Three Emperor Egg (三皇蛋)
I wish I can tell you why this dish is called the Three Emperor Egg. With no records can be found on internet, I only can assume that this dish is named after the three Emperors in the Chinese legend, dated back 4000-6000 years ago.
In fact, even the legend itself has lost in translation after so many generations, and most records can only confirmed two of the emperors are – Fu Yi who is the father of Chinese language and the inventor of ba gua (feng shui diagram); and Sheng Nong who is the father of medicine and agriculture. However, the last emperor is rather vague with no solid history records, so we will leave it at that.
But why the three emperor? It is because the only three key ingredients in this dish are Chicken Egg, Salted Duck Egg, and Century Egg. It is also because yolk has the same pronunciation as Emperor in Chinese language. Hence, whenever these three type of eggs are being used together in cooking will be referred as the three Emperor.
And The Three Emperor Egg – is simply the most basic steamed dish using all three type of eggs together.
I am sure a lot of you have heard of century egg which has dark brown jelly-like egg white and a green pasty yolk inside. It is made by preserving duck eggs for weeks up to months in brine of salt, calcium hydroxide and sodium carbonate. Sometimes they even use lead (II) Oxide to speed up the curing process, which is poisonous. People are advised not to consume century egg in regular basis, it is preserved fermented egg after all which probably not very good for your health.
As for the preserved salted duck egg, it is simply by soaking the duck eggs in brine. The egg white will have a sharp salty taste, cheese-like texture; while the yolk is less salty but with a very coarse gritty texture. The yolk is oftenly used to make mooncakes.
Don’t let those scientifically preserved eggs put you off, this dish is actually very simple to make and yet delicious (even the Pom is liking it). Having said that, some skills and patience are very important to perfect this dish. There were so many trials and errors after so many attempts and I finally have perfected the recipe for this dish.
The steamed egg should be custard like, smooth, velvety and bouncy. And the secret to achieve such texture is patience, steam the eggs for a long period of time on very low heat. Otherwise the eggs will cooked too fast, resulting a coarse solid texture with trapped air bubbles.
Perhaps the ingredients of this dish are not that important; it is the skills, patience and attentions to detail that makes it the most fascinating art form. The three emperor egg – what an appropriate name!
Ingredients
3 – 4 normal chicken eggs
1 century egg, diced roughly
1 salted duck egg, mashed the egg white only (discard the yolk)
½ cup of water
1 pinch of white pepper powder
Methods
1. fill a large pot with water about 1/3 full and bring to boil. (feel free to use your own method for steaming with steamer basket, wok etc)
1. beat all the chicken eggs and water together in a bowl. (the water will make the steamed egg smoother and lighter)
2. add century egg, duck egg, white pepper and stir well. And it is ready for the steaming process.
3. Never let the bowl touches the water or the base of the pot, or else it will cook unevenly. In my case, put a porcelain ramekin or bowl at the center of the pot, then sit the bowl with egg mixture on top of it.
4. now turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid and let it steam for 30 minutes. (because I used a bowl instead of shallow dish, so it takes longer. Usually a shallow dish is preferred so it cooked quicker and better presentation with the eggs half emerged on the surface)
5. after 30 mins, remove the lid and bring the water to boil again.
6. once again, turn off the heat, cover the lid and steam it for a futher 15 mins.
7. check whether it is ready by shaking the bowl. If the egg is wobbly but firm then it is ready. If not, steam it further on another 15 mins interval until it is ready.
8. To serve, drizzle a bit of sesame oil and a good dash of soy sauce. Sprinkle some fried shallots (or fresh chopped spring onions)
9. Serve immediately when it’s still hot.
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
totoro is looking at the eggs heh i LOVE salted duck egg yumyum i make a random version of fried rice using salted duck eggs
chocolatesuze’s last blog post..melb part 1 [1]
wow sounds very decadent. must be good if even the pom likes it!
Helen (GrabYourFork)’s last blog post..Grab Your Fork on 702AM Sydney
This looks like an interesting variation on chowan mushi (or is it the other way around…?)
Never had century egg and just looking at it makes the culinary klaxxons sound. However, I am curious. What does it taste like?
yumyumyum. i love century eggs mashed up in congee. and i love salted duck eggs mashed up in dark soy sauce braised pork. and i love eggs.
but the patience! (and the time it would have taken you to snap those pretty pictures!) alas, i do not have that…
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Ooh this looks delicious! I’m intrigued as I’ve not heard of this dish before (and I normally get fed all sorts of traditional stuff from my parents). Is it Chinese or Malaysian Chinese?
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@chocolatesuze: heheheh I think Totoro is freaking out with the pungent smell from century egg being so close to him
@Helen (GrabYourFork): Yeah he is okay with it now. The first trial I left the duck egg yolk inside which he doesnt like the gritty texture and off put by it. I read some recipe that the duck egg yolk should be left out anyway and it instantly taste so much better!
@Simon: Yes very similar to chawamushi. Without putting you off further, the century egg smell just like a rotten egg with sulphur and ammonia. I used to be able just eat them with some fresh ginger without cooking it, but not anymore due to the modern way of preparing them which the smell is even stronger. It taste fine once is cooked, the egg white is very subtle taste just like normal egg white, and the yolk is more pasty. I guess you just need to give it a try. The century egg and pork mince congee is a good starting point.
@shez: oohhh now you are talking I should make duck eggs with braised pork mince… yumm
@Forager: This is not Malaysian Chinese, is a traditional Cantonese dish from china. Sometimes they called it ‘tri color steamed egg’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_steamed_eggs
Mmmmm totoro… I mean eggs! Haha I love egg in all forms ^^! (with the exception of fish roe) and at least they don’t prepare the century eggs like they used to
but then again I would have preferred them in horse urine rather than lead oxide haha
FFichiban’s last blog post..Eveleigh Markets/Blackbird Cafe/Lindt Chocolate Cafe – Eveleigh/Darling Harbour, Sydney
Billy, you have a gorgeous blog with stunning photography. Well done!
I always feel a bit guilty about eating century eggs. My mother insists that it’s the kind of food that one won’t miss in life, and as much as I love the texture of the eggs and their slight mineral-y taste, I keep their intake at a minimum. This dish I love though. Thanks for sharing!
helen’s last blog post..A small aside
sounds delicate and lovely. I like your photos too.
Heather
Oh – now I know what it is! Water egg! My mother makes this all the time! Mine and hers just look like the one in the wiki picture – yours just looked ultra fancy and I didn’t recognise it! Lol.
Must try it with the additional century egg…
Forager’s last blog post..Transforming hominy into Pozole Blanco
Century egg is the best! Btw, newbie foodie here!
@FFichiban: hehehe maybe century egg with a drizzle of After Death might do the trick?
I did say add water, didnt i ? LOL
@helen: Thanks helen!
@oneshotbeyond: Thanks for dropping by.
@Forager: hehehe is water egg, but with extra bits in it!
@Trisha: Welcome Trisha, and you are one of us now!
Hey Billy,
So, this is the 3 emperor eggs huh. Still waiting for the Ipoh Hor Fun.
Rasa Malaysia’s last blog post..Chinese Recipe: Tomato Eggs
I have heard about Three Emperor Egg but this is the first time that i see it in the pic. thanks for sharing.
you should actually put the duck egg’s yolk in it too cause it won’t be the Three “Emperor” (yolk) Egg if the duck’s yolk is missing.
it’s a cantonese food. In cantonese, 3 yolk’s pronunciation is almost the same as 3 emperor.
Btw, very nice photography here.