Hong Kong Egg Waffle
A sheet of connected batter spheres cooked in a hinged iron, crisp outside and hollow within, torn apart while walking. Hong Kong street food since the 1950s.
Photograph credit: File:HK Gai-Daan-Jai.jpg by :ja:User:(WT-ja) Tatata · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Rest the batter for at least an hour, which lets the flour hydrate and gives the smooth, custardy interior the bubbles are meant to have; unrested batter cooks up chewy. The iron has to be genuinely hot and generously oiled on both plates before the batter goes in, and it is flipped almost immediately and repeatedly, which is what forces the batter into the spheres. Tapioca starch in the mix is what keeps the outside crisp rather than going soft within a minute.
Quick Answers
How long does Hong Kong Egg Waffle take to make?
20 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour of resting the batter, so allow 1 hour 45 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.
The Method for Hong Kong Egg Waffle
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale, 2 minutes.
-
Whisk in the evaporated milk, water, oil and vanilla.
-
Sift the flour, tapioca starch, custard powder, baking powder and salt over and whisk to a smooth batter the thickness of double cream.
-
Cover and rest the batter 1 hour at room temperature.
-
Heat an egg waffle iron until it is properly hot and brush both plates generously with oil.
-
Pour in enough batter to cover the plate and close the iron immediately.
-
Flip it over at once, then flip again after 30 seconds, and continue turning every 30 seconds for 4 minutes.
-
Open it when the waffle is golden and lifts away cleanly.
-
Lay it on a rack, curved side up, and let it crisp for 1 minute before rolling it into a cone or tearing it apart.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.
Tips That Matter
- An hour of resting. Unrested batter cooks up chewy.
- Oil both plates and flip immediately, then keep turning.
- Cool on a rack for a minute — that is when it crisps.
Serve It With
Hong Kong milk tea · Condensed milk · Eaten walking
Leftovers and Storage
None. It is crisp for about five minutes and that is the point.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Chinese cooking and desserts ideas from Weekly Delight.
Hong Kong Egg Tarts
Hong Kong dim sum tarts with a short, biscuity crust and a wobbling, barely-set custard that should be smooth and…
Tompouce
Two layers of crisp puff pastry sandwiching thick vanilla pastry cream under a pink icing, the classic Dutch cake.
Waffle Cones
A thin sugar batter cooked in a pizzelle iron for 2 minutes a cone, then rolled while hot into crisp ice cream…
Baked Alaska
A sponge base topped with a dome of raspberry-ripple vanilla ice cream, covered in meringue and browned in a very…
Krumkake
Thin, crisp waffle cones pressed in a patterned iron and rolled around a wooden cone while still hot. Filled with…
Maple Walnut Ice Cream
A custard ice cream sweetened with pure maple syrup, churned with toasted walnuts, chilled for 4 hours and frozen…