
INTRODUCTION
Since the beginning of this year, there are readers who had been asking me if my well liked salted egg yolk cookies can be substituted with salted egg yolk powder sold at the stores. If you are interested in the salted egg yolk cookies, you can refer to this post: Salted Egg Yolk Cookies (蛋黄酥饼)
I am of the opinion that it can be used but I am unsure how much should be substituted. I thought i might as well buy some of these much raved about salted egg yolk powder and amend my recipes. However, when I asked around all major supermarkets, it was not sold. I gave up searching until one month ago.
One month ago when I was shopping at a bakery supplies shop, I was extremely happy when I saw the salted egg yolk powder being sold. I took a package and enquired about the price, I was stunned and immediately put it back to the shelf. Too those well to do members, it may mean nothing. To me, spending about S$40 to purchase a pack of seasoning is well beyond my means. Having said that, it is quite a huge package of 800 grams and that was another reasons that i did not buy. I foresaw that it would be hard for me to finish the pack. It works out to 100 grams cost about 5 dollars.
The third reasons that I did not buy is that there are lots of ingredients that I do not want to consume unnecessary. When I examined the label, it was written that as follow (source: http://www.unileverfoodsolutions.com.sg/product/Sauces/c/Knorr-Golden-Salted-Egg-Powder-6-x-800g.html )
- Chicken eggs
- Maltodextrin
- Shortening powder
- Yeast extract
- Creamer
- Flavouring
- Colouring
Well besides “salted” eggs, there are many “side ingredients” for the powder. Frankly speaking, they are doing business, they may need all these to prolong shelf life of their products. They may have technical difficulties in the production process or after market research to have the best colour tone and flavour. I can totally understand that any type of store bought seasoning will have extra ingredients like those listed above. But from a house chef point of view, if it can be easily prepared at home and I have the time, why should I spend money to consume all this extra ingredients?
Is it very easy to prepare? To me, the answer is yes because it is a 2-3 steps recipe that are full of variations. Does it taste the same? I cannot answer this question as I have never tasted the store bought salted egg yolk powder but the recipe are using more than 75% of salted egg yolk and can be considered as one the purest I can get. This recipe is definitely as aromatic as cooked salted egg yolk. Is the colour the same? The colour will depends on the salted egg yolk. Some are more orangey whereas some are very light. Therefore, it is naturally coloured.
Why it does not look very dry as in other types of powder? Good question indeed and if fact, I was also struggling how dry it should be. At the end of the day, I did not dry it like other seasonings. My rationale is simple as there is no such a need. As long as it does not harden and become a piece, a moist powder is acceptable. When you put a tablespoon into the wok, it will disintegrate beautifully. My suggested test is to use your finger to rub the powder, as long as it does not stick to the hand, it is consider as done. I have also added some milk powder to absorb any excess oil secreted by the salted egg yolk. Do not worry as this milk powder will blend well to the salted egg yolk aroma.
How long can it be kept? i am sorry I do not know but my best guess is it will not turn bad easily in the fridge. I have never seen salted egg turn bad in the fridge as salt marinating is a form of preservation. Therefore, chances of turning bad are slim but as usual, do not prepare too much if it is homemade. You can always prepare a small quantity for usage in 1-2 months. This recipe yields about 300 grams and I suggested that you half the recipe if you do not intend to use it too often.
Can it be used in salted egg yolk recipes? Unsure about other’s salted egg yolk recipes, but for all the salted egg yolk recipes that I have shared, I am sure that it can be used and one egg yolk = about 1 tablespoon. I am certain because the process as stated in this recipe is just the basic process to transform the egg yolk into powder form for easier future usage. I have full confidence that you can use in salted egg yolk custard buns as in : Salted Egg Yolk Custard Buns or Liu Sha Bao or Nai Huang Bao (流沙包 / 奶皇包 /奶黄包)
You can also use it in the salted egg yolk prata in this post: Salted Egg Yolk Custard Rolls aka Liu Sha Puff (脆皮咸蛋卷)
Of course you can used it to cook salted egg yolk chicken as in this post: Salted Egg Yolk Chicken (金莎鸡块 或 咸蛋牛油鸡)
How about this vegetable dish: Salted Egg Bitter Gourd (金沙苦瓜)
And definitely this salted egg yolk custard fillings: Salted Egg Yolk Custard Moon Cake Fillings (咸蛋奶皇月饼馅料)
While I spent about S$10 for 20 salted eggs, you can reduce the costs drastically if you are willing to prepare your own salted eggs. It is definitely not difficult to prepare salted eggs and if you are interested, you can refer to this post: Homemade Salted Eggs (家居咸蛋)
WHAT IS REQUIRED
Servings: About 300 grams of salted egg yolk powder
- 20 salted egg yolks
- 20 grams of milk powder
STEPS OF PREPARATION
- Crack the salted eggs and drain the salted egg yolks. Ensure that there is no salted egg white attached to the yolk
- Bake the salted egg yolk at the pre-heated oven of 150 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. Mash the salted egg yolks and continue baking for another 5 minutes until the egg yolks are cooked.
- Transfer the bake salted eggs to a food processor.Add the milk powder. Blend until as fine as possible. Bake again in the oven at 50 degree Celsius with the door open for at least 1/2 hour. The main purpose of this step is to air dry the salted egg yolk powder. The final test is as long as the powder does not stick to your hand when you rub with the fingers, the powder is considered as ready.
- Sift and when cooled completely, store in an air tight container and place in the fridge. If you prefer it drier, for the first few days, you can put it in the fridge without the lid of container close. Let the fridge draw out the moisture from the powder.
Note:
- If you do not have an oven, you can steam the salted egg yolk for 5 minutes, mash and dry fry over the stove. But use low heat as high heat will cause the oil to secrete. Patience is needed.
- If you do not have the food processor, use hand to rub open the salted egg yolk a few times. Final sifting will make it powdery form.
CONCLUSION
It may not be necessary cheaper to prepare at home but there are many advantages. One of them is you can prepare at a very small scale say 5 eggs and you can cook a few meals. Of course what you get is the purest salted egg yolk powder that is aromatic and less unnecessary addictive. I have plan to design more recipes using this salted egg yolk powder and stay tuned for the update.
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