One of the agreeable and delicious ways to enjoy pidan is with eggs. Some recipes use pidan along with salted eggs or salted egg yolks with or without fresh chicken or duck eggs to make custards or other egg dishes. This recipe, however, couples pidan with regular chicken or duck eggs and a bit of shrimp and spring onions for a tasty and mild dish. The set scrambled eggs or omelet made here is finished by slicing it into thin strips and eating the eggs along with rice or noodles as part of a light or multi-course meal.
It can be served with a variety of condiments, from soy sauce to chili oil, pickled ginger, or roasted sesame seeds to allow diners to customize the flavor of the dish to their liking. It also makes a great breakfast or brunch dish that will satisfy a wide variety of family and friends.
Eggs with Shrimp and 1000-Year Eggs
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
5 -7 medium shrimp, shelled, deveined, and minced
5 chicken or duck eggs
¼ -½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper (white or black)
3 spring onions, minced
1 1000-Year Egg, peeled, rinsed, and coarsely diced
Directions
Beat eggs until frothy and beginning to lighten in color. Add salt and pepper, and beat again until well mixed. Add about half of the spring onion pieces and mix in well.
Heat oil in a sauté pan; add shrimp and sauté for one minute. Then remove and set aside in a small bowl.
Reheat sauté pan over medium heat, add beaten egg mixture and when it begins to harden, add the shrimp and the 1000-year eggs. At this point one can scramble the eggs lightly and then let them set into a single solid mass, or one can cook the eggs more like an omelet. If using the omelet method, use a fork or small spatula to pull the eggs away from the side of the pan and then tilt the pan to let the raw egg flow into the gap made with the spatula. Continue until most of the eggs have set. If desired, place under a preheated broiler for a few minutes to firm up the eggs in the center of the pan.
When done remove from heat and loosen the eggs from the pan with a small spatula. When loose, turn out onto a serving plate and garnish with the remaining spring onions. Cut into thin strips and serve with rice and condiments such as soy sauce, chili oil, pickled ginger, and roasted sesame seeds.
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For those of you curious about 1000-Year Eggs, but still a bit wary, this dish is for you, because the shrimp and eggs complement the pidan nicely and make the flavor of the eggs very mild. (Words and photo by Laura Kelley)