpful when I took spanikopita and leftover falafel to school.
I’ve had a similar/not at all the same kind of egg made by a friend’s mother – they’re Vietnamese. It was sweet and salty, with more of a candied coating, like BBQ. It was fabulous and I’d love another anytime.
Lastly, I love it when you blog Chinese food. I’ve been trying internet recipes for a couple of years and honestly they rarely work and often end up making me feel like an idiot. Your recipes are simple, they show the ingredients (which is useful when there’s something new to me, like fermented veggies), and they look delicious so they inspire me.
March 14th, 2009 at 6:17 am
I adore your photos…and I like the eggs dark! In Thailand we had some where the whites turned completely black (one thousand year eggs maybe?) They were good!
March 14th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Oh, I’m so glad whenever you blog about *authentic* Chinese food. I hate the fact that I grew up with takeout as my only barometer of what Chinese food should be like. In fact, for a potluck lunch at work this week, I’m planning on making your hot and sour soup – we’ll see how people who’ve only ever had it from a takeout place react!
March 14th, 2009 at 6:34 am
I love all things eggs, too bad I’m allergic.
March 14th, 2009 at 8:24 am
This is like 滷蛋 (braised eggs) which my mum usually makes as a side to 滷鴨 (braised duck)! Except hers is done in dark soy sauce. This is good stuff! The darker the better!
That little girl is so adorable. So innocent-looking, just the way kids should be :)
March 14th, 2009 at 10:36 am
I love this recipe, Jen. I am definitely going to try it.
I can so relate when you talk about not fitting in when you were a child. When we moved to Florida, I went through the same thing. As a black-haired, brown-eyed Italian girl, I felt like such a sore thumb. The other kids had never seen an “Eyetalian” before, and they were sure that my father must be in the Mafia! When the other kids ate PB&J for lunch, I was stuck with sausage and pepper sandwiches. I felt like an alien! Wish I had stood up for myself more then too.
March 14th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Aww, this post is so sweet! Kids, and even adults, can be pretty dumb. I grew up in the Bay Area, where there are tons of asian kids, and there will still be people who need to call anything different weird. I think things have gotten better…my mom was so against being Chinese, but high school kids now really embrace it and take pride in their culture. Being hapa, I’ve never really found my place in either the Chinese community or the white one. As a kid, I always wanted to be MORE chinese. I’ve had so many friends tell me they think of me as white, and for me it’s not really the compliment they mean it to be. Like, my Mom’s family is pretty Americanized, but we don’t consider ourselves white. Anyway, I’m rambling. I guess what I’m saying is we all have our own mix of cultures, and there really is no one american way. It’s all valid. And eggs are delicious with anything.
March 14th, 2009 at 10:52 am
yum. i love hard boiled eggs in most forms…i remember the teasing in grade school, not fun and kids always made fun of my moms accent, which made me want to punch them and i think i did on an occaision or two, not that i condone that sort of thing :) by junior high i started to not care too. the soup and eggs look delightful! and your friends little girl is a gem!
March 14th, 2009 at 11:23 am
That looks great! And thanks for sharing about your experiences. I live in a very isolated area with zero diversity. I struggle to find ways to keep my children’s minds open.
Could you post the whole recipe for your soup picture? That looks awesome!
Oh, and I love your site. Thanks for all the great stories, pictures, and recipes!:)
March 14th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I understand completely about prime numbers
Those eggs sound great!
Yes, kids can be horrible. The sad part is that it has a lot to do with how the parents raise them, but when you remember that 3/4 of the people you meet probably will never be at your birthday parties, there for you when you’re not feeling well or need someone, at your funeral, it’s easier to ignore them, though it’s still a concept many kids can’t grasp (like me, unfortunately). Oh well.
March 14th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
You may be a twinkie, but I am an egg (white on outside, yellow on inside). Hehe. My taiwanese friend’s mother makes these type of eggs all the time and serves them with seaweed pretty often.
March 14th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I grew up in a town where everyone was considered a WASP, (they proudly called themselves that). I had a long Italian last name, and many times my brown bag lunches consisted of meatball sandwiches. It smelled good to me, but sitting next to someone eating something with cheese whiz in it was, well you get the idea. I was constantly teased about my family being in the Mafia; I didn’t even know what that meant. When I went to someone’s house to play, some of the dumbass parents would make snide remarks about my Mother’s homemade cooking. It’s hard to believe, but true. I never answered back because I was taught to be polite, so instead I stood there cringing inside, not wanting to be different. I wanted to eat store bought white bread, not hard crusted Italian bread. My last name lumped me into a category that was discriminated against. What was a kid to do? I think there are many of us who had to endure the torture of smart alec kids who learned from their parents, who did know better, but chose not to be respectful of other people.
