I am such a soy sauce fanatic I essentially “invented” this dish before ever having been served it; imagine my surprise to find it is legitimate, basically an egg over easy with an instantly made soy-based sauce. The Chinese name for this popular late-night snack describes the runny center encased by the crisp-fried edges.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1 tablespoon soy sauce

　　1 tablespoon sweet black vinegar or balsamic vinegar

　　3 tablespoons corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil

　　4 eggs

　　Salt to taste

　　

Step 1

Mix together the soy sauce and vinegar. Set aside.

　　

Step 2

Heat a quarter of the oil in a small nonstick skillet over high heat. Swirl the oil to coat the bottom of the pan and crack one of the eggs into the pan. Season with salt. When the edges of the egg begin to brown and the white begins to set, fold the egg in half. Splash on a quarter of the soy-vinegar mixture and immediately remove from the skillet. Repeat with the remaining eggs and serve hot.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.