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Authentic Chinese Seafood Taro Nest

Crunchy and edible taro bird’s nest filled with stir-fried prawns and vegetables, this authentic Chinese Seafood Taro Nest is one of the classic banquets’ delight. Chef John shares tips on making it with step by step instruction.

Chef John Zhang

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Recipe

PRE TIME: 15 min

COOKING TIME: 15 min

TOTAL TIME: 30 min

6 SERVING

Ingredients:

10 oz Taro [Nest]
1 tsp Salt [Nest]
1 count Egg yolk [Nest]
0.5 cup Cornstarch [Nest]
1 lb Tiger prawns
1 tsp Salt [Marinade]
1 count Egg white [Marinade]
1 tbsp Cornstarch [Marinade]
1 tbsp Cooking oil [Marinade]
1 count Corn kernel, removed from a fresh cob
0.5 cup Carrot, diced
0.25 cup Green pepper, diced
7 pieces Sliced Ginger
2 stalks Green onions
1 tbsp Chef Made Aroma Oil See ''Chef John Signature Oil'' Video
1 tbsp Cooking wine
1 cup Water
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
1 tbsp Cornstarch Water (2 Tbsp Cornstarch Mixed With 1 Tbsp Water)
0.25 cup Cooked pine nuts
1 tsp White pepper
1 tbsp Homemade Peppercorn oil/or store-bought peppercorn oil

Directions:

[Nest] Step 1

Cut the taro roots in half and then cut them into rectangular shaped blocks. Cut the taro blocks into thin slices. Try to keep each slice in the same thickness. Overlap one slices over the other by three quarters and cut the slices into small and thin stripes. Place the stripes into a bowl.

[Nest] Step 2

Sprinkle some salt, corn starch, and 1 egg yolk into the bowl. Mix well with hand.

[Nest] Step 3

Place the stripes around the inside of a stainless steel colander. Leave a tiny part of the taro stripes hanging over the edge of the metal bowl.

[Nest] Step 4

Put another stainless steel colander (bowl with holes) on top of the stripes and press down.

[Nest] Step 5

Heat the cooking oil to 250-300°F/120-150°C。 Put the colander with the taro stripes onto a strainer and deep fry until the stripes turn golden brown. Make sure the oil covers over the entire taro stripes

[Nest] Step 6

The colander is very hot so be careful when taking the bowl-shaped taro stripes out of the colander and put on the side.

[Nest] Step 7

The taro stripes are crispy so be careful when handling them.

[Prepare the Shrimp] Step 1

Remove the head of the shrimp and cut the shrimp open from the middle. Don’t cut all the way down. Remove the intestinal tracts. Put salt, egg white, corn starch, cooking oil with the shrimp and mix well.

[Prepare the Shrimp] Step 2

Take the corn on the cob and cut the corn off with a knife. If already off the cob, you can skip this step.

[Prepare the Shrimp] Step 3

Heat up the wok and cooking oil to 250F, in order to deep fry those tiger prawns until they turn red. Make sure to pour enough cooking oil to cover the shrimp.

[Prepare the Shrimp] Step 4

Put those diced-up carrots, green pepper, corn into the wok and stir a little bit. Drain those ingredients with a strainer and remove cooking oil from the wok.

[Prepare the Shrimp] Step 5

Put the wok back onto the stove and make sure the wok is nicely oiled up. Put green onions, sliced ginger, and some homemade aroma oil, cooking wine into the wok. Bring out the flavor. Next, pour 2 tablespoons of water, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of sugar into the wok.

[Prepare the Shrimp] Step 6

Add Cornstarch water into the wok, in order to thicken the sauce. Put the shrimp and other ingredients in the strainer back into the wok.

[Prepare the Shrimp] Step 7