Shrimp and Scrambled Eggs (蝦仁炒蛋, Haa1 Jan4 Caau2 Daan6)

This recipe was updated on 11 Aug 2016. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

This is a real easy dish to make. All you need are eggs, shrimp, green onions, and red peppers (mainly for color contrast). You can choose to make this dish more “eggy” by using more eggs, or more “shrimpy” with fewer eggs, so the amount of eggs to use is a personal preference. For this recipe I used fewer eggs to highlight the shrimp in the dish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

½ lb.	250 g.	Prawn or shrimp meat (蝦仁, haa1 jan4)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Tapioca starch (木薯澱粉, muk6 syu4 din6 fan2)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
6-12	6-12	Eggs (雞蛋, gai1 daan6), scrambled
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Fish sauce (魚露, jyu4 lou6) or soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
1 tsp.	5 ml.	White pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Salt (鹽, jim4), to taste
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1-2 stalks	1-2 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
		Cilantro (指天椒, zi2 tin1 ziu1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces; equal amount as green onions
1-2	1-2	Small red chili peppers (紅番椒, hung4 faan1 ziu1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces; optional and to taste
		Oyster Sauce (蠔油, hou4 jau4) to top the eggs (optional)
		Oil for cooking

Equipment

14 in.

35.5 cm.

Wok or pan

Preparation Instructions

1. If using frozen prawn or shrimp, thaw in a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Shell and devein the shrimp, and place the shrimp back into the covered container. Submerge the shrimp with water and some ice, and add the baking soda for 30 minutes. Discard the water and wash the baking soda from the shrimp.
2. Marinate the shrimp overnight with the ginger crushed in a garlic press, tapioca starch, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In the USA, the names prawn and shrimp are used interchangeably, with prawn usually meaning a large shrimp; either will work in this dish. Take the shrimp out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Wash and cut the red chili peppers into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. The use or red chili peppers is optional and a personal preference, so feel free to increase or decrease the amount.
4. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces, and place into a bowl. Wash and cut the equal amount of cilantro into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces, and place into the bowl with the green onions.
5. Add fish sauce or soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, white pepper, salt, and sesame oil to a large bowl. The amount of salt to use is a personal preference. Scramble the eggs in the large bowl. Personal preference determines the amount of eggs to use in this dish. The ratio of eggs to seafood depends (obviously) on the number of eggs used to the amount of seafood. If more eggs than seafood is desired, use more eggs, or use fewer eggs if more seafood than eggs is desired. The dish pictured in the recipe is the later and used six.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the red chili peppers to the wok and brown them before adding the shrimp. Stir fry until the shrimp just turn pink. The shrimp should look undercooked. You may have to cook the shrimp in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over medium heat before adding oil. Add the eggs and scramble them. To get fluffy scrambled eggs, use this technique: As the eggs set, remove the pan or wok from the heat while continually scrambling the eggs with a spatula. Add the bowl with the shrimp and the bowl with the green onions and cilantro to the wok while the eggs are still wet and not yet set.
3. Put the wok back onto the heat until the eggs start setting again with the seafood. Continue taking the pan or wok on and off the heat as the eggs set until fully scrambled. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice. Optionally top the eggs with oyster sauce.