Egg dumplings with a touch of gold
Egg dumpling
Gold ingot-shaped egg dumplings are a traditional dish in rural Shanghai. The large home-made dumplings carry a message that diners will have a good harvest and good fortune in the coming year.
The eggs can be hen’s or duck’s, depending on different tastes. For meat lovers, the fillings can be 100 percent pork. For people who prefer a balance between vegetables and meat, the fillings can include both minced meat and vegetables such as cabbage leaves and bamboo shoots. A moderate amount of seasoning is added into the fillings.
Wu Meihua, a Xinbang Town villager who can cook good rural dishes, prefers to use 70 percent lean meat and 30 percent fat. Egg dumplings made with a lean-to-fat ratio like this are neither too dry nor too greasy, according to Wu.
Wu uses a gentle heat to cook the eggs used as a wrapper, for if they are fried too hard, it is impossible to fold them.
Wu waits until the bottom and the surroundings of an egg wrapper are solidified. Then she puts the filling in the center and folds the wrapper. At the end of the process, she puts two scallions on top of the egg dumpling.
“Usually people will put chopped scallions on top of an egg dumpling. But during the Spring Festival, quite a few people will put a whole scallion on top of it, carrying the message that blessings favor the family for a long time,” said Wu.
