Crispy golden pumpkin tossed in a rich, savoury salted egg yolk sauce — a beloved Chinese-style dish that’s creamy, flavourful, and irresistibly addictive. Perfect as a side, snack, or vegetarian main!
Watch How To Make Pumpkin With Salted Egg Yolk 咸蛋炸金瓜 – Recipe Video
🥢 Pumpkin with Salted Egg Yolk (Golden Fried Pumpkin Recipe)
Pumpkin with Salted Egg Yolk is a delicious, indulgent Chinese-style dish that combines the natural sweetness of pumpkin with the rich, savoury flavour of salted egg yolk. Popular across Malaysia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia, this dish is slight crispy outside, creamy inside, and absolutely packed with umami flavour.
These crispy pieces of sweet fried pumpkin coated in salted egg yolk sauce are irresistibly addictive and sure to be a crowd-pleaser at any meal!
This Pumpkin with Salted Egg Yolk recipe requires only two main ingredients — pumpkin and salted egg yolks — yet delivers an incredibly rich and satisfying taste. The salted egg yolks are first steamed and mashed into fine pieces, giving the sauce its smooth, buttery texture and signature aroma. The pumpkin is coated with cornstarch and shallow-fried until it turns crispy on the outside while staying tender and sweet inside.
Finally, the pumpkin is tossed with fragrant garlic and the crumbled salted egg yolk, coating every piece with that rich, savoury, and creamy goodness. The result is a dish that’s simple yet luxurious, perfect as a side dish, snack, or even a main vegetarian meal when you’re craving something comforting and flavourful.
🎃 Best Pumpkins to Use for Frying
Choosing the right pumpkin makes all the difference in achieving crisp, golden bites that hold their shape.
🥇 1. Kabocha Squash (Japanese Pumpkin / 日本南瓜, rìběn nánguā)
- Texture: Dense, creamy, not watery
- Flavour: Naturally sweet and nutty
- Best for: Frying or roasting — holds shape beautifully and caramelizes well
🥈 2. Local Malaysian Pumpkin (Labu Manis)
- Texture: Slightly soft; may become fibrous when very ripe
- Flavour: Sweet and earthy
- Tip: Choose younger, firmer ones for frying
🥉 3. Thai Pumpkin
- Texture: Firm and starchy
- Flavour: Mildly sweet
- Best for: Stir-frying or deep-frying without falling apart
❌ Avoid overripe or watery pumpkins — Do not use overripe pumpkins. They turn mushy when fried. Also avoid very watery varieties. Too much moisture causes oil splatter and soft texture.
🥚 Best Type of Salted Egg Yolk For This Recipe:
For the most flavourful result, use salted duck egg yolks instead of chicken yolks.
They have a richer, creamier texture and a bright orange colour that adds visual appeal and depth of flavour.
Salted Duck Egg Yolk (Cooked)
- Rich and creamy texture.
- Bright orange yolk adds a beautiful golden colour and savoury flavour.
- More oily and flavourful compared to chicken salted eggs.
🧂 Ingredients You Need for This Pumpkin With Salted Egg Yolk Recipe
- Fresh Pumpkin (peeled and cut into long rectangles)
- Salted egg yolk (steamed and mashed)
- Garlic (chopped)
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Chinese Cooking Wine
- Spring Onion (diced)
👩🏻🍳 Overview On How to Make Pumpkin With Salted Egg Yolk
Prepare Ingredients:
- First remove the seeds and skin of the pumpkin. Then cut the pumpkin into long rectangle pieces. Next season with salt for about 15 minutes. Then coat the pumpkin with cornstarch. Shake off excess cornstarch.
- Clean salted eggs. Remove dark clay from salted eggs and wash in running water. Separate salted egg yolk from white. Steam egg yolks and mash them with a fork till well crumbled.
- Chop garlic to sauté with pumpkin and dice spring onions for garnishing.
Cook Pumpkin With Salted Egg Yolk
- Heat oil in wok using medium heat. When ready, fry the coated pumpkin in a single layer till they turn golden brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.
- In same wok, with a little oil sauce chopped garlic till fragrant.
- Add in the mashed salted egg yolks and stir fry using low heat till it bubbles.
- Add a splash of cooking wine and add in the fried pumpkin to the creamy sauce in the wok. Fry to evenly coat every piece of pumpkin with the sauce.
- Sprinkle a little sugar and toss to mix well.
- Off heat, and garnish with diced spring onion before dishing out on a serving dish.
How to Serve Pumpkin With Salted Egg Yolk
Can be served as a side dish which is best for home meals or sharing plates in restaurants. It can also be served as a snack or appetizer. This is best for finger food, parties or casual dining. Otherwise it can be served as a main vegetarian dish best for a vegetarian meal or for one avoiding meat.