The photos of that little girl was insanely adorable. She has a delicious looking face – so cute!!!
March 14th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Mmmm…soy sauce eggs! The soup looks very very tasty. I have tried making Chinese food numerous times and have had very little success in getting the “right” taste. Do you know what I mean? It just does not taste as authentic as my grandma used to make it.
On another note, I can relate to your childhood experiences! Growing up in a predominently caucasian city (Victoria), I was in the minority and my lunches often drew attention from my classmates: positive and negative. I was fortunate enough that I only had to endure a couple years of that; after which, my parents bought our house within walking distance to the schools I attended so that I was able to go home for lunch everyday. I do love a GOOD sandwich with tasty fillings every now and then, however, I prefer ethnic food for my meals: whether it be Greek, Japanese, Thai, Malaysian, or Chinese to name a few. I’m lucky that I now live in Vancouver, a city ripe with diversity and where good, tasty ethnic eats can be found easily and is easy on the wallet too! :) And yes, even the people who live here in Vancouver are more accepting of my ethnic meals! :)
March 14th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
They are so excited when I call to check a recipe with them that they both get on the phone and talk over one another giving me two, sometimes three sets of instructions, while simultaneously arguing with each other.
That is so Chinese, I can totally hear my family doing the same thing. In fact they did do that when I called home to ask a question.
March 14th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I am appauled at how mean children are. It crushes my soul everytime someone is mean to my son. Kids and their parents are assholes.
March 14th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Your friend Jack? Charming. Just charming.
I second Shoshanna’s opinion – Vancouver is a good place to be if you’re ethnic, especially Chinese. Nonetheless, I have stories of being taunted as a child simply because my lunch was “weird”. Homemade dumplings, packed in a thermo lunch box, with little packets of soy sauce and sesame oil, was definitly not cool back then.
March 14th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Hm, I’ve never heard of soy sauce eggs, but I love soy sauce, and I love eggs, so they look great.
I was skiing in Breckenridge yesterday too – although I only skied in the afternoon (it was getting a bit crowded by then, but not bad). I spent the week there with my family, and it was great. The weather was great, the snow was great, the mountain is great. Oh, except my brother-in-law getting a concussion wasn’t great, but he’s doing fine.
And while I was there, I made your shredded beef tacos (well, they ended up being burritos because I didn’t want to fry corn tortillas for seven people in a little rental condo kitchen) and your first flourless chocolate cake – the one from Pie in the Sky, not the DB recipe. So it was a URB week for me.
March 14th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Oh that soup looks so satisfying & warming.
March 14th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Jenzie, I was taunted too, but it was because we were poor. I agree with Kate, the very first poster: There will ALWAYS be something that someone does not like about us, but they are the true losers, not us.
Send me some of those eggs. I love hard-boiled eggs and these will be no exception.
;)
March 14th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Thanks for the recipe–I love these kind of eggs!
March 15th, 2009 at 8:40 am
What if you gently cracked the shells and then do the first boil in the soy sauce? I wonder if it would give the tummy flavor? As always the pics are amazing, the powder looks fun and now I am hungry! :)
March 15th, 2009 at 8:41 am
ummm yummy flavor not tummy flavor – I guess I was getting hungry
March 15th, 2009 at 11:11 am
That bowl of soup looks amazing!
And did I ever mention, I was born on a Friday the 13th? :)
March 15th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
This made me think of two totally separate things:
1) my hubbs is originally from Pakistan and makes Punjabi stews in which he leaves eggs to simmer (with the shell on) so that they hard boil in the stew. Because there’s usually turmeric in there, they come out yellow in the end and so tasty, so I totally get the hard boiled stewed egg.
2) I’m Iranian and French so when we moved to the US when I was 10, it was a double whammy in SoCal because I was dark haired/eyed and I didn’t speak English at first, so once I became indistinguishable linguistically, I was still strange in most other ways from my lunch to my clothes, and then when I got older I was still clearly either un or anti-American because I was French and/or potentially a terrorist because I was swarthy and Middle Eastern. This did not get better after 9/11 what with my being born in Tehran on my passport, “Freedom Fries,” and other such nonsense. So my response has almost uniformly been that all the idiots can go to **** and I’m proud of all my origins.
