Cantonese Scrambled Eggs & Shrimp (滑蛋蝦仁)

Whip up these silky-smooth homestyle Cantonese eggs in 15 minutes!

flodesk gif
Prep Time
7 min
Total Time
15 min
Yields
4 servings
YouTube Tutorial

A Recipe by Daddy Lau

My dad's been cooking Chinese food for over 50 years - as a kid fending for himself in Guangzhou, as the head chef of his own restaurant, and as a loving father in our home.

Hopefully, by learning this recipe, you'll get to experience some of the delicious joy we felt growing up eating his food!

- Randy

Are you scrambling last minute for just one more side dish? Look no further!

This dish is quick, delicious, and only uses a few ingredients that you probably already have in the fridge and pantry! It's the perfect representation of humble Cantonese home cooking.

It's quick but inaccurate to compare these with European-style scrambled eggs. Scrambled eggs often get their fluffiness from added ingredients like milk or water, and they're generally cooked by quickly stirring the beaten eggs on low to medium heat, creating curds of eggs with a rather homogeneous color and texture throughout.

In contrast, you're not going to want any milk or water in these eggs, and you're very quickly cooking layers of eggs on super high heat, resulting in a chewier outside and a silky, tender inside, mixed with bites of juicy-but-not-waterlogged shrimp.

After learning a few of our tips and tricks (did someone say... sugar?!), you'll be able to make it with amazing flavor and fantastic texture.

Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!

Ingredients

Weight: US
oz
g
Volume: US
cup
mL
Servings
4

Main Ingredients

  • 5 oz shrimp
  • 5 egg
  • 1 small amount green onion
  • 2 tbsp oil

Seasoning: Shrimp

  • 0.50 tsp salt
  • 0.50 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

Seasoning: Eggs

  • 1 tsp oil
  • 0.50 tsp salt
  • 0.50 tsp sugar

Shrimp: fresh or frozen?

Both work great! In fact, my dad uses frozen shrimp. If you buy bagged frozen shrimp, the bag should contain directions on the best way to thaw them. Overnight in the fridge is the typical recommendation.

As for the size, large shrimp may make the eating experience awkward. For our recipe, we cut large shrimp (31/35) into smaller pieces. You can skip that by buying smaller shrimp, such as 40/50.

It's sometimes hard to find seafood that's sustainably farmed or caught, so we've found a great resource for choosing and purchasing seafood, which is Monterey Bay Aquarium's free website, Seafood Watch. Check it out, and learn how to consume seafood in ways that have the least environmental impact.

Step 1: Peel & cut shrimp

Peel the shrimp (5 oz) by pulling off the shell at the third section, right before the tail. Then, hook a finger underneath to peel off the rest of the shell.

If your shrimp is large, then halve horizontally for easier eating. If your shrimp is small, then you can cook them as they are.

Wash & marinate shrimp

Put the peeled shrimp in a bowl of water, and wash them clean of any more debris. While you're rinsing the shrimp, you can also pull out the vein if you like.

Pour the water out, and gently squeeze to get more water out. You'll want these shrimp as dry as possible, so lay out a paper towel, put the shrimp on it in a single layer, and then put another paper towel on top. Press gently to squeeze out more moisture; you can even roll it up and give it a squeeze that way.

Once dry, marinate the shrimp with salt (0.50 tsp) and white pepper (0.50 tsp). Mix that together, and then add cornstarch (1 tsp).

Adding the cornstarch last will help ensure that the marinade flavor penetrates as much as possible, and that the shrimp stir-fries up with a crispier outside.

Step 2: Prepare green onion & eggs

If you cut the shrimp, switch your knife and cutting board out for a clean set or give them a good wash just to be on the safe side. Chop the green onion (1 small amount) into small pieces, but keep it separate from the eggs for now. Crack the eggs (5 ) into a bowl, and add oil (1 tsp), salt (0.50 tsp), and sugar (0.50 tsp). The oil will give your eggs a silky texture, the salt seasons the eggs, and the sugar is a stealthy contributor to that light, fluffy texture.

When you're ready to cook, beat the eggs thoroughly, until the mixture is homogeneous with large air bubbles. Then, mix in the chopped green onion.

Important: Don't beat the eggs or add the green onions until you're ready to turn the stove on; if you do this step in advance, the air you've beaten into the eggs will deflate and the ingredients won't be as well mixed.

Step 3: Stir-fry shrimp

Turn the stove to the highest heat, and let the wok heat up for a minute. Add oil (1 tbsp), give it a swirl to coat the wok, and add the shrimp. Cook for about 30 seconds, until they are about 80-90% cooked and have almost turned entirely orange.

Turn the heat off and scoop the cooked shrimp out of the wok and into the bowl of beaten eggs.

Step 4: Stir-fry everything

Turn the stove back on high heat and add the rest of the oil (1 tbsp). When the wok is hot (it shouldn't take long, as it's probably still pretty hot from stir-frying the shrimp), pour all of the egg mixture in.

The bottom of the egg will bubble up and seem to cook immediately, but let it sit for about 10 seconds, and then start to move it around. Use the spatula to get under the cooked layer of egg, and fold it over so that the next wave of uncooked egg mixture can flow underneath for its turn to cook.

Continue to let each layer cook, stacking each cooked layer on top, for about 30 seconds. Turn the heat off, and continue cooking and stacking using the residual heat. If it seems like the residual heat of the wok won't be enough to cook all of the eggs, you can turn the stove back on high for a few seconds to get the wok hot again.

