Cantonese style scrambled eggs with shrimp is a super quick and easy meal. Velvety soft eggs meet tender, juicy shrimp in this classic Cantonese dish, stir-fried to perfection in a sizzling hot wok. The eggs are gently beaten until smooth, then cooked over high heat to create rich, fluffy curds. Fresh shrimp are flash-seared until just opaque, their sweetness enhanced by a drizzle of fragrant sesame oil.
Seasoned with a delicate balance of light soy sauce and a pinch of white pepper, every bite is savory, aromatic, and comforting. The wok imparts a subtle smokiness that brings the simple ingredients to life. Serve it steaming hot with a bowl of rice topped with scallions for a quick yet elegant meal straight from the heart of Cantonese home cooking.
I highly recommend a wok for this recipe, but if you don’t have one, you can use a good non-stick skillet. I recommend watching this video about how to scramble the eggs to get the fluffy layered Cantonese style eggs. The great thing about this recipe is that if you don’t like shrimp, you can add anything you do like in an omelet or with eggs to this. It is so flexible.
Cantonese Style Scrambled Eggs with Shrimp
Ingredients
For the shrimp:
- 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp if frozen, defrost according to package
- 1 tbsp canola oil for cooking
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp cornstarch
For the eggs:
- 8 eggs
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp canola oil
- 3 scallions sliced
- hot rice for serving
Instructions
- Defrost shrimp according to package if using frozen, then drain. Mix shrimp with tsp oil, salt, soy sauce, white pepper, cornstarch and sesame oil. Heat work to very hot and add the canola oil. Add shrimp in a single layer and fry until browning and then toss and cook until cooked through. Set aside.
- Whisk the eggs with white pepper, sesame oil, salt. Whisk them well until they have large bubbles. Make sure the mix the cornstarch slurry until it is well combined. Heat the work over medium heat and add the oil. Whisk the cornstarch into the eggs well and pour into the hot oil. As they puff up, move the cooked egg layer from the bottom to the top as shown in the video. Pull the wok to the side off the heat while you do this, then return to the fire and let a new layer of egg puff up and bubble. Continue repeating and draining the raw egg into the free area of the pan until you have many layers of egg.
- Move to the side and add your shrimp to rewarm it. Serve the eggs and shrimp over hot white rice topped with scallions.