Jing don: steamed eggs

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 Tablespoon oil
• 1 shallow bowl that hold about 2 cups liquid

1. Beat eggs.
Not too hard or too long, since you still have other ingredients to mix in. Just beat them until the egg and yolk seem fairly mixed.
2. Slowly beat in hot water with eggs.
The water shouldn't be too hot or luke warm. If the water is too hot, the egg will cook on the spot and get lumpy. The temperature of the water is to temper the eggs in preparation for steaming.
3. Beat in salt and oil.
Drizzle the oil in slowly so that it mixes into fine little beads that blend into the egg mix. Less will float to the top when you steam it. I prefer to use sesame oil because it adds a very nice flavor to the steamed egg. The recipe given to me by my aunt does not specify what kind of oil to use, however, so anything goes.
4. Steam eggs for 25 minutes with low heat.
Bring the water to a boil while you are preparing the egg mix. When the mix is ready, pour it into the shallow bowl, turn down the heat to a low temperature. You don't want it too hot or it will make the eggs let out lots of water and you will end up with a disgusting would-be cooked scrambled egg mix. If the temperature is too low, it will take longer than 25 minutes to cook and come out too silky. My coil stovestop has 11 notches; I use the third lowest notch because the low-low temperature is not hot enough.

If you succeeded in cooking this recipe, the egg should be the soft texture of silk tofu or Jell-O.

Serving Suggestions:

• It can be a simple appetizer by adding a little oyster sauce on the side. (Don't use any oyster sauce except for the Lee Kum Kee brand with the gold trim on the label. All others use imitation oyster and there's a big difference in taste and quality.)
• Conversely, you can turn it into a complex meat dish by cooking meat bits into it and/or adding green onions, ginger, and the like. To cook with meat, mince raw meat then mix in, mix in 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce, and double the steaming time to about 45 minutes or longer.
• You can also give it a meatier flavor by substituting chicken or beef broth for the water.