Step 5: Plate & serve

You don't want the eggs to sit in a hot wok, as they will certainly overcook, so as soon as they are cooked to your liking, take them out of the wok and onto the serving plate. Enjoy!

FAQ

How do you get the eggs light and fluffy?

  • There are three techniques that do the most work here:
  • 1. Daddy Lau's secret ingredient: sugar. It's not for sweetness! We don't add enough to make it sweet like Japanese tamagoyaki. We add just a touch of sugar for structure.
  • 2. Don't beat the eggs too far in advance; instead, beat them right before cooking, and REALLY beat them, REALLY get that air in there. You want to see large happy bubbles.
  • 3. The cooking technique is important, too. The Cantonese style of cooking these eggs is all about shifting and stacking perfectly cooked layers on VERY HIGH HEAT, rather than the mix-mix-mixing to form little egg curds like Western scrambled eggs.

How do you get rid of the shrimpy smell?

  • The white pepper powder helps get rid of any fishiness. Don't forget it! (But also don't use too much, because its heat can creep up on you...)

How do you get the right shrimp firmness?

  • Make sure that the shrimp is thawed properly and dried well. Shrimp that still has frozen parts as it's cooking will release more water. Also, don't forget the cornstarch after you season the shrimp. The salt in the shrimp will draw out water, so the cornstarch is important for absorbing that extra moisture, and will help give the cooked shrimp a bit of crispiness.

Can I used pre-peeled shrimp?

  • Sure! Pre-peeled, or deshelled shrimp, will work great for this recipe. That'll save you some work.

What can I use instead of shrimp?

  • You can use any ingredient that you like. The eggs are really the star of the dish, so getting that cooking technique down will let you stir-fry countless variations of this dish.
  • When you're selecting another ingredient, though, make sure that it doesn't have too much water content, that you dry it thoroughly, and that you cook it before mixing it into the egg mixture.

Summary

Print Recipe
Made With Lau
madewithlau.com/recipes/cantonese-scrambled-eggs
Cantonese Scrambled Eggs & Shrimp (滑蛋蝦仁)
Whip up these silky-smooth homestyle Cantonese eggs in 15 minutes!
  • Prep Time: 7 min
  • Total Time: 15 min
  • Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

Main Ingredients

  • 5 oz shrimp
  • 5 egg
  • 1 small amount green onion
  • 2 tbsp oil

Seasoning: Shrimp

  • 0.50 tsp salt
  • 0.50 tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

Seasoning: Eggs

  • 1 tsp oil
  • 0.50 tsp salt
  • 0.50 tsp sugar

Step 1 - Peel & cut shrimp

↑ Jump to details

Peel the shrimp (5 oz) by pulling off the shell at the third section, right before the tail. Then, hook a finger underneath to peel off the rest of the shell.

If your shrimp is large, then halve horizontally for easier eating. If your shrimp is small, then you can cook them as they are.

Wash & marinate shrimp

Put the peeled shrimp in a bowl of water, and wash them clean of any debris. While you're rinsing the shrimp, you can also pull out the vein if you like.

Pour the water out, and gently squeeze to get more water out. Layer the shrimp between paper towels and blot dry further.

Once dry, marinate the shrimp with salt (0.50 tsp) and white pepper (0.50 tsp). Mix that together, and then add cornstarch (1 tsp).

Step 2 - Prepare green onion & eggs

↑ Jump to details

Chop the green onion (1 small amount) into small pieces, but keep it separate from the eggs for now. Crack the eggs (5 ) into a bowl, and add oil (1 tsp), salt (0.50 tsp), and sugar (0.50 tsp).

When you're ready to cook, beat the eggs thoroughly, until the mixture is homogeneous with large air bubbles. Then, mix in the chopped green onion.

Step 3 - Stir-fry shrimp

↑ Jump to details

Turn the stove to the highest heat, and let the wok heat up for a minute. Add oil (1 tbsp), give it a swirl to coat the wok, and add the shrimp. Cook for about 30 seconds, until they are about 80-90% cooked and have almost turned entirely orange.

Turn the heat off and scoop the cooked shrimp out of the wok and into the bowl of beaten eggs.

Step 4 - Stir-fry everything

↑ Jump to details

Turn the stove back on high heat and add the rest of the oil (1 tbsp). When the wok is hot, pour all of the egg mixture in.

The bottom of the egg will bubble up immediately, but let it sit for about 10 seconds, and then start to move it around. Use the spatula to get under the cooked layer of egg, and fold it over so that the next wave of uncooked egg mixture can flow underneath.

Continue to let each layer cook, stacking each cooked layer on top, for about 30 seconds. Turn the heat off, and continue cooking and stacking using the residual heat.

Step 5 - Plate & serve

↑ Jump to details

As soon as the eggs are cooked to your liking, take them out of the wok and onto the serving plate. Enjoy!

Step 6 - Take pictures
Whip out your camera (1). Begin taking photos (1,000,000). Pick your favorites!
Step 7 - Share and tag us on Instagram @madewithlau #madewithlau!
Did you have fun making this recipe? We'd love to see & hear about it. (Especially my dad. He would be THRILLED!)

Enjoy!

We have many, many happy memories of enjoying this dish growing up.

Now, hopefully, you can create your own memories with this dish with your loved ones.

Also, I cordially invite you to eat with us and learn more about the dish, Chinese culture, and my family.

Cheers, and thanks for cooking with us!

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions about the recipe.