Chinese Chives & Eggs Stir fry is a very simple, homey dish that you just don’t see in restaurants, and it’s so basic that anyone can make it. But it can also vary wildly from person to person.
Stir-frying Eggs Properly
When it comes to eggs, some like them runny and some like them cooked fully through. Oddly enough, I belong to the latter party. But when it comes to stir-fried eggs, consistency is everything. It’s also a good time to point out that this is not a breakfast item, but a dish for lunch or dinner to eat with rice.
Almost always, stir-fried eggs should be smooth and silky. Please remember the following four important factors to achieve that ultimate feathery texture:
- Oil helps to keep the eggs away from the hot searing metal of the wok, preventing them from getting overcooked.
- You must use medium to medium low heat––just enough heat to solidify the eggs.
- A little bit of sugar and water help keep the eggs fluffy when cooking.
- The technique is to stir and flip the egg mixture slowly. Once you see a thin bottom layer of egg starting to solidify, don’t wait too long to stir, or you’ll give the eggs a chance to harden and brown (which is what you don’t want)
A Quick & Easy Dinner
Summer is a time for quick and easy dishes and this Chinese Chives & Eggs Stir Fry definitely fits the bill. Not to mention that I have loads of Chinese chives (also known as garlic chives) in my garden.
Chinese chives/garlic chives are a perennial. Once you put the seeds down in a pot or in your garden, they’ll grow like weeds. I cut them often and fertilize as well to help them grow thicker. The best part is, they come back year after year with no heavy lifting on your part.
If you’re looking for another quick stir-fried egg dish, check out our Shrimp with Eggs recipe. The cooking technique is largely the same. Remember, the texture you’re looking for is smooth and silky. You can do it!
Chinese Chives & Eggs: Recipe Instructions
Crack the eggs into a large bowl, and add the sugar, salt, Shaoxing wine, white pepper, sesame oil and water.
Beat the eggs for a good 30 seconds until you see a layer of small bubbles floating on the surface of the beaten eggs. Mix in the Chinese chives/garlic chives until combined. Now you are ready to cook.
Heat a wok until it just starts to smoke, and then turn the heat down to medium low. Wait 10 seconds, and then add the oil. Coat the wok with oil using your spatula to swirl it around. The oil should be hot but not smoking when you add the egg mixture.
Once you pour the eggs into the wok…
Flip and stir them slowly with a spatula, being careful not to let the eggs brown or firm up too much.
Once the eggs are just cooked, they’re ready. Serve this Chinese chives & egg stir fry with rice!
You’ll enjoy the silky eggs and the sweet and flavorful chives in this Chinese chives & eggs dish!
Chinese Chives & Eggs Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 4 teaspoons water
- 2 cups Chinese chives/garlic chives (chopped)
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Crack the eggs into a large bowl, and add the sugar, salt, Shaoxing wine, white pepper, sesame oil and water. Beat the eggs for a good 30 seconds until you see a layer of small bubbles floating on the surface of the beaten eggs. Mix in the chives until combined. Now you are ready to cook.
- Heat a wok until it just starts to smoke, and then turn the heat down to medium low. Wait 10 seconds, and then add the oil. Coat the wok with oil using your spatula to swirl it around. The oil should be hot but not smoking when you add the egg mixture.
- Once you pour the eggs into the wok, flip and stir them slowly with a spatula, being careful not to let the eggs brown or firm up too much. Once the eggs are just cooked, they’re ready. Serve!
nutrition facts
Delicious. Would be great in fried rice, too!
Absolutely, Jess, you should give it try. Just know to shake the excess water off the garlic chives.
Hi Judy: Can you clarify chives? The first time I made this recipe it was perfect. But the next time I picked up chives from Chinatown, the chives were taller; 17 inches as opposed to 10 inches. When I did the recipe again with the 17 inch chives, they were not as tender. Some pieces were fibrous & hard (woody). Although in future, I’ll stick with the shorter ones, how do you overcome this issue if only the longer ones are available? Should I just cut off about 5 inches from the bottom & discard them? Or possibly they were altogether too mature & should be avoided entirely. Moreover, I looked at your pics & they were no flower buds, yet the ones in Chinatown always have closed buds. Am I buying the right thing? Thanks for your responses. xo
Hi Pat, I believe the 2nd time what you bought is the hearts of garlic chive, have a look in this post: . The thicker part of the hearts can be tough. You only keep and consume the tender part that can be easily snapped off.
I loved this recipe! Especially since I have no time & always on the run. So easy… Thank you… Trying to get me & my family away from cheese, bread, & sugar over-load. I had this with white rice & bok choy – simple & perfect meal.
Yes, this is beloved, simple home-cooking that everyone in China knows and loves.
This is such a satisfying dish! It’s both flavorful and subtle at the same time. We’ll definitely be growing Chinese Chives in our California back yard garden from now on, both for this and for some of the other recipes we haven’t tried yet. Thank you for this and for all the other wonderful content on The Woks of Life.
So glad you enjoyed it, Thea :-)
So much flavour, even without shaoxing wine(couldn’t find it) I used a bit of rice vinegar and soy sauce instead to make up for the flavour and it turned out great
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Leila.
This brings me right back to summer evenings when we would harvest Chinese chives out of the garden for this specific dish! Perfect for lazy and quick dinners when it’s too hot to put too much effort into cooking but you still gotta put something on the table. I also slathered it with oyster sauce in my kid days.
I know, Stephanie, this dish is beloved.
omg.. these are so tasty. even several days later they are light and fluffy. tastes better than my mom’s (shh)! don’t know how you do it.. feels so comforting to have it over some rice. thank you thank you thank you!
Hi Sharon, the secret to cooking egg the Chinese way is lots of oil. If you like this dish and you can eat shrimp, you should really try our Shrimp and Egg Stir Fry. It’s one of my favorites. :-)
Nice one! Love the crunchiness of the chives in the egg and the flavors the Shaoxing wine adds.
So glad you enjoyed it.
Hi, thank you for the receipt. Can I use chives to substitute garlic chives? If so, should I add more garlic? Thank you!
Hi Huacen, you can make the substitute and add more garlic :-)
Hi,
My Chinese maket sells garlic chives in big packages… Do they freeze well ?
Thanks for your wonderful blog, I now cook a lot with your recipes.
Hi Chantal, garlic chives do not freeze well. You can use the leftover chives for pork and chive dumplings, or chive boxes. Once assembled, these items can be frozen!