Laozao Fenzi Dan
醪糟粉子蛋·(láozāo fěnzǐ dàn)
Grandma's Hands: Doughs, Broths, and Comfort
If you ask a child of a Sichuanese household what comfort tastes like, they won't point to a fiery bowl of mapo tofu, they will point to this. It is a sweet, warming, gently alcoholic broth filled with chewy, rustic rice dumplings and a perfectly poached egg with a runny yolk. The magic lies in the unpretentious technique of pinching irregular dough fragments directly into the pot, and the golden rule of never boiling the fermented rice. It is the ultimate homeland remedy, practical and deeply restorative, proving you are never more than a few pantry staples away from true home.
Before you start
Mix the dumpling dough.
Place the glutinous rice flour in a medium bowl, pour in the warm water, and mix to slightly cook the starches. Gradually add the room temperature water, kneading gently until the mixture forms a smooth, pliable dough ball that feels like soft play-dough.
Ingredients
- glutinous rice flour1 cup
- warm water4 tbsp
- water3 tbsp
- water4 cup
- dark brown sugar4 tbsp
- dried goji berries1 tbsp
- eggs2 large
- fermented sweet rice5 tbsp
Method
- 01
Prepare the sweet broth.
In a medium saucepan, bring the 4 cups of water to a gentle boil and stir in the dark brown sugar until completely dissolved.
- 02
Poach the eggs undisturbed.
Lower the heat to a very gentle simmer with tiny bubbles, hold the eggs close to the surface, and gently crack them in. Let them poach untouched for about 3 minutes until the whites are mostly set but the yolk remains soft, then carefully scoop them into your serving bowls.
- 03
Pinch the dumplings into the boiling broth.
Turn the heat to medium-high to bring the broth to a rolling boil. Hold the dough ball in your hand and rapidly pinch off thumbnail-sized, irregular pieces, flicking them directly into the pot.
- 04
Boil the dumplings until they float.
Give the broth a gentle stir and boil for 2 to 3 minutes until the dumplings become slightly translucent and float to the surface, then toss in the goji berries.
- 05
Stir in the fermented rice off the heat.
Turn the heat to the absolute lowest setting, gently stir in the fermented sweet rice for 30 seconds, then turn the heat completely off to prevent the sweet alcohol from evaporating and turning sour.
- 06
Assemble and serve.
Ladle the hot broth, plump rice grains, and chewy dumplings over the waiting poached eggs.
Notes
Source the right flour.
Look for glutinous or sweet rice flour, often sold in clear bags with green text, rather than regular rice flour.
Do not save cooked dough.
Pinch only as much dough as you plan to eat in one sitting, as cooked dumplings will disintegrate and turn the broth to sludge if left overnight.
From Cook Sichuan in America.