Egg's glorious eggs - Dairy free

Asian steamed eggs

Sharabelles personal philosophy:  The only limits on your own creativity is your imagination.  

Iv boiled, fried, baked, scrambled egg's in the past. As well as mastering how to make meringue.  I just bought a new stove top steamer, so I started too wonder if you could steam them as well.  

I love googling on the Internet, it reminds me of the lucky bags I used to buy as a kid.  Your never really sure what your going to get.  Seems you can steam eggs. Even better, the recipe is totally dairy free.

Egg's are not really a dairy food. 

Dairy foods are products made with or use the milk of animals eg cow's, goat etc

I'm kind of funny about eggs......

- They must truly be Free Range, and I do check the small print on this one.  Egg's sold as barn fresh aren't always the same thing.   For me it's mainly for ethical reasons, the fact they taste better is just a bonus.

- I only use them to bake, when making goodies for family and friends.  Otherwise Id rather cook them in a way that complements, instead of hides there taste.

- Since I can no longer eat meat and poultry, I cook egg's for main mails instead. 

- I'm also lactose & yeast intolerant, as well as a long list of other foods I have to eat in small quantity's.  So I can't cook them with dairy or bread.

Spring onion and green pea
steamed egg with soy sauce

Every Asian country have there own variation of this recipe, I used a Chinese Style recipe as a base.

Steamed eggs, are the Asian version of a savoury custard.  You could also make a sweet version.  The texture once cook, reminds me of the egg custard tarts I used to enjoy. By adding a little sugar and nutmeg before baking would produce the same result.  Just without the pastry, lets be honest the pastry is just there to hold the custard. 

Iv made this 2 ways, with water as the liquid and vegetable stock as the liquid.  The veggie stock version was my favourite, I didn't add any soy sauce till after they were cooked.

Basic recipe

2 Free range egg's
1 cup water or veg stock

Mix together then pass through a sieve to remove bubbles.  Pour into a tea cup or ramekin, then place in a steamer.  Steam over a low heat for 12-15 Min's, till the custard sets. 

Either serve in the pots they were baked in or turn them out onto a plate.  If your making this for company I recommend leaving in the pot, there really isn't an elegant way of turning them out onto a plate.

Additions to basic recipe

Savoury

- Spring onions chopped
- Mushrooms
- Peppers chopped
- salt and pepper

You could also serve the vegetables stir fried over the savoury custard


Sweet

- A little grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp of sugar
-  Lemon or Orange zest to taste
-  Substitute the water with dairy free milk eg coconut or almond
- A little vanilla extract

Serve with fresh fruit or fresh fruit puree or both


The finished dish is healthy, budget friendly and dairy free.  The soft texture of the egg's along with the saltiness of the soy sauce is scrumptious.   Adding the vegetables add's extra flavour and crunch.

 This recipe has got to be up there with my top 10 favourite meals xxx