Steamed Egg Custard with Pork and Rice

📝 Ingredients

• 150 g jasmine rice + 225 ml water
• 4 eggs
• ½ chicken stock cube + 300 ml water (100 ml hot, 200 ml cold)
• 150 g minced pork
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (1 for the pork, 1 for serving)
• 10 g fresh ginger + 2 spring onions
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 large pak choi (about 250 g)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Salt, white pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Two-tier steamer basket (or electric steamer)
• Large pot with lid
• Heatproof deep dish (about 20 cm)
• Saucepan with lid
• Whisk
• Fine sieve

📖 Steps

1. Rinse the rice in the fine sieve until the water runs almost clear. Put it in the saucepan with 225 ml water and a pinch of salt, bring to the boil, cover and cook for 12 min over a very low heat. Leave to stand, covered, off the heat for 10 min.
2. Dissolve the ½ stock cube in 100 ml hot water, then add 200 ml cold water: the stock should be lukewarm, because if it's too hot it will cook the eggs into lumps. Peel the ginger and chop it very finely. Slice the spring onions, keeping the white and green parts separate.
3. Mix the minced pork with 1 tbsp soy sauce, the starch, ginger, white parts of the spring onions and a little white pepper. Spread it in a thin, even layer (1 cm maximum) over the bottom of the deep dish, so it cooks at the same time as the custard.
4. Beat the eggs with a whisk without making them frothy, then add the lukewarm stock, stirring gently. Pour this mixture through the rinsed fine sieve over the pork: this is what gives a smooth custard. Spoon off any bubbles left on the surface.
5. Bring 4 cm of water to the boil in the large pot, then lower to a low-medium heat. Place the dish in the bottom tier of the steamer basket, cover with the lid slightly ajar (or wedge a chopstick under it) and cook for 20 min: steam that's too fierce creates holes in the custard.
6. Meanwhile, quarter the pak choi lengthways and rinse it well between the leaves. After 15 min of cooking, place it in the top tier of the steamer basket, above the custard, and cook for 5 min, until the stalks are tender.
7. The custard is ready when it wobbles as one piece and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out with clear liquid, with no raw egg. If it's still runny, cook for another 3 to 5 min. The pork underneath should be cooked through, with no trace of pink.
8. Drizzle the custard with the second spoonful of soy sauce and the sesame oil, then sprinkle with the green parts of the spring onions. Serve straight away with a spoon, with the rice and pak choi.