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Egg wrappers made of 100% egg are for making traditional Huai Yang style egg wrapped pork dumplings, or Dan Jiao (蛋饺) in Chinese.
Dan Jiao is a traditional food and a special treat during Chinese New Year as I grew up in Suzhou, in the heart of Yangtze River Delta area, the home to Huai Yang cuisine.
One reason it is a special treat is that it is very time consuming to make. Each egg dumpling is individually made using a stainless steel ladle.
I recall my Dad and I would work on this for hours right before Chinese New Year. Heat the stainless steel ladle using medium heat and then grease it with pork fat. Pour in a spoonful of egg liquid into the ladle and quickly turn to let the egg spread across the ladle surface.
You then wait for it to form a crepe on the other side and add pork fillings. Immediately use a pair of chopsticks to fold and seal into a dumpling.
No doubt it is a tedious process. However, I’d like to introduce this traditional food to my family. I wonder whether I can come up with a shortcut to hack the process.
I am so glad this new process works out really well. And my family loves Dan Jiao (egg wrapped pork dumplings)!
Tips & Tricks of Making Egg Wrappers for Dumplings
1. Whisk the eggs well
Use an egg whisk and make sure eggs are well mixed. Doing so in a large, tall mixing bowl makes the blending easier.
2. A quality non-stick fry-pan is essential
I have tried many non-stick fry-pan and finally found this quality hard-anodized fry-pan, with impressive performance.
3. Use a cookie cutter to cut egg crepe into egg wrappers
For sure, it is not just for making cookies. I frequently use a cookie cutter to make dumpling wrappers. A 12-inch egg crepe, paired with a 3 1/4 inch diameter cookie cutter, is perfect to make 7 wrappers with minimal waste.
Egg Wrappers for Dumplings Recipe
Egg wrappers made of 100% egg to wrap pork filling dumplings. Egg porking filling dumplings, called Dan Jiao (蛋饺) in Chinese, is a classic Huai Yang dish. They used to be one of the must-haves during Chinese New Year to include in a clay pot soup (Shao Guo 砂锅).
Ingredients
- 10 large cage-free eggs
- 1/4 tsp avocado oil, see notes
Instructions
Make Egg Crepes:
- Crack all eggs and add to a large mixing bowl
- Whisk the eggs well until fully blended using an egg whisk
- Turn the heat to medium, heat a 12-inch hard-anodized fry-pan for 3 minutes
- Use a small cooking brush to dab a tiny bit of Avacado oil and brush evenly over the fry-pan surface
- Add 1/2 cup of egg liquid into the fry-pan, quickly turn the pan and let the liquid flow evenly across the surface, and cover the entire base. See Notes
- Let it cook for about 1 minute or until the edge of the egg browns, flip the egg crepe, and cook the otherwise for about 30 seconds.
- One egg crepe is done. Repeat this until you have completed all the egg liquid in the mixing bowl
Cut Egg Crepes into Dumpling Wrappers:
- Flatten one egg crepe on a large flat cutting board, use a 3 1/4 inch diameter cookie cutter to cut into rounds. You shall manage to get 7 rounds out of a 12-inch diameter egg crepe.
2 comments
Got a question….how do you make these egg wrappers fold & stick as well as a dough wrapper?
I mix sweet rice flour with water, mix and heat up and use it as a food glue. See egg wrapped pork dumplings for more details. Hope this helps.