Thanks for bringing it up. Sometimes I wonder if parents set out to teach their kids to be incredibly rude or if it’s just a by-product of having lousy human beings for parents.
March 15th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I can relate to Hilda with both my parents being born and raised in Morocco and us just about everywhere because my dad was in the Air Force. When France was anti-military we stood out like sore thumbs at school and when I moved to the US I stood out because neither of my parents were born on “gentile” soil. WTF?!! Problem is that kids can be pretty rough and stupid but adults are not far from being as dumb sometimes…Some are surprised to find out that French people are not rude and that French women do shave :)
I admit, being from a military family, we were on a tight budget so I ate so many hard boiled eggs growing up that I can’t stand the sight of one now….but if they are from you and simmered in soy sauce…now that’s a whole different story!!
March 15th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Seeing you guys on the just makes me happy. And your parents sound so fun. The childhood stories sound just like what Diane tells me about hers. Crappy kids. On a culinary note: love the soy eggs. The browner the better. Sending you Cali sunshine. Try not to let it melt the snow! Todd.
March 15th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I had the exact same experience with bringing soy sauce eggs for lunch, to school. I was just about to write a post on it too, when I read yours. Uncanny!
March 15th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
It’s somehow soothing to see that so many people have been teased in some way or another about their childhood lunches. The worst was when I was in the earlier years of elementary school and I couldn’t even really explain to the simply curious kids what was in my tupperware. (And worse than being the kid with the weird lunch was the kid with the weird lunch in a container that had to be brought back home!)
I asked my mom why my soy sauce eggs came out pale, and she said that after she peels the boiled eggs and before she plops them into the meat broth, she marinates the eggs in soy sauce for 1-2 hours. (Maybe about 1/4 cup per dozen eggs, just mix them around and let them sit) I tried this and not only do the eggs look darker, they have a more fragrant aroma to them and are more addictive than ever. My mom also puts in dofu gaan (that “pressed” tofu that’s dark brown on the outside and tan on the inside) into the broth with the eggs. These two things are the epitome of comfort food to me. :)
March 15th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
hmmm, for some reason, I always thought you’d hard boil them or stew them with shells on…like they do with the tea soaked eggs. but i LOVE these…get them at the japanese ramen place and they come on the side. LOVE ’em, Love ’em.
i wish my mom was domesticated enough to make lunch or go camping…so that’s lovely that yours did. i remember when i had my first dinner guest over in kindegarten. we had my favorite – fish – steamed. my friend was so freaked out seeing the head and the eyeballs she couldn’t eat. i’ve always been obtuse about the racial thing – i could never understand how others didn’t get it….ie the brown egg being that MUCH more yummy. or the steamed fish being superior in taste and nutrition, compared to fried (fake) fish sticks. and S. FL was probably a lot more redneck than VA. i heard it all but always thought it was entertaining to enlighten those curious to ask…
March 16th, 2009 at 2:05 am
Our ayi makes these all the time. As Americans living in Shanghai my( white) son is living your life in reverse. His Chinese is just as good as his English and he prefers his Chinese friends. I hope the world is a more tolerant place for him as he grows up.
March 16th, 2009 at 4:29 am
Reading all this makes me wonder if my kid will have the same problems (I’m Malaysian and the hubby is French).
For us Malaysian Chinese, soy sauce eggs means more than just using soy sauce. It’s dark sweet soy sauce + soy sauce with lovely slices of pork. The result? Ultra dark chocolatey looking coloured eggs. ^^
March 16th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I just found your blog and the soy sauce eggs should be excellent. But what interests me even more is your soy sauce chicken. I suspect that the broth would make a wonderful soup base. A basic chicken noodle soup with vegetables and mushrooms is an obvious choice but what about wonton soup or as a base for how and sour soup? I make an excellent hot and sour soup (in my opinion, at least it serves my needs) and this would make an interesting addition as the starting broth. The only change I would make in your recipe would be to substitute thighs for drumsticks. Just personal choice (I don’t like drumsticks.)
A few years ago I spent some time in Korea and adopted their custom of soup for breakfast. I still have soup for breakfast probably 4 or 5 days a week. Yum!!!
I too live in the Colorado Rockies, roughly half way between Denver and Co Spgs in the foothills near Devil’s Head. So its good to see someone else interested in high altitude cooking.
Thanks so much for the recipes.
March 16th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Love the shot of the soup because it reminds of the only times I eat soy sauce eggs, which is when I go to the ramen shops here. So good! And I like them darker too.
