Chinese Chili Oil Eggs (Hong You Bao Dan)

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, very fresh
• 60 ml neutral oil, e.g. groundnut or vegetable
• For the dressing
• 2 tbsp Sichuan chili oil (hong you), with sediment
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• To finish
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp crispy fried shallots

Method

1. 1
   Pour the oil into a small wok or frying pan and set over a high flame. Heat until the oil reaches approximately 180 °C. The oil is ready when a drop of water flicked in spits and crackles immediately.
2. 2
   Break one egg into a small bowl. Slide it gently into the hot oil. The white will billow and set at the edges within seconds. Tilt the pan so the oil pools to one side and baste the white edges continuously with a spoon, drawing hot oil over the sides without touching the yolk. This is where the dish lives or dies: the white must be fully set and lacy-crisp at the rim while the yolk remains liquid and trembling at its centre.
3. 3
   When the white is opaque and its edges are golden and crisped but the yolk is still visibly runny, lift the egg with a slotted spoon and transfer to a serving plate. Repeat with the second egg.
4. 4
   Immediately drizzle the chili oil (with its sediment), soy sauce, and dark soy over each egg. The residual heat of the egg will bloom the aromatics in the chili oil — the fragrance rises at once.
5. 5
   Scatter the spring onion, toasted sesame seeds, and crispy shallots over each egg. Serve at once with steamed rice — the yolk must still be liquid when the dish reaches the table.