Fluffy Hong Kong-Style Eggs Will Change Your Breakfast Forever

Just when we think we've tried every way to eat an egg, from poached to pickled eggs, another style is thrown our way. However, this one really stands out, even as another version of a scramble. Introducing: Hong Kong scrambled eggs. These eggs are silky but fluffy with neat, sturdy layers. 

Like American-style scrambled eggs, Hong Kong-style scrambles have large, semi-solid curds. This is different from British and French-style scrambles, which prioritize creaminess and delicate curds. Hong Kong-style eggs also use a starch slurry (potato or corn is fine, use whatever you have on hand) to help the eggs to thicken quickly without altering their flavor. This style of scrambling also requires a technique that combines tilting and scooting to form their signature mille-feuille look. 

To try Hong Kong-style scrambled eggs at home, start with a starch slurry. In another bowl, combine eggs, 1 tablespoon of neutral oil, salt, white pepper — black pepper works in a pinch — and your starch slurry. Stir until the eggs are smooth with no visible lumps. Add a high-temp neutral oil, such as canola, over high heat into a non-stick pan. Finally, add your eggs and stir them immediately for about 10 seconds, then gather the eggs to one corner to create a stacked patty of eggy layers. There you have it: A gorgeous Hong Kong-style breakfast. However, these eggs are rarely served solo. 

Though Hong Kong-style eggs would be delicious alone, they are almost always cooked and enjoyed as a breakfast sandwich with browned, canned lunch meat. The go-to choice is corned beef, which can be cooked separately and folded into the scramble mixture or used as a sandwich topping. Other cooks may opt for alternatives, such as a fried patty of spam. 

Choose canned meat over traditional breakfast meats like bacon and sausage because canned meats are already cooked and will incorporate into the raw egg mixture without drastically changing the texture and composition of the dish. Cube and brown them before lightly mixing them into the eggs. The meat adds umami, salt, and crunch; the resulting combination is a mixture of velvety eggs, flavor-packed meat crumbles, and pillowy, soft milk bread. It's an absolute treat for your senses. 

Hong Kong-style eggs are traditionally served on untoasted milk bread. We aren't going for crusty sourdough and baguettes here. Ideally, you want the layers to shine through, which a crustier, hard bread might squish and overshadow. If you can't have a breakfast sandwich without some texture, toast a single side of the bread to maintain the dish's signature soft chewiness. However, there is no question regarding the crusts: they must go. Otherwise, the texture could be thrown off.