Poultry and Eggs · FFET10310
Jiuhuang chao dan (yellow chives with scrambled egg)
Eggs scrambled just until set, then returned to quickly fried yellow chives: a home-style dish.
A round white porcelain plate holds pale yellow chives mixed with yellow scrambled eggs, the chives quickly fried and the eggs softly set in tender pieces, with a pair of wooden chopsticks resting beside the plate.
Chicken, duck, goose and other poultry, with their eggs and egg products.
Jiuhuang chao dan is a home-style dish of eggs fried with yellow chives, which are chives grown away from the light so that the leaves turn pale yellow. Both of these 2 methods use yellow chives: one scrambles the eggs and removes them, fries the chives, and returns the eggs; the other fries the chives, pushes them aside, scrambles the eggs, and tosses everything together. No dated text was found for the dish; the Qimin yaoshu, compiled in the 6th century, records a method for scrambled eggs with scallion white, salt, fermented soybeans and sesame oil, with no yellow chives.
What
Jiuhuang chao dan is eggs scrambled just until set and combined with quickly fried yellow chives, which are chives grown away from the light so the leaves turn yellow.1,4,8
When
No dated text was found for this dish, and the following records do not establish its date. The Qimin yaoshu, compiled in the 6th century, records a method for scrambled eggs with scallion white, salt, fermented soybeans and sesame oil, with no yellow chives. Chives have been grown for over 3,000 years.2,3
Where
It is described as a typical Shaanxi dish, but this rests on 1 recipe without further explanation; its place of origin is unconfirmed.4
How
One method scrambles the eggs just until cooked and removes them, fries the chives, returns the eggs and adds salt. Another fries the chives until soft, pushes them aside, scrambles the eggs in the cleared space, and tosses them together. Yellow chives can also be added at the end.4,5,8
Why
Why the dish arose remains unconfirmed. Yellow chives, grown without light, are milder than ordinary chives and pair well with eggs; in Chinese markets they cost more and are seasonal.4,5
Impact and influence
Chives and eggs make a simple home dish in Cantonese households; the 2 recipes supporting these descriptions both use green chives, not yellow.6,7
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is the yellow chives with scrambled egg I make at home. The amounts and the order of scrambling the eggs and removing them before frying the chives follow one signed recipe: 400 g of yellow chives, 4 eggs, 1.5 tablespoons of oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. A second recipe, by a cookbook author and appearing on someone else's blog, also uses yellow chives but fries the chives before the eggs, with a lot more oil, and I did not follow it. I use vegetable oil; both recipes allow peanut oil. Taking the eggs off the heat just as they set and frying the chives until soft with a little bite are my own judgments.
Ingredients
- Yellow chives 400 g
- Eggs 4
- Vegetable oil 1.5 tablespoons, divided: 1/2 tablespoon for the eggs and 1 tablespoon for the chives
- Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Steps
- Rinse and drain the yellow chives, trim about 5 cm off the base, and cut the rest into lengths of about 5 cm (the conversion from inches to centimeters is my own estimate). Beat the eggs.
- Heat a large skillet (about 30 cm) over medium-high heat, add 1/2 tablespoon of oil, pour in the eggs and scramble them, and take them out as soon as they are set with no raw egg left.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan, heat it, add the yellow chives and stir them until soft; I give it about a minute and taste a piece to check it still has a little bite.
- Return the eggs to the pan, add the salt, toss a few times so the eggs and chives are mixed, and serve hot.
Tips
- The other recipe uses 1 pound of yellow chives and 6 tablespoons of oil, much more oil, and could suit someone who likes a richer dish. Both it and mine allow peanut oil; anyone with a peanut allergy should watch for that.
- Yellow chives give off water as soon as they are heated, so I plate the dish right away; this is my own way.
Allergens: egg