Fuchsia Dunlop’s Egg Dumplings Are the Perfect Special Occasion Breakfast

"In general in China, breakfast tends to be savory and not sweet, and there's a substantial starchy element," explains Fuchsia Dunlop, and she would know. The chef and food writer has researched and written about regional cuisines across China, with a particular affection for the spicy foods of Sichuan where she attended culinary school in the mid-1990s. Her most recent cookbook Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China takes an in-depth look at another region: Jiangnan, located on the southeast coast of China, which has earned the nickname "land of fish and rice" because of its agricultural abundance. The cuisine of this region is, admittedly, harder to define than that of Sichuan or Hunan, since, as Dunlop explains, it "is more subtle and less easy to stereotype." But, she adds, "everyone in China would kind of roughly agree that there’s this great culinary style in the east," and that is what she wanted to highlight.The breakfast recipes in Land of Fish and Rice are fairly emblematic of the two poles of cooking in Jiangnan. On one end, breakfast is simple. Dunlop features a recipe for Hangzhou breakfast tofu that simply requires heating up silken tofu in a saucepan and topping with savory condiments and crunchy garnishes. As with most Chinese breakfasts, there's plenty of starches. "In the Jiangnan region, it's usually starchy rice, so you might have rice congee, for example," says Dunlop, and that porridge will generally be served with side dishes like, "salted duck eggs, peanuts, little relishes, maybe a fried egg. And you often have some sort of steamed bun." That breakfast congee might also be served with a tea egg, which "have have been steeped in spiced tea with that kind of crackle pattern on them," says Dunlop, or a hard-boiled egg. But these eggs are also used in fine dining where technique is of the utmost importance. Scrambled eggs are "usually very delicate, very soft," and steamed egg custard, made by beating together a few eggs and pouring stock into a pot or bowl, are also common. "It's a very technique-driven approach," says Dunlop. As she writes in the book's introduction, there are banquet dishes "so elaborate they are known as Kung Fu dishes (gong fu cai)—that is, dishes that demand the same level of technical mastery as the martial arts."One of these more technical egg dishes featured in Land of Fish and Rice is this recipe for Shanghai golden egg dumplings with Chinese cabbage. "The egg dumplings are sometimes one element in very complicated New Year's dishes. So, for example, in Anhui Province, they sometimes have these big open cooking pots, and there'll be some vegetables at the bottom," explains Dunlop. "And then they'll put layers of other ingredients beautifully patterned on top." If you want to attempt these gorgeous pork and egg dumplings at home, Dunlop has some advice to make the process a little easier. "The traditional way is to make them in a ladle over an open gas cooker," Dunlop says. "But the way that I’ve done with without having that is to do it in a frying pan, but it’s best to have non-stick pan." The recipe also calls for a metal biscuit cutter, but Dunlop says a cookie cutter will do. Just be sure to, "use one that has an insulated rim around the top because it will get quite hot."Unfortunately, there's no faking technique or quality ingredients with this recipe, as with most of the food from Jiangnan, but if you're willing to put in the effort, the results will be breathtaking.Shanghai Golden Egg Dumplings with Chinese Cabbage About 10 dumplings

Ingredients

4 ounces dried sweet potato noodles
14 ounces Chinese cabbage
5 ounces minced pork
2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped spring onion
4 large eggs
1 quart stock
1 tablespoon lard
¾ teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 ½ teaspoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions, green parts only
Cooking oil
Salt and ground white pepper


Extra Crispy