Dried Scallop & Egg White Fried Rice (瑤柱蛋白炒飯)

This luxurious fried rice showcases simple ingredients and good technique!

flodesk gif
Prep Time
30 min
Total Time
45 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

Does dried scallop and egg white fried rice sound simple? It really is! Dried scallops are super fragrant, aromatic nuggets of flavor, and the idea of this dish is to really highlight them against a light background of simple egg white fried rice.

The story goes that a chef invented this dish for a Hong Kong billionaire who wanted to eat healthier food. Cooking fried rice with egg white and no yolk is also a great way to accommodate people who avoid egg yolks.

Also, this is Daddy Lau's favorite style of fried rice!

Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!

Ingredients

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

Main Ingredients

  • 3 cup jasmine rice
  • 24 fl oz water
  • 1 oz dried scallop
  • 4 egg (

    whites only

    )
  • 1 oz green onion
  • 0.50 oz ginger
  • 3 tbsp corn oil (

    or any neutral cooking oil

    )

Seasonings

  • 0.50 tsp salt
  • 0.50 tsp sugar
  • 0.50 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Dried scallops in Cantonese cuisine

This is an essential pantry ingredient in Cantonese households for two main reasons.

First, it's a seafood ingredient, and Cantonese cuisine loves its seafood! It's flavorful and kind of briny, and the umami flavor is very concentrated.

Secondly, because it's dried, it has a fantastic shelf life. You can keep it in the fridge for a pretty long time. Some people say they're good for several months, and some people say that dried scallops keep for 2 years in the fridge. Use your best judgment and toss out any suspicious pieces with weird discoloration or unusual texture.

Dried scallops will last even longer in the freezer, which is where my parents store theirs.

Are my dried scallops okay?

It's not unusual to see a dry, white, powdery coating on dried scallops. This powdery coating is typically excess salt from the normal processing of dried scallops. Sometimes, dried scallops that are older will develop more of this white powder over time if they dehydrate further in storage.

If there's anything fuzzy, and definitely if there's discoloration that's not white, then it's not salt, and it's probably mold. Be safe and discard dried scallops with that kind of discoloration.

It's really important to keep dried ingredients like dried scallops and dried mushrooms... well, dry. Store them in a dry, sealed container, away from sunlight. If you have an extra silica packet that can help absorb moisture, you can drop it into the container as an extra precaution.

Step 1: Prepare rice & dried scallop

Wash the rice (3 cup) by swirling and massaging the rice in clean water. Pour the starchy water out and repeat two more times. Transfer the rinsed rice into your rice cooker, add water (24 fl oz), and set it to start cooking.

Wash the dried scallops (1 oz) to get rid of possible debris. Soak in hot water; small scallops will take at least 20 minutes to soften and rehydrate, and large pieces may take longer.

Step 2: Prepare aromatics

Chop the green onions (1 oz) into small pieces. To save time, you can chop the green onions in half, so they are half the length, and stack them all up to chop together.

Mince the ginger (0.50 oz) by first slicing thinly, cutting the slices into thin strips, and then chopping the ginger strips into even smaller pieces.

Step 3: Prepare eggs & dried scallop

Since this is an egg white fried rice, you'll only want the whites of each egg. To separate the whites and yolk, prepare two separate bowls. Crack the egg (4 ) carefully over one bowl, and as you pull the eggshell halves apart, catch the yolk on one eggshell half. Let the egg white drip down into the bowl.

Pour the yolk back and forth a couple of times, allowing the egg white to slip away and drop down into the bowl. Be careful not to catch the yolk on any jagged shell bits, which may rip the membrane holding the yolk together.

When you're satisfied with the amount of whites you've separated from the yolk, pour the yolk into the second bowl. Repeat with the rest of the eggs.

If you accidentally get a bit of yolk in your whites bowl, it's not ideal, but it's also not the end of the world.

Once the dried scallops have rehydrated, shred them into short threads by pulling them apart with your fingers or by smashing them with a knife. Use the broad, flat side of the knife to press down on 1-2 rehydrated scallops, then pull carefully towards yourself or to the side. This will loosen up the scallops a lot, and you'll have a much easier time pulling them apart.

When the rice is finished cooking, fluff it to help release some steam and moisture.

Step 4: Stir-fry eggs & fry dried scallop

Heat the wok on high heat. Once it's hot, not quite smoking, add oil (2 tbsp) and swirl it around to coat the wok. Turn the heat to medium.

Have your spatula ready! You'll need to move fast with the egg whites.

Beat the egg whites slightly, then add them to the wok. Stir and flip them immediately, and continue to stir and flip as they cook. It'll take about 15 seconds for them to cook through. Take the cooked egg whites out and put them aside for later.

Add more oil (1 tbsp) to the wok, and turn the heat up to medium high. Drop half of the rehydrated, shredded scallops into the wok, and fry for 50-60 seconds, until they turn golden brown.

Turn off the heat and scoop the fried shredded scallops out with a slotted spoon or mesh strainer. Allow the oil to drip back into the wok as you scoop them up. Set the fried scallops aside. You'll be sprinkling these crispy goodies on top as a garnish at the end.

Step 5: Stir-fry everything

There's enough oil in the wok, so there's no need to add any more. Plus, this oil now carries all the umami seafood-y aroma of the dried scallops you just fried!

Turn the heat to medium. Add the minced ginger and remaining rehydrated shredded scallops to the wok. Cook and stir for 10-15 seconds.

Lower the heat so that the ingredients don't burn as you add the cooked white rice.

Use your spatula to press the rice down and loosen it up. You want the rice to break up into individual, flavorful grains. No one wants a fried rice full of clumps of unflavored white rice.

Cook for 80-90 seconds, mixing everything well to distribute the flavor.

