鹹蛋

Salted Eggs

Name: Dad's Salted Eggs: A Chinese Chef's Secrets
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 12 eggs; 3 tbsp salt; 3 tbsp rice wine; 2 cup water; 3 tbsp white vinegar

By Daddy Lau

The internet's favorite Chinese chef with 60+ years of experience & 2 James Beard Awards

▶ 376.3K views on YouTube

👍 7.1K likes

✍️ Published Nov 2021, Updated Oct 2026

Prep

10 min

Cook

35 min

Total

45 min

Serves

Try out the easiest, most mess-free technique for homemade salted eggs!

Cooking Summary

Ingredients: (detailed list)

Main Ingredients: eggs, salt, rice wine
Other Ingredients: water, white vinegar

Steps:

Prepare eggs
Prepare curing ingredients
Cure eggs
Finished salted eggs

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ING 1 2 3 4

Top 3 Mistakes

Skipping the vinegar soak:
Follow the vinegar-soaking step before coating the eggs. The recipe uses this preparation to soften the shells, rather than putting the salt coating straight onto untreated eggs.
Leaving gaps in the salt coat:
Roll each prepared egg until the entire shell is coated with salt, then wrap it as directed. Check all sides instead of leaving bare patches hidden underneath the wrapping.
Forgetting the curing date:
Write the preparation date on the carton before putting the eggs away. This recipe depends on a timed cure, so keep a clear record instead of trying to remember when you started.

Overview

Salted egg yolk has become a popular flavor for all kinds of snacks, like cookies, popcorn, chips and even ice cream.

It may also be familiar as an ingredient for your favorite traditional Chinese dishes, like zung, steamed pork patty, congee, mooncakes, and molten custard buns.

But how far back does its history stretch? So far back that we're not even sure! Historical records reference salted eggs in the fifth century, so clearly, their rich, salty golden goodness has withstood the test of time.

Ingredients

Serves12

FUNDAMENTALS

Understanding Flavor

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Main Ingredients

12 eggs

3 tbspsalt

3 tbsprice wine

Other Ingredients

2 cupwater

3 tbspwhite vinegar

Why this recipe

The story

Daddy Lau

Most salted eggs recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.

I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 376.3K views, 7.1K likes on YouTube.

What salt is best for making salted eggs?

We use simple iodized table salt. Feel free to experiment with different salts, like Himalayan pink salt or kosher salt. Don't worry about the size of the grain, as any kind of salt should generally be able to absorb through the shell about the same.

What is the rice wine for?

Because the rice wine is used to help kill bacteria that's on the eggshell, it needs to be at least 40% alcohol by volume, or 80 proof. The higher alcohol content may help weaken the eggshell as well.

The wet layer of rice wine on the eggshell also helps the salt stick.

How to make Salted Eggs

4 steps

Prepare eggs

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Wash the eggs gently.

Add white vinegar (3 tbsp) to a clean bowl of water (2 cup) and stir it a little to mix the solution. Add more water as needed. There needs to be enough vinegar solution to fully submerge the eggs.

Soak the eggs in the vinegar solution for 30 minutes. This soaking process will soften the eggshell and let the salt penetrate easily.

LESSON 3.3

The 10 Essential Cutting Techniques

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Prepare curing ingredients

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Prepare the salt (3 tbsp) and rice wine (3 tbsp) in separate bowls. The rice wine needs to be at least 40% alcohol to kill any bacteria on the eggs.

Make sure the bowls are large enough that you'll be able to easily roll the eggs around inside.

Cure eggs

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Take the eggs out from the vinegar solution and gently dry them.

Dip each egg into the bowl of rice wine, making sure that all of the eggshell surface wet. The wetness of the rice wine will help the salt adhere to the eggshell.

Then, roll the egg into the bowl of salt until it's completely covered in salt.

Finally, wrap the coated egg with a prepared square of plastic wrap. Lay the egg down in the center of the plastic wrap, pull one edge of the plastic wrap over and then roll the egg along the length of the plastic wrap to keep wrapping it. Then, tightly twist the two free ends to seal the egg in.

Put the wrapped eggs back into the egg carton for storage, and write the date on it to keep track of timing. Put the egg carton in a plastic bag. Let it cure in a cool, dark, and dry place for 4 weeks.