Healthy Eating: Hong Kong Year of the Dragon Egg Tarts

It’s the year of the dragon and I thought we could celebrate with a simple and delicious classic pie.

Crispy, flaky and filled with tender custard, Hong Kong egg tartlets are a popular pastry in Cantonese Chinese cuisine and often served at the end of dim sum.

They remind me of the traditional Portuguese egg custard tartlets (Pasteis de Nata) that I enjoyed during a trip to Portugal, but I find that the Hong Kong version is easier to make.

Despite the similarity to Portuguese egg tarts, Hong Kong egg tart is a staple of Cantonese cuisine, a product of British and Chinese tastes. Its roots lie in the British Custard Tart, made with a creamy filling and shortcrust pastry.

The British introduced the custard tart to the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in the 1920s, and over time the Cantonese adapted the tarts to their own tastes. Instead of using the expensive imported ingredients that British pies called for, like butter and custard powder, chefs used lard to make puff pastry and mixed a filling of eggs, sugar, water and a touch of milk.

This recipe uses butter instead of lard, but if you prefer to use leaf lard for the crusts, use that.

These treats are perfect for brunch, an afternoon snack, or dessert. You can use a muffin pan if you don’t have mini pie pans.

Even though they make this recipe for 16 small tartlets, I can assure you they won’t last long — and if you’re tempted, you can always share it with your neighbors or friends.

San nin faai lok! Happy Lunar New Year!

Hong Kong-style egg tarts

Serves: 4 (16 tartlets)
Preparation time: 1h15
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Dough
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
12 (170 g) tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons (30 ml) cold water

Cream
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (235 ml) hot water
1/2 cup (120 ml) condensed milk, at room temperature
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions

Dough
In a bowl, mix the flour and salt.
Add the butter.
Work quickly to roughly break it up with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces of butter still in the mixture.
Add 2 tablespoons of cold water and bring the dough together with your hands.
Add a little more water, if necessary, half a teaspoon at a time, making sure not to exceed 3 teaspoons.
At this point the dough will be rough and dry.
Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 6×15 inch rectangle. Work quickly to avoid overworking it.
Fold the top third of the dough toward the center, then the bottom third up and over.
Give the dough a quarter turn (left or right) and roll it out again to make a 6 x 15 inch rectangle.
Fold the same way as before, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.

Cream
Dissolve the sugar in the hot water and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
Whisk together the evaporated milk, eggs and vanilla, then stir in the sugar water.
Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup or pitcher.

Make the tartlets
Preheat the oven to 375°F by convection and place a rack in the lower third of the oven.
Roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick and, using a fluted cookie cutter, cut out 4-inch circles and place the dough in 3-inch egg tart pans or muffin tins. inches, leaving about half an inch of dough hanging from the pans.
Take the excess dough, roll it out again and cut more circles until you have 16.
Fill the tart shells evenly three-quarters full with custard.
Once filled, transfer a baking sheet with the tart shells to the oven.
Immediately reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until filling is just set.
Let the tartlets cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

— By Déborah Binder

Deborah Binder lives in Edmonds with her family. She loves cooking at home with products from the gardens she created and maintained with her husband. She attended culinary school on the East Coast and focused on desserts, pastries, and breads. She has worked for restaurants and caterers in both the front and back of the house (kitchen) on both coasts. Her current interest in food is learning to eat for health and well-being, while enjoying the pleasures of the table. Deborah loves to experiment and develop new recipes. As Julia Child once said, “Everything in moderation, including butter.” Deborah can be contacted at jaideborah@yahoo.com.