Re. the “white” thing – it’s funny you say you feel white because of your surroundings – I feel not white, though I don’t know what I feel like… maybe because I’m married to a Mexican guy and am often in the thick of a music culture that feels so diverse. But you are what you are and yeah, if someone made fun of you now, I can only imagine the ass kicking they would get. ;)
March 16th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
that sounds very much like something Jack would do. :)
March 16th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
The sight of that soup, especially the pickled vegetable shreds, instantly made me hungry. And I love your snow / skiing photos; I’m about to take the surfboard out for the first time this year, it’s such a sweet contrast. Best wishes from the sand and sea in Southern California :)
March 16th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Love soy sauce eggs, Jen. I always buy an extra soy sauce egg when I pack lunch-to-go from the many Chinese express food outlets. Love it.
March 17th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Okay, so have never seen these ever but now need to be making them.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Kate – either that or people are always looking for ways to exclude others. Go figure :)
Manisha – I’m glad M is comfortable enough with herself that she just doesn’t want attention either way. Yeah, I’ve been called banana and twinkie ;) It’s not complimentary, no… sort of a joke. I’ll have to tell you a story about something similar to that some day…
Barbara – I think it is insulting, but… in some ways it isn’t (sort of like calling your friends bitches).
Rosa – I love Friday the 13ths! :)
Nikki – that sucks, and I’m sorry. But just imagine that it made you a stronger person today (who can probably kick their butts).
Jesse – yup! That is soooo true :)
Lisa – omg, that is sooo cute and funny! I love that story. Awesome.
Fiona – yeah, I think kids in general are much dumber and more close-minded than the kids in that story. At least in my experience :) I’m really glad you like the Chinese recipes! Sometimes I’m wondering what the heck I’m cooking and who the heck would want to reproduce it.
Cate – oh yeah, those thousand year old duck eggs are preserved in lime. You’re braver than I! I can’t eat much of those (my dad likes them a lot).
Caitlin – woohoo! You go girl!
Chiot’s Run – oh, that’s so sad :(
Mrs. E – I agree, I like it with lots of flavor. She’s a really sweet kid too.
Susan – You’re not a sore thumb anymore, babe. We all love you. xxoo
Emmy – Well, I’ve always thought that half-half kids are beautiful – no matter the mix. It’s interesting to hear your take on it though! And yes, eggs rock :)
Cindy – oh, that is really inappropriate… to make fun of parents’ accents. One of my best friends in high school had the sweetest Greek parents ever. I loved them and they really preserved their culture with their children. I think my friend handled it really well (and perhaps I learned something from her too) – she didn’t take crap from anyone.
Melanie – that’s awesome that you want your children to be exposed to diversity. I crave it. The recipe for the soup is linked in the post, but here it is just in case you missed it: http://userealbutter.com/2008/09/23/chinese-pork-rib-soup-recipe/
Christina – yay, prime numbers! :)
Mary – ha ha, that’s great. Eggs rule.
Kathy – oh boy, now I know where those kids got it from (their parents!). It makes me sad that I resented my culture and my race when I was a kid, because I really embrace it now. She is indeed totally cute and so funny.
Shoshanna – Vancouver is so nice. I love it there. Lots of great ethnic foods too. Mmmm!
Norajeans – parents are funny that way :)
Mellisa – it used to make me really mad when I would see a little kid getting teased. Jeremy has to keep me from butting in and giving those mean kids the smackdown at times… *sigh*
Helen – you don’t know the half of it! (about Jack!!) He’s quite the charmer! Homemade dumplings may not have been cool then, but you would be the queen of the hill today :)
Bridget – yeah, I think you might dig these eggs. Oh nice! Except it would have been better with more snow ;) Still, glad you guys had a good time. Too bad I didn’t see ya on the slopes.
Dawn – comfort food :)
Margie – yup, there is always something just like there are always assholes. Well, my dear. You are in a good place now. Try making the eggs, I’m sure you’ll like them!
Asianmommy – me too!
Luv2cooktoomuch – huh… if you mean crack the shells after they are hard-boiled like with tea eggs, I think the flavor infusion would be a little weak (b/c you poke holes in the eggs before boiling in the soy sauce). But it would be awfully pretty.
Mollie – sweet. You are my new ax murderer movie sequel friend!
Hilda – oh, those sound great. I’m so glad you are proud of your origins. That is awesome (to be French and Iranian – you must eat some AWESOME food). I think people are just happy to be ignorant and find something to pick on. I say we should make fun of stupid jerks.
