Silky and Fluffy Shrimp Omelet (Chinese Style)

My Chinese shrimp omelet is so simple SO delicious.  Sweet tender shrimp wrapped in a silky fluffy egg scramble.  This traditional Chinese dish is ridiculously quick and easy to make.  Just add my two foolproof ingredients for fluffy eggs every time!

There are a few things in life as simple as scrambled eggs, it’s kind of like sleeping early and doing pushups, theoretically pretty straightforward but not easy.  (I am a night owl and feel the effects every morning as I take my kids to school.  Also, does anyone else hate pushups here?)

So, to make scrambled eggs, whisk eggs, pour into a pan and flip until cooked right?  Mmm…wrong…I’ve had my fair share of overcooked spongy bastardized eggs 🙁  The problem with most overcooked eggs is either the heat is too high and or taking off the heat too late.

The Secret to Fluffy Eggs

Most scrambled egg recipes require low heat and patience stirring in some form of fat – usually butter. The challenge with a shrimp omelet is that you use high heat to cook the shrimp but need a low temperature for cooking the eggs.  So it’s easy to mess up those fluffy eggs and probably overcook the shrimp. 

So what’s the secret?? 

Salt and cornstarch!

Salt

When eggs cook, the yolk proteins pull tighter and tighter as they get hotter, squeezing out liquid creating spongy weepy eggs.  According to Kenji Lopez-Alt, adding salt to eggs well before cooking (about 15 minutes before) prevents the yolk proteins from bonding too tightly.  This results in more tender curds and no weeping even at higher temperatures.  This is good for our shrimp omelette!

Cornstarch

According to Mandy Lee, cornstarch slurry added to eggs keeps them creamy and tender.  Like a fat, the cornstarch stops yolk proteins linking and keeps moisture in.  Also, cornstarch plays a big role in Chinese cuisine for thickening sauces similar to what it does for this shrimp omelet!  Mandy recently recommended tapioca starch instead of cornstarch, but this recipe benefits from a higher temperature that cornstarch is well suited for.  Since this recipe includes fish sauce and shrimp it balances out the slightly more powdery mouthfeel.  Feel free to use tapioca starch as well!

How to Cook a Shrimp Omelet – Step by Step Instructions

The method that your eggs are heated and moved determines the kind of egg you end up with.  For this traditional Chinese recipe, shrimp omelets are fluffy with large tender curds which mean you want to move your eggs as little as possible.  They can also be light golden brown (based on your preference) which you can achieve with a wok using high heat.  

• Heat oil in a fry pan or wok on medium/high heat.  
• When oil is hot, add shrimps and cook for about a minute until color starts to change and the shrimps start to curl.
• Lower heat to medium.  Re-whisk eggs one more time until frothy again and pour over shrimp.

• Move eggs around with a silicone spatula, scraping the sides toward the center and tilting the pan to let the raw egg run out and cook.  Continue to cook, scrape and tilt until most of the eggs are solid, moist curds.  About 45 seconds to 1 minute.
• With about 10% liquid egg remaining, fold over the egg on itself (covering the liquid part) and remove from heat.  Let sit for 15 seconds to finish cooking.
• Remove from the pan and serve immediately.

Expert Tips

• Use a non-stick frying pan to use less oil.  If using a wok, make sure there is enough oil to coat the surface to avoid sticking.
• You can use fresh or frozen shrimp for this recipe.  I usually use frozen peeled shrimp because of convenience.  I thaw shrimp quickly by soaking them in room temperature water and blotting dry.
• I recommend using 31-40 shrimp for this omelet.  They’re large enough to give a great meaty texture but still small enough to be covered in the delicious silky egg 🙂
• Use fresh high quality eggs.  This dish is super simple and the natural flavours speak for themselves, so you want to make sure you use quality ingredients.
• It’s really important to remove your shrimp omelet slightly undercooked with a little watery egg on top.  If you wait till the whole omelete is set, it will overcook under the residual heat.

Serving Tips

Chinese shrimp omelet is best served with hot steamed rice and leafy vegetables.  A super simple and fast meal that I enjoyed while growing up.

It also makes a great low carb lunch on its own!

Storing Tips

Shrimp omelets can be refrigerated for up to 2 days in an airtight container.  I would recommend heating them in a microwave on medium to avoid overcooking the eggs.  To be honest, reheating eggs usually won’t taste as good as the day it was made.  So I would recommend making just enough.

Other classic Chinese dishes to try:

• White cut chicken with ginger scallion sauce – super easy and quick for a weeknight dinner
• Pork chow mein – stir fried noodles with melt in your mouth pork tenderloin
• Garlic soy chicken wings – this overnight marinade cooks in one pot!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)