Cantonese Style Shrimp and Eggs Stir Fry
Cantonese Style Shrimp and Eggs Stir Fry (滑蛋虾仁) is a 15-minute dish made from two familiar ingredients: shrimp and eggs. The eggs are just cooked, soft, and shiny, combined with fresh, crunchy shrimp to create an impressive flavor.
Table of Contents
A Quick and Easy Dish for Daily Meals
Every time I run out of ideas for family meals, or I don’t have much time to cook, I automatically do something with eggs. Tired of fried eggs, omelets, and boiled eggs, one day I discovered this dish – fluffy eggs and shrimp altogether with some scallion on top. So interesting!
What is Cantonese-style Shrimp and Eggs Stir Fry?
Cantonese-style shrimp and eggs stir fry, also known as Chinese shrimp and eggs stir fry or Cantonese-style scrambled eggs, is a simple, easy-to-make food enjoyed by almost all Chinese families. They serve the dish with cooked rice – a typical Asian source of starch in everyday life.
What Makes It Delicious?
For me, the dish impresses me with the eggs – they’re slightly fluffy, soft, and just cooked. The natural umami from the shrimp also makes the dish more flavorful.
When serving scrambled eggs with warm cooked rice, they become the perfect match. Everything is warm and tasty that you can’t resist. If possible, I love to enjoy it with a soup such as Green Papaya with Pork Rib Soup, or Tomato and Papery Dried Shrimp, to complete the meal.
Ingredients
This is a 15-minute recipe with simple ingredients and basic cooking techniques. Here’s the amount of ingredients which are enough for 2 people:
- 100g (3.5 oz) Shrimp (with shells). If the shrimps are too big, cut them smaller. Opt for fresh, crunchy shrimps. My favorite options are whiteleg shrimps or tiger prawns.
- 1/8 tsp pepper. The spice adds a slightly hot, strong flavor to the dish.
- 1/2 tsp corn starch. This is the key to making your shrimps crunchier.
- 3 eggs. To avoid a spoiled egg which can make you throw away the whole batch of eggs, you should crack each egg into a separate small bowl first, then transfer to the main bowl.
- 1/2 tsp cooking oil. The oil will make the scrambled eggs fluffier and shinier. Sunflower oil, peanut oil or canola oil are good to go.
- 1/4 tsp salt. It’s to adjust the flavor of the dish.
- 3 tbsp chopped green onions. The contrasting green color from the green onions makes the dish more eye-catching, while the aroma from the green onions also makes it smell amazing!
How to Make Cantonese Style Shrimp and Eggs Stir Fry
Step 1. Stir-frying shrimps
- Because you will need to achieve just-cooked eggs, you should stir-fry the shrimps first. Firstly, remove the shells from the shrimps; stir-fry them with 2 tbsp of oil to release the fragrance and enhance the flavor, then throw them away, keep the oil. Next, mix the shrimps with pepper and corn starch, and stir-fry them until nearly cooked (in 35-50 seconds). Set aside.
- (How to devein shrimp) If you use fresh shrimps (not the prepared, frozen ones), remove the head, and devein them first. Gently remove the head, then use a toothpick, pierce the shrimp’s back between the shell pieces, and pull the vein out. You can also pull it out from the head.
Step 2. Mixing the eggs
- In a large bowl, add eggs, cornstarch, pepper, salt, and oil together. Use a whisk to beat the eggs until smooth and slightly fluffy. Then, mix the green onions and fried shrimp in.
Step 3. Stir-frying the shrimp and eggs mixture
- Stir-fry the egg, using the spatula to scoop the cooked egg from the bottom of the pan to the top, allowing the uncooked part to flow down to the bottom of the pan. Repeat until all the egg is cooked to the desired level of doneness.
- Serve hot with rice.
Tips for Fluffy Scrambled Eggs
As I mentioned above, the key to making Cantonese-Style Shrimp and Eggs Stir Fry special is the fluffiness and the just-right doneness of the eggs. To achieve that, here are some tips and tricks:
- Remember to beat eggs with oil. Oil makes the egg easier to beat, resulting in fluffier scrambled eggs.
- Always stir-fry shrimps first before mixing them into the egg mixture. As we want the eggs to be just cooked, we’ll stir-fry the eggs in just 30-40 seconds. That’s not enough to cook the shrimps; therefore, you must stir-fry the shrimps in advance for about 35-50 seconds.
- Use the right tools and equipment. To avoid stickiness, you should use a non-stick pan and a silicone/wooden spatula.
- Be gentle. When stir-frying the eggs, gently tilt the pan to let the egg mixture run down, while gently holding the cooked eggs with a spatula to avoid tearing them. Be gentle, be gentle.
Storage
This dish is best enjoyed while it’s still warm, so I recommend eating it right away after cooking. In fact, you can keep the leftover in the fridge for 1-2 days, but it won’t be as good, and the eggs may become a bit smelly. You should heat it up again before serving to remove that smell.
Easy-peasy, isn’t it? Enjoy your fluffy Cantonese-style scrambled eggs with shrimp!
Do you like this recipe? Brighten my day by rating the recipe and clicking the “save” button to have this recipe right on your Pinterest board. Also, let’s be friends on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok!
Cantonese Style Shrimp and Eggs Stir Fry
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 100g (3.5 oz) Shrimp (with shells)
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp corn starch
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
Eggs
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 tsp cooking oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp chopped spring onions
Instructions
Step 1. Stir-frying shrimps
- Because you will need to achieve just-cooked eggs, you should stir-fry the shrimps first. Firstly, remove the shells from the shrimps; stir-fry them with 2 tbsp of oil to release the fragrance and enhance the flavor, then throw them away, keep the oil. Next, mix the shrimps with pepper and corn starch, and stir-fry them until nearly cooked (in 35-50 seconds). Set aside.
- (How to devein shrimp) If you use fresh shrimps (not the prepared, frozen ones), remove the head, and devein them first. Gently remove the head, then use a toothpick, pierce the shrimp’s back between the shell pieces, and pull the vein out. You can also pull it out from the head.
Step 2. Mixing the eggs
- In a large bowl, add eggs, cornstarch, pepper, salt, and oil together. Use a whisk to beat the eggs until smooth and slightly fluffy. Then, mix the green onions and fried shrimp in.
Step 3. Stir-frying the shrimp and eggs mixture
- Stir-fry the egg, using the spatula to scoop the cooked egg from the bottom of the pan to the top, allowing the uncooked part to flow down to the bottom of the pan. Repeat until all the egg is cooked to the desired level of doneness.
- Serve hot with rice.