Tartelette – I think the stupid and rough kids are products of stupid parents, honestly. I know plenty of very accepting kids who have equally awesome parents. Oh wow, I didn’t know you didn’t like hard-boiled eggs! Is that why you make so many pastries – only whipped whites or custards or meringues ;) hee hee
WoRC – it’s melting the snow! ;) Thanks hon. I see Diane grew up to be one tough little chica. She’s incredible!
Soopling – oh noes! I’m glad you held on to your love of soy sauce eggs despite the teasing.
Diana Banana – Mmm, I agree, the darker the better tasting. I really think these are my comfort food too (along with Chinese noodle soups). My grandma and mom make these all the time :)
Susan – Yes yes! I am all for a whole steamed fish (except I don’t have anything large enough for a whole fish unless it’s a *tiny* fish!). I had friends flip out over the head-on fish dish thing. I guess people don’t like change? I love change ;)
Jennifer – that’s great! I think your son’s exposure will give him a much more enlightened view of the world.
Mei – mmmm, I’ve never had that before! Sounds good.
Wramblin’ Wreck – yes, it does. I posted about it here: http://userealbutter.com/2007/11/13/chinese-soy-sauce-chicken-recipe/ although I wouldn’t use it for hot and sour soup because the flavor is too strong. Thanks for visiting.
Melissa – ha ha! When I lived in So Cal, I felt more Chinese, so perhaps it’s what I’m seeng on a daily basis (although then I suppose I’d think I was a black lab).
Megan – hey sweetie!
Steph – surf and ski is a great combo :)
Rasa Malaysia – I’m so jealous that you have good Chinese express food outlets! :( xxoo
Peabody – yar, they are especially good when you’re feeling under the weather.
March 27th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
I was looking for a similar recipe, my father was a chef and used to specialize in doing Indonesian Rice table, his egg recipe was cooked on a tray in the oven, possibly with Kejap Manis soy, I also saw one of his cook books that had an original recipe for century eggs! they were put into a clay pot & actually buried, and prior to burial you had to bow and pray! Will give this recipe a try.
March 28th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Ben – how cool. Yeah, I love these eggs, but the century eggs not so much ;) My dad loves them though!
April 5th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I just bought 30 quail eggs on a whim yesterday and as I thought about what to make with them, I thought of this recipe. I think it’ll be quite cute and would make for some nice snacks. ^^
April 6th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Sherry – wow! I’ll bet those were a lovely treat :)
May 6th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
I just found your wonderful blog.
Wow, this entry brings me back to my childhood.
I used to get the same bs when I was a kid, and it was hard fitting in being hapa. Some of the white kids called me chink. Some of the asian kids said I wasn’t really Chinese, which hurt too.
Then, when I complained to my mom that I wanted American food like peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, she went to a deli and bought HEAD CHEESE and BRUNSCHWEIGER (liver roll), and put them in sandwiches in my lunch one week. I got made fun of worse than ever.
But since then, I’ve developed a taste for food from around the world and love trying new things when I travel.
And I always come back to the soy sauce chicken (with soy sauce eggs) because I still love it and it’s an easy meal to make that all my kids will eat. It’s also gotten raves when I make it for company — it seems many Americans are more open to ethnic foods nowadays. I also simmer tofu cubes in the broth because I love the flavor and don’t want to discard a drop.
May 9th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Hsin – I hear ya and I’m glad that you’ve grown up to embrace your culture(s). I think that’s a strength. Good for you.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Love this recipe! Everyone should have the peace to be proud of their culture and cuisine!
June 14th, 2009 at 10:12 am
J – thank you!
September 9th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
It is funny (well not FUNNY) that while you wanted to hide your culture, I grew up with my parents hiding our culture (mexican) and as I grew up I was so thirsty for ANY culture. Well now that I’m with a Vietnamese/Chinese guy, I am desperately trying to learn to cook more asian type food the real way. I find it is so easy! I didn’t know what to call these eggs (which I usually get at the Japanese ramen place down the road) and I have been searching all over trying to make them! I think these are exactly what I was looking for… Thank you!! (I like my eggs darker than that too!)
September 9th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
oh and I HAVE to add… your pictures are beautiful!
