The Chinese seafood bird nest is a seafood lover’s delight, usually served at high-end Chinese restaurants specializing in Cantonese cuisine. It may also be seen at a traditional 10-course Chinese banquet for weddings, Lunar New Year’s meals, birthdays, anniversaries, and baby showers.
Regardless of the occasion, this is the perfect seafood dish to celebrate your special occasion. As for us, we’re planning our Chinese New Year menu.
A Medley of Seafood
The trio of jumbo shrimp, scallops, and squid are the traditional medley in this Chinese Seafood Bird Nest.
Cooked in a white sauce similar to say, a Moo Goo Gai Pan, the contents of the bird’s nest are stir-fried with decoratively cut, colorful fresh vegetables, and aromatic garlic, ginger, and scallions. These are the flavors at the core of Cantonese cooking.
What is the “Nest” Made Of?
So let’s talk about the burning question concerning what the bird nest—the chalice of seafood!—is made of. Yes, it’s one of The Woks of Life’s favorite tubers: taro!
Taro has a wonderful earthy aroma and taste when fried and also becomes sturdy enough to make an edible basket that can hold all of that delicate, saucy seafood.
The preparation of the taro seafood bird nest takes some tender loving care and plenty of oil for deep frying, but it will impress everyone at the dinner table. It’s definitely worth it for special occasions to make a statement to family, friends, significant others, in-laws, and, of course, any naysayers who claim that your cooking skills end at cold cereal and toast!
If you too are planning for a Chinese New Year dinner or selecting dishes to whip up a Chinese banquet, we’ve got plenty of choices: Ginger Scallion Lobster, Steamed Whole Fish, and Banquet Fried Rice, to name a few.
Pick a handful, including this Chinese Seafood Bird Nest, and you’ll have a dinner for the history books.
Chinese Seafood Bird’s Nest: Recipe Instructions
For the seafood bird nest taro basket:
Spread the julienned taro in a criss-cross pattern over a large steel mesh strainer, letting some of the taro hang over the edges.
I peeled the taro using a standard peeler pictured but I did used a julienne peeler which we apparently forgot to get a picture of. I highly recommend a julienne peeler for your kitchen drawer because it is a real time save and works great!
The taro will be slightly wet and starchy after it is julienned, which is exactly what you want for maximum adhesion. Take another steel mesh strainer of the same size and place it over the top so the taro strands are sandwiched between the two strainers.
In a wok or pot, heat 6 cups of oil to 325 degrees F (use a thermometer to check the temperature), and place the “nest,” still sandwiched between the two strainers, in the oil.
Fry until golden brown, tilting the basket in different angles so the entire taro basket is fried evenly. Using a wok for frying is ideal, as you will have more room without having to use excessive amounts of oil, but a deep pot large enough for the basket will work also.
Be sure to place the taro basket in the pot slowly and use the utmost caution! Using a deeper pot or wok also makes frying safer since the taro basket, when first placed into the oil, will cause the oil to expand and overflow if your pot is too small and if your oil is too close to the top of the pot.
I am experienced in the kitchen, so I used a smaller pot but take special precautions I suggested above and enlist the help of a more experienced friend or family member!
For the seafood:
Make sure your shrimp and scallops are cleaned.
Prepare the squid by separating the tentacles and body and removing the hard skeleton parts. Use the tentacles as is, and set them aside to drain. Cut the mantle so you have flat pieces, and remove the inside skeleton. Cut the flat pieces into 2 by 3 inch rectangles, and score them diagonally in a criss-cross pattern, making sure not to cut the squid all the way through.
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in your wok, and blanch the shrimp and scallops by slowly stirring them in the water until just opaque (about 20 seconds), and transfer to a plate. The shrimp and scallops should be just 70% cooked, since they will be