Today I’m making a dish with a rather interesting name: Osmanthus Eggs stir-fried with glass noodles. Sounds fancy, right? But it gets even more bewildering with its Chinese name, Gui Hua Chi (桂花翅), which literally means “osmanthus shark fin”!

Let me explain. It is stir-fried eggs with glass noodles and crab meat. 

Despite the name, the dish doesn’t contain osmanthus flowers, and most versions today no longer include shark fin either. The term “osmanthus” refers to the scrambled eggs, which are broken into tiny, fluffy golden bits resembling osmanthus blossoms. As for “shark fin,” it was part of the original, more luxurious version of the dish. 

Many restaurants and home cooks have moved away from it. Nowadays, almost everyone uses glass noodles as a substitute for shark fin. Real shark fin is rarely used anymore.

The dish can be made luxurious with additions like dried scallops and fresh crab meat, or kept simple with barbecued pork. Today, I’m going for something in between, using fresh crab meat I got from the market.

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The Main Ingredients for Osmanthus Egg with Glass Noodles

• Glass noodles are the primary ingredient in this dish. The one I used is made with 100% mung bean starch. This variety is slightly more expensive than others, but the texture is more springy, and they won’t turn mushy even after soaking for a long time. 
• The second ingredient is egg, which is stir-fried and broken into small pieces, giving the dish its signature look resembling scattered osmanthus petals.
• Other ingredients can vary. In this recipe, I’m using crab meat, but you could also use barbecued pork, dried scallops, imitation crab meat ( also called filament crab sticks), or a combination of any of these. It’s a versatile dish, so feel free to adapt it to your taste or what you have on hand.
• Several supporting items contribute to the flavor and texture of the stir-fry.. They are carrots, bean sprouts, scallions (spring onions), mushrooms, and garlic chives. The selection depends entirely on your preference and availability.
• For seasoning, I stick with classic Cantonese-style flavors: light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and sesame oil, along with salt, ground white pepper, and sugar.
• I also prepare some iceberg lettuce leaves, which are used to wrap the stir-fries into the crisp, refreshing little packets for hand-held bites.
• To boost the flavor without using MSG, I’ve added chicken broth.

How to Prepare Osmanthus Egg Stir-Fry with Glass Noodles 

• First, soak the glass noodles in water until they soften. The soaking time depends on the quality of the noodles. The ones I use are made with 100% mung bean starch and require only 5 to 6 minutes of soaking to become soft. They’re of excellent quality and will not become soggy even if soaked longer. However, other brands made from different starches may become overly soft or mushy if soaked too long. So once they’re soft, drain them immediately using a colander. Do not over-soak.

• While soaking the glass noodles, prepare the other ingredients: Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in water until they are soft, then slice them thinly. Shred the carrot into fine strips, chop the garlic, rinse the bean sprouts, and slice the scallions into long, thin strips.
• Next, clean the crab meat by rinsing it with water. Remove any bits of shell if present. Squeeze out the excess water and set the crab meat aside.
• Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl, beat them well, and season with salt and ground white pepper. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok. Pour in the beaten eggs. Once the bottom begins to set, gently move the eggs around as if making scrambled eggs. When the eggs are about 80% cooked, use the wok spatula to break them into small pieces. Continue breaking them down until they resemble tiny golden flecks, similar in size and shape to osmanthus flowers. Remove the eggs from the wok and set aside.

• Next, heat more oil in the wok and stir-fry the crab meat. Season it with ground white pepper and a splash of Shaoxing wine to remove any fishy odor. While continuing to stir-fry the crab meat, add the chopped garlic, followed by the shredded carrot and sliced mushrooms.
• Season the stir-fried ingredients with salt, white pepper, sugar, and light soy sauce.

• Return the egg to the wok, along with the scallions and bean sprouts. Toss everything together. Add the drained glass noodles and pour in some chicken broth to enhance the flavor. Continue stir-frying over medium heat until the noodles have absorbed all the broth.

• Finally, drizzle in sesame oil and another splash of Shaoxing wine. Stir-fry briefly, then dish out and serve hot.

How to Serve Osmanthus Fried Egg with Glass Noodles

One of the most popular ways to present this dish is by using an inverted bowl technique. First, fill a bowl with the stir-fried egg and glass noodles, then place a piece of iceberg lettuce on top. Cover the bowl with a plate, then quickly flip it over. The egg and noodles will settle neatly onto the plate, creating a dome-like presentation with the lettuce at the base.

Prepare extra iceberg lettuce leaves on the side. To serve, scoop some of the stir-fried mixture into each leaf and wrap it into a small packet. You can serve the osmanthus eggs with glass noodles on their own or pair them with steamed white rice.

Why Is It Called Osmanthus Eggs?

To understand the name, it is helpful to examine the original Chinese term: Gui Hua Chi (桂花翅), pronounced “kwai fa chi” in Cantonese. This dish was originally made by stir-frying eggs with shark fin, and the character 翅 (chi) refers to shark fin in Chinese. Even though most versions today no longer include shark fin, the name has stuck, and people still refer to it as Gui Hua Chi.

So where does the “osmanthus” come in? It refers to the appearance of the eggs. When scrambled and broken into fine, fluffy pieces, the yellow egg resembles clusters of osmanthus blossoms. When mixed with shark fin (or nowadays, glass noodles), it creates a look reminiscent of tiny golden flowers on branches.

In English, some versions of the name are translated as “Osmanthus Eggs” or 桂花蛋 (Gui Hua Dan). The translations can be somewhat confusing. But in essence, they all describe the same dish: stir-fried eggs with glass noodles.

Other egg and glass noodles recipes you want to try

If you enjoy Osmanthus Eggs, you’ll also appreciate other recipes that feature eggs and glass noodles. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Ants Climbing a Tree. This is a classic stir-fried glass noodle dish made with minced meat. Its playful name comes from the way the glass noodles resemble tree branches, while the tiny bits of minced meat look like ants crawling along them.
• Steamed Egg with Minced Pork.  A comforting Cantonese home-style dish. It’s best served with a drizzle of light soy sauce and accompanied by steamed rice.
• Shrimp and Egg Stir-Fry.  A simple yet flavorful stir-fry that brings together the delicate richness of eggs and the natural sweetness of shrimp. One of the highlights is the contrast in texture between the eggs, which are soft and fluffy, and the shrimp, which remain plump and springy.