January 18th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
My mom used to make me “shoyu eggs” and “shoyu wienies” when I was little. Shoyu is Japanese for soy sauce. The eggs were just eggs scrambled with soy sauce, and the “shoyu wienies” were sliced hot dogs fried with soy sauce and sugar. They were both totally ghetto, but total comfort food as well. “Shoyu Wienies” sounds pretty pornographic, though, now that I think of it. Anyway, I’m making these eggs tonight, along with your soy sauce chicken… I can’t wait!
March 27th, 2010 at 11:30 am
These look great. I am a non-Jew raising Jewish kids, so I have an idea of what you mean by “outsider”. However, check this out: About 2 years ago a friend from Shanghai made some soy eggs along with a bunch of other yummy Chinese dishes for a new year’s celebration. I fell in love with those soy eggs.
So now it’s time for Passover, we have to have a roasted egg on the seder plate … but I’ve decided to try something new — soy eggs instead! Now that’s a great mixing of various cultures.
Just remember, you are you, whoever that may be, and you are a beautiful person — clearly illustrated from your story here.
June 25th, 2010 at 5:35 am
You are right, most AMERICAN people are a–holes they they just don’t understand that some of us are diffrent then they are and maybe better.
October 5th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
[…] the recipe from my mom, but I haven’t had the chance. However, I did find this recipe from Use Real Butter that appears to be similar to the one my mom uses. Though I think my mom uses a five spice package […]
January 3rd, 2012 at 2:46 pm
I want to try these!
Yep, kids can be @#$%@s! Glad you all see the wisdom of holding on to your culture. As an all white mutt of Welsh, German and French Canadian extractions I wish I had a more interesting heritage. Probably why I have an affinity for other cultures and especially their foods. Don’t get me wrong, my folks were darned good cooks and my mother was a recipe stealer; dine out and then recreate the recipes at home. Food growing up at home was mostly American fare with a goodly amount of Italian dishes but that was probably the normal exotic food in the 70’s!! Not a drop of Italian blood in the family though.
February 22nd, 2013 at 12:12 pm
Have to run so haven’t had time to completely scan all the comments, but one way to make the eggs darker is to use a darker soy sauce. Flavor wise it wont’ be as salty, but my mom always used a combination of lighter and darker soy sauce for coloring!
July 30th, 2015 at 12:39 pm
[…] Mischen Sie Cayennepfeffer, Kurkuma, gemahlenen Kümmel, gemahlenen Koriander, Salz, Pfeffer, Zitronensaft und 1 Esslöffel Wasser in einer Schüssel. In einer Bratpfanne rösten Sie die Kümmelsamen ca. 20 Sekunden, danach geben Sie den Ingwer und die Zwiebeln dazu, einige Minuten rösten, bis sie leicht braun sind, dann die Gewürzpaste beigeben und gut vermischen. Die Tomaten dazugeben, zudecken und 5 Minuten köcheln lassen. Geben Sie nun die halbierten Eiern dazu und den gehackten Koriander, zudecken und kurz köcheln lassen. Sobald die Eier warm sind, servieren. 3 GRÜNE SPARGELN MIT EIERN: Einfacher gehts nicht! Rösten Sie grüne Spargeln mit ein wenig Oliven in einem auf 180 Grad vorgeheizten Backofen, hacken Sie hartgekochte Eier und richte Sie diese darüber an. Träufeln Sie ein wenig Olivenöl darüber und würzen Sie mit Salz und Pfeffer. Bild über: Food4wibowo. 4 GRÜNER SALAT MIT EIERN UND KRÄUTERN: Mischen Sie einen Salat mit verschiedenen, grünen Blättern, hacken Sie Kräuter wie Petersilie, Pfefferminze und Basilikum. Bereiten Sie eine Sauce zu mit Mayonnaise, Honig, Dijonsenf, Salz, Pfeffer und Schnittlauchringli. Geben Sie die Blätter in eine Schale und verteilen Sie die halbierten Eier darauf und giessen Sie die Sauce darüber. Bild über: The Cook Next Door. 5 EIER MIT SOJASAUCE Chinesische Sojasauce-Eier werden in einer Soja-Hühnersuppe gekocht. Für eine schnellere Version kochen Sie die Eier in einer Hühnerbouillon. Schälen Sie gekochte Eier und stechen Sie mit einer Gabel Löcher in die Eier. Kochen Sie eine Hühnerbouillon und geben Sie Sojasauce dazu, geben Sie die Eier in die Bouillon und köcheln Sie sie ungefähr 40 Minuten in der Brühe. Servieren Sie die Sojasauce-Eier mit Frühlingszwiebeln. Quelle: Use Real Butter. […]