I know you must be wondering why there’s chocolate powder on top of a “Chinese” egg puff. And you’re right, a traditional Chinese egg puff does not have chocolate. I’ll explain later, I promise.
First, some background.
What are Chinese Egg puffs? Translated roughly as “Chicken Egg Cake” (literally), it’s a popular street snack that you can find in Asia. Typically, the street vendor has this HUGE circular waffle-like iron with little holes in in. He fills it with batter and then cooks it, turning the iron 180 degrees halfway through. When he opens the huge waffle iron, out pops dozens and dozens of perfectly formed little round egg puffs. They are so good.
Of course, I don’t have a huge waffle iron with tiny circles in it. But I do have an Æbleskiver pan that I received from Aunt Else’s a few months ago. When I wrote a post about making Æbleskivers and Japanese takoyaki a few months ago, Joy from Cooking of Joy suggested that I try making Chinese Egg Puffs.
I recently brought these to a dinner party and the guests ate them up. I can’t guarantee that they are 100% authentic, but they do taste delicious and definitely remind me of Chinese egg puffs.
Adapted from Hong Kong Lightbox
Ingredient:
4 oz all purpose flour [0.8 cups]
1 oz of corn starch [2 T]
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
4 oz sugar [1/2 cup]
2 oz evaporated milk [1/4 cup]
4 oz water [1/2 cup]
*note – I would highly recommend using a food scale if you have one to weigh out the ingredients. If you don’t have one though, I have calculated out the measurements using this handy conversion chart. Disclaimer – I never actually tried making these with the English measurements, although they should be fine.
Pre-heat the Æbleskiver pan over medium heat until hot. (This takes quite some time. I would set the pan on the stove and then start measuring out your ingredients). Combine all ingredients and stir until well mixed. Using this batter, make the puffs by following the instructions for making Æbleskivers. You can check out my original Æbleskiver post for more details on how to make them, or check out Aunt Else’s homepage, which has a great video tutorial.
Now about the chocolate. I know Chinese egg puffs don’t have chocolate, and I was fully intending on making them plain. But more than one guest at the party nudged me while I was making these and said, “these would taste even better with a filling.”
“Oooh . . what about chocolate?” said another.
Finally, I succumbed to peer pressure and made a whole batch with chocolate. They loved it. Who doesn’t love chocolate?
So this recipe is pretty flexible. You could still make it pretty Asian by putting something like red bean paste or sweet peanut powder inside. I bet that would be delicious too!
Enjoy!
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That must be fun to make. Looks delicious. I would love to try.
Ooh yay! I tried that recipe using my regular waffle iron but was kind of dissatisfied with the results. Granted, I was using a waffle iron, but I didn’t get that really fragrant, walk-through-all-of-Chinatown-wondering-where-that-delicious-smell-is-coming-from effect. So I tried a second time and added vanilla extract, and it was slightly better, but still not what I was looking for. Last time I was at H Mart, I noticed they had some mixes for Korean/Japanese pancakes. I think I’ll give those a shot….
yummy. for a while in chinatown, they had these slightly larger flat circular versions that were filled with custard and red bean paste. those were delicious too but then they went out of popularity. maybe because it took longer to make.
Joy – it must be a secret recipe that no one will divulge on the internet! We’ll have to go to Chinatown, talk in Chinese to one of those vendors, and get him to tell us! Let me know how the mixes turn out!
I love getting those puffs in Chinatown – they’re so addictive! These look great!
tnis looks so delicate and delicious! great new banner btw..you must be stoked about leaving the bad weather for napa next wk!
Have you heard the story about the original egg cake lady in Chinatown. She sold a bag of 20 pieces for $1 and put 2 daughters through college on that.
Love the aebleskiver pan! I wish mine was in SF. Unfortunately, it’s much too heavy to pack in a suitcase or send in the mail. I imagine that the aebleskiver mix isn’t too different from the egg puff recipe, right? Chocolate… I’ve made those! Butterscotch, too!
Ok, I’ve springpadded this! I LOVE it, and I cannot wait to make my own variation with it…green tea with crushed black sesame paste in it perhaps? Or cinnamon puff with peanut-brown sugar filling!
With my pan, I made a kind of takopachi with mine, too, with tuna salad filling inside, and mayo, nori, and bonito flakes outside. Delish!
These look so cute… really crossing cuisines too which is a cool idea… love the pictures too!
I found you on foodbuzz and, after showing these to my (Taiwanese) girlfriend we are absolutely in love with them. These are on our list of things to make in the near future!
If you’re interested, I’m starting my foray into the world of entrepreneurism of the coffee/tea variety. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Sorry for the double comment – I just realized that my grandmother uses a similar aebleskiver pan to make our Holiday Breakfasts. Where did you manage to get a hold of one? I was under the impression (from her) that they were somewhat rare.
Kitchen Confidentiality – no need to apologize for double comments, I love comments! I got my Aebleskiver pan from Aunt Else’s. In fact, if you go to my original post on this, the bottom tells you how you can save 10% on any purchase from them. 🙂 Cheers!
very interesting. i don’t think i’ve heard of these puffs before
OH MY GOODNESS! I am so excited! I was just flipping through a book of snack recipes that I bought last time I was in Hong Kong, WISHING I could make these, because it was my FAVE treat in Hong Kong! I CANNOT WAIT to pull out my aebleskiver pan now!
AIYAH! You are totally awesome for having this recipe! I did not even think that it’s possible without a waffle iron! I’m gonna try these out soon.
I initially traveled to your blog because I was intrigued by those chips of yours, and after exploring, your blog, your foods all look so appetizing…
I salute you, fellow totoro and domo admirer ;] I like how they’re everywhere.
Oh no darn, I don’t have the supplies ;(
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