Important Tips When Cooking Pumpkin With Salted Egg Yolk
- Choose the right pumpkin. Use firm, starchy pumpkin like local pumpkin (labu tuning) or Japanese Kabocha. Avoid overripe and watery varieties as they will turn mushy when fried.
- Cook the pumpkin properly. Slice pumpkin evenly for even cooking. Fry the pumpkin slices until crispy golden brown. This gives better texture and helps the salted egg yolk sauce stick.
- Use salted duck egg yolks. Mash or blend the yolks after steaming to make a smooth sauce. Fry the mashed yolks in oil until they bubbles and become foamy for a richer flavour.
- Fry aromatics (chopped garlic) in oil first to release aroma before adding mashed salted egg yolks.
- Control the heat while frying. Cook over low to medium heat when adding mashed egg yolks. This helps them melt and become creamy instead of burning. Be sure to stir constantly when cooking the egg yolk sauce.
- Balance the seasoning. Salted egg yolk is already salty so be careful not to over salt. Add a little sugar to balance the flavour.
- Toss pumpkin quickly in the egg yolk sauce. Once the yolk sauce is ready, toss the fried pumpkin in quickly and gently to coat evenly. Serve immediately to keep the pumpkin crispy.
❤️ Some Recipes That You Might Like
Chinese Stir Fry Pumpkin 中式炒金瓜
Steamed Pumpkin Savoury Cake 金瓜蒸糕
Braised Pork Ribs With Pumpkin 金瓜焖排骨
See Our Selection of Pumpkin and Salted Egg Yolk Recipes
🥚 See All Salted Egg Yolk Recipes
Pumpkin With Salted Egg Yolk 咸蛋炸金瓜
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Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 300 grams pumpkin, with skin
- 2 salted egg yolk
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 stalk curry leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp chinese cooking wine
Have ready all ingredients needed.
First remove the seeds and skin of the pumpkin. Then cut the pumpkin into long rectangle pieces and transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add some salt to the pumpkin, mix well and leave to season for about 15 minutes. The salt gives the pumpkin a base flavour because it is not salty at all.
Then clean salted eggs. Remove the dark clay and ash covering the salted eggs and clean with running water. Then separate the egg yolk from the whites. Steam the salted egg yolks for 15 minutes. Remove from steamer and mash the cooked salted egg yolk with a fork till fine.
Also chop some garlic and dice some spring onion for garnishing.
Start by putting cornstarch onto the cut pumpkin. Coat the pumpkin with the cornstarch.
Heat oil in wok or pan using medium heat. When bubbles appear around a bamboo chopstick, the oil is ready. Place the coated pumpkin in a single layer into the wok. Do not overcrowd the wok. Let pumpkin fry in the oil (medium heat) for 1 minute before stirring. Then fry for another 3-4 minutes till all sides are crispy and are cooked through. Remove the fried pumpkin from wok.
Hest some oil in the wok and then add the minced garlic. Saute the garlic till fragrant. Then add in the mashed salted egg yolks. Stir fry till the salted egg yolks start to melt and is bubbling. Add a dash of cooking wine.
Add in the fried pumpkin. Stir fry and toss till all the fried pumpkin are evenly coated with the egg yolk. Sprinkle a little sugar, toss to mix well. Off heat, and garnish with some chopped spring onions. Dish up onto serving plate.
This dish can be eaten on its own as a snack or compliment with rice. So Enjoy!
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients:
Cooking Pumpkin With Salted Egg Yolk:
Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- Choose the right pumpkin. Use firm, starchy pumpkin like local pumpkin (labu tuning) or Japanese Kabocha. Avoid overripe and watery varieties as they will turn mushy when fried.
- Cook the pumpkin properly. Slice pumpkin evenly for even cooking. Fry the pumpkin slices until crispy golden brown. This gives better texture and helps the salted egg yolk sauce stick.
- Use salted duck egg yolks. Mash or blend the yolks after steaming to make a smooth sauce. Fry the mashed yolks in oil until they bubbles and become foamy for a richer flavour.
- Fry aromatics (chopped garlic) in oil first to release aroma before adding mashed salted egg yolks.
- Control the heat while frying. Cook over low to medium heat when adding mashed egg yolks. This helps them melt and become creamy instead of burning. Be sure to stir constantly when cooking the egg yolk sauce.
- Balance the seasoning. Salted egg yolk is already salty so be careful not to over salt. Add a little sugar to balance the flavour.
- Toss pumpkin quickly in the egg yolk sauce. Once the yolk sauce is ready, toss the fried pumpkin in quickly and gently to coat evenly. Serve immediately to keep the pumpkin crispy.
