Pocket Eggs

Crispy eggs formed into little pockets (hence the name!) and quickly simmered for 30 seconds in a soy sauce mixture. Wonderful with rice or noodles.

Pocket Eggs

Pocket Eggs are a delight. Crispy whites and soft yolks. Simply seasoned with a soy sauce mixture. They are quick and easy to make.

We love Pocket Eggs for a weekday breakfast or snack. Pair with rice or noodles to make it a complete meal.

Pocket Eggs are called Hou Bao Daan / He Bao Dan in Chinese. What does the name mean?

• Hou Bao = purse
• Dann = egg

It's a purse egg aka pocket egg!

These eggs are called Pocket Eggs because the eggs are folded over. The yolks look like little treasures tucked in a "purse/pocket" of egg whites. So cute ^_^

Why This Recipe Works

A Pocket Egg is a super crispy over easy egg that's folded in half and quickly simmered in a soy sauce mixture. The sauce mixture is savory, sweet, and tangy...yes, all three!

To get the eggs whites super crisp, we make sure to both oil the pan well and get the pan hot, hot, hot.

A very quick 30 second simmer in the sauce mixture infuses so many flavors into the fried egg, making this a super onolicous treat!

Ingredients

• Eggs
• Soy Sauce - Feel free to use low sodium soy sauce.
• Rice Vinegar - Make sure to get the unseasoned rice vinegar. Markets put the unseasoned and seasoned next to each other on the shelves and sometimes it's easy to mistake one for the other. Seasoned rice vinegar has added salt and sugar which we don't want.
• Sesame Oil - We use Kadoya Sesame Oil which you can find at most Asian markets.
• Sugar - We use just a pinch of sugar for this recipe. Don't skip it, it makes a difference (and this is coming from someone who almost always omits sugar in savory recipes).
• Green Onions - To sprinkle on top at the end.

Step by Step Directions

Ready to begin? Have all your ingredients prepared in advance because this dish cooks up fast ^_^

First: mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

Second: add oil to a pan. Turn the heat to high heat. Once the pan is very hot, crack each egg directly into the pan, one at a time. Let cook until the egg whites are golden and crisp (this takes about 1 minute).

Tip: I'm not a great at cracking eggs and often worry about shells. The solution? Crack each egg in advance. If you do this, crack the eggs into separate bowls. 2 eggs into 2 bowls. This is because we add the eggs one by one into the pan (so that the egg whites don't meld together).

Third: once the egg whites are golden and crisp, turn the heat down to low. Fold part of the egg whites over the egg yolk. Press down lightly to "seal" the whites together to form a little pocket.

Tip: Try to pour in the egg so that the majority of the egg whites end up on one side of the yolk (as opposed to having the yolk perfectly in the center). Why? This will make the folding step easier because you can easily lift and fold over the longer egg white side.

Fourth: pour the soy sauce mixture over both eggs. Place a lid on the pan and let it simmer on low heat for 30 seconds.

Fifth: remove the lid. Slide the finished eggs on to a plate (or over a big bowl of rice or noodles!) Top with chopped green onions and eat ^_^

Tip: We sprinkle the green onions on at the end for color and contrast. You can also add green onions into the sauce (when you mix all the sauce ingredients together in Step 1 of the recipe). The green onions end up cooked, which is different and delicious its own way.

FAQs and Tips

Pocket Eggs Recipe

See below and enjoy ^_^