Chai Poh Omelette

My mother didn’t make chai poh omelette (菜脯卵) very often, because chai poh wasn’t a regular item in her pantry. So, I can’t say I have a fabulous recipe which was passed on from my mother, and which I will pass on to my daughter. This is a recipe I came up with for friends who think that chai poh omelette is de rigueur when they come to my place for Teochew porridge.

My recipe has what I like in a French omelette – fluffy, creamy and not too oily. It also has what I like in a Chinese omelette – fragrant and aromatic because it’s fried till golden brown.

To make the omelette I like, I add one tablespoon of milk to each egg.

The milk makes the omelette very forgiving, allowing it to be well browned whilst keeping the texture creamy and fluffy with minimal oil.

The omelette must be fairly thick so that it doesn’t dry out, and the heat mustn’t be excessive. I start with high heat, reducing to medium, then low, as the omelette cooks. To keep the saltiness in check, I rinse the chai poh mince three times and add some sugar. Lastly, a little bit of garlic is always good.

Anything else . . . ? Oh yes, I use an 18-cm frying pan. Fried in a wok, the edge of the omelette is thinner than the middle. A pan, however, makes an omelette with even thickness that cooks evenly.

To me, a fluffy chai poh omelette with a bowl of steaming porridge is one of the greatest pleasures of life.

You must watch this Mandarin video even if you don’t understand Mandarin:

Chai Poh Omelette (菜脯煎蛋)

This recipe makes an omelette that's brown yet fluffy and not dried out. My secret weapons: high heat, plus a bit of milk. The omelette is done in the blink of an eye. Its balance of sweet and savoury is just right. And there's a wonderful aroma of fried chai poh and garlic. Chai poh omelette is the quintessential dish for Teochew porridge.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Prep Time 2 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 7 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 2

Calories 161 kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp full-fat milk
• ½ tbsp sugar
• 30 g salty chai poh (菜脯, preserved white radish) Twin Rabbit brand
• 1 tbsp corn oil 1
• 1 clove garlic

Instructions

 

• Beat eggs with milk and sugar.
  2 eggs, 2 tbsp full-fat milk, ½ tbsp sugar
• Wash and drain chai poh 3 times.
  30 g salty chai poh (菜脯, preserved white radish)
• In a 18 cm frying pan, fry chai poh on high heat to remove excess water. Add oil and garlic. Fry till lightly brown and pan is very hot. Add eggs, which should sizzle loudly upon hitting the pan. Bottom of omelette should brown in 4-5 seconds.
  1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp corn oil
• Push cooked omelette edges to the middle, so that liquid eggs flow to edges and bottom of pan. Reduce heat to medium. Nudge chai poh with spatula so that it's evenly distributed.
• When bottom of omelette is brown again, reduce heat to low. Tilt pan from side to side so that last bits of uncooked eggs flow to edges. When top of omelette is cooked, remove from heat and fold carefully into a "D" shape – "D" for delicious!
• Serve omelette immediately.