Steamed egg sponge cake with mince pork and fried onions – Special (鸡蛋糕)

When I was growing up in Kuching, Sarawak I remembered one of the places where my mother used to take us, me and my 4 other siblings to buy breakfast from this shop (I forgot where) that sold the best egg tarts, cream puffs and this very special egg sponge cake but with savoury mince pork and fried shallots in the middle.

I have tried to recreate this over the years, ahem….decades actually… but the last few batches always ended up in the bins. As I have ‘accidentally’ clicked and bought too many packets of cake flour a couple of months ago from Amazon, I decided to give it another go. Finally I have a recipe I am happy to record and share. This is because hubby asked for a second slice. When he does this it means ‘he passed it’ – kekekekeke

I have always remembered this as something from my childhood which I have eaten countless times growing up in Kuching, Sarawak. This is like 5, 6 decades ago but I am not counting. – kekekeke

Only recently some claimed that this is a ‘Taiwanese street food’ Which is which I am not sure but hubby loves this now as he is not too keen on char sui bao being of fatter pork fillings. The daughter declared today she loves it too. Previously they both have said it was weird being sweet and savoury and refused to eat, hence the bin ate them. Of course that got them the lashing of my tongue as isn’t char sui bao etc sweet buns and savoury fillings too? Here are some TIPs if you want to give it a go.

TIP – When steaming use medium to high heat. Make sure water is bubbling before your batter goes in.

TIP – When steaming second round after the mince and fried shallots toppings do not forget to top up water before doing so.

TIP – You can season your mince a tad saltier because the egg sponge is plain.

TIP – Do not be tempted to add more seasonings to the mince or vanilla essence etc to your egg mixture. You do not add vanilla essence to your char sui bao bun do you? Same concept.

TIP – Remember to lift out your cake from the tin onto a rack to cook. If not you might have a soggy bottom syndrome.

Note : Big NO. NO, this savoury sponge cake from my memory do not have chicken floss! Of course that is not to say you cannot add to your bake but this IS my childhood nostalgia indulgence. My childhood idiosyncrasy if you like.