Crispy fried pumpkin with salted egg yolk

Photo: Omnivore's Cookbook

Pumpkin sticks fried crisp, then tossed in salted duck egg yolk foamed in butter-yellow oil with garlic. Sweet, salty, sandy-crunchy. The bar snack you'll keep making.

From Maggie Zhu at Omnivore's Cookbook · @omnivorescookbook

Salted egg yolk is the restaurant trick: cooked and mashed, then fried until foamy, it clings to anything crisp as a golden, savory coating.

You need

• 1 lb peeled pumpkin or winter squash (butternut works), cut into 2 x ½-inch (5 x 1 cm) sticks
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 cup canola or vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 salted duck egg yolks, cooked (steam the yolks 8 to 10 minutes) and mashed fine with a fork
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• ½ tsp sugar

How to make it

1. Toss the pumpkin sticks with the salt and leave 10 minutes. Pat dry, then toss with the cornstarch until each one is evenly coated; shake off the extra.
2. Heat the oil in a small, deep pan or wok to 350°F (175°C), or until a stick sizzles steadily the moment it goes in.
3. Fry the pumpkin in 2 or 3 batches for 3 to 4 minutes each, turning, until golden and crisp. Drain on a rack or paper towel.
4. Pour out all but 1 tablespoon of the oil. Over low heat, add the garlic and stir for 15 seconds, then add the mashed egg yolks.
5. Stir constantly over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until the yolk turns foamy and smells rich and buttery. Add the Shaoxing wine and sugar.
6. Add the fried pumpkin, turn off the heat and toss quickly until every stick is coated. Serve right away while it's crisp.

Written in our own words from Maggie Zhu's recipe, with their quantities. The original: Crispy fried pumpkin with salted egg yolk, Omnivore's Cookbook.

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