Season the rice by adding salt (0.50 tsp), sugar (0.50 tsp), and fish sauce (0.50 tsp). Mix to distribute.

Add the cooked egg whites, using your spatula to break them down into smaller pieces. Cook and stir for 90 seconds.

Give it a taste. Add extra salt as needed and stir to distribute.

Add sesame oil (1 tsp) and stir for 30-35 seconds.

Add the chopped green onion and stir it in for about 10 seconds, just enough to warm them up and take the raw edge off.

Turn off the heat and plate. Sprinkle the fried shredded scallop over it just before serving. Enjoy!

FAQ

Are bigger dried scallops better?

  • When you purchase dried scallops, you may notice that the large ones are more expensive. That doesn't mean they're better! It just means they had more time to grow before being harvested. Larger dried scallops are more expensive because of prestige, not flavor or quality.
  • In terms of flavor and quality, it doesn't matter if you get large or small dried scallops. Just be on the lookout for weird discoloration, debris, and moisture in the packaging.
  • For our Dried Scallop & Egg White Fried Rice, small dried scallops are actually the better option! They're more affordable, take less time to rehydrate, and are easier to shred. (Also, since they're shredded, no one ever knows how big they were when you bought them...)

Do you use fresh or dried scallops in fried rice?

  • For dried scallop egg white fried rice, you definitely want to use dried scallops. Like dried shiitake mushrooms, the drying process concentrates the flavor and results in a more intense umami flavor. You only get the aromatic and fragrant flavor by using dried scallops in this dish.
  • That's not to say that you can't use fresh scallops in a fried rice! You definitely can. Add a few more types of fresh seafood, like squid and shrimp to make a delicious seafood fried rice.

Do you use overnight leftover rice to make fried rice?

  • You can, but we don't. The two main advantages of using leftover rice for fried rice are that the fridge dries the rice out, making the rice easier to separate and the fried rice less clumpy, and that it's a great way to use up rice that you just didn't happen to finish eating the night before.
  • However, we don't typically use leftover rice. If you use a touch less water, it'll be dry enough to fry fresh. Also, hot fresh rice won't take as long to heat up and fry through. It just takes a little more attention to break up clumps.

How do you prevent rice from sticking to the wok?

  • It's all about patience. Let the wok get hot, almost smoking. Wait until the wok is hot before adding the oil. Swirl the oil around to coat, and then start cooking.
  • Your food will definitely stick and burn if you add the oil too early, before the wok is sufficiently hot, or if you don't thoroughly coat the wok surface with oil.

Summary

Print Recipe
Made With Lau
madewithlau.com/recipes/dried-scallop-egg-white-fried-rice
Dried Scallop & Egg White Fried Rice (瑤柱蛋白炒飯)
This luxurious fried rice showcases simple ingredients and good technique!
  • Prep Time: 30 min
  • Total Time: 45 min
  • Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

Main Ingredients

  • 3 cup jasmine rice
  • 24 fl oz water
  • 1 oz dried scallop
  • 4 egg (

    whites only

    )
  • 1 oz green onion
  • 0.50 oz ginger
  • 3 tbsp corn oil (

    or any neutral cooking oil

    )

Seasonings

  • 0.50 tsp salt
  • 0.50 tsp sugar
  • 0.50 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Step 1 - Prepare rice & dried scallop

↑ Jump to details

Wash the rice (3 cup) in clean water, pour out the starchy water, and repeat 2 more times. Transfer the rinsed rice into your rice cooker, add water (24 fl oz), and set it to start cooking.

Wash the dried scallops (1 oz) to get rid of possible debris. Soak in hot water to rehydrate for at least 20 minutes.

Step 2 - Prepare aromatics

↑ Jump to details

Chop the green onions (1 oz) into small pieces.

Mince the ginger (0.50 oz).

Step 3 - Prepare eggs & dried scallop

↑ Jump to details

Separate the egg (4 ) whites and yolks, keeping only the whites for this dish.

Once the dried scallops have rehydrated, shred them into short threads.

When the rice is finished cooking, fluff it to help release some steam and moisture.

Step 4 - Stir-fry eggs & fry dried scallop

↑ Jump to details

Heat the wok on high heat. Once it's hot, not quite smoking, add oil (2 tbsp) and swirl it around to coat the wok. Turn the heat to medium.

Beat the egg whites slightly, then add them to the wok. Stir and flip them immediately, and continue to stir and flip as they cook. It'll take about 15 seconds for them to cook through. Take them out and put aside.

Add more oil (1 tbsp) to the wok, and turn the heat up to medium high. Drop half of the rehydrated, shredded scallops into the wok, and fry for 50-60 seconds, until they turn golden brown.

Turn off the heat and scoop the fried shredded scallops out. Set the fried scallops aside.

Step 5 - Stir-fry everything

↑ Jump to details

Turn the heat to medium. Add the minced ginger and remaining rehydrated shredded scallops to the wok. Cook and stir for 10-15 seconds.

Lower the heat so that the ingredients don't burn as you add the cooked white rice.

Use your spatula to loosen up the rice and mix it into the scallops.

Cook for 80-90 seconds, mixing everything well to distribute the flavor.

Season the rice by adding salt (0.50 tsp), sugar (0.50 tsp), and fish sauce (0.50 tsp). Mix to distribute.

Add the cooked egg whites and break them down into smaller pieces. Cook and stir for 90 seconds.

Give it a taste. Add extra salt as needed and stir to distribute.

Add sesame oil (1 tsp) and stir for 30-35 seconds.

Add the chopped green onion and stir it in for about 10 seconds, just enough to warm them up and take the raw edge off.

Turn off the heat and plate. Sprinkle the fried shredded scallop over it just before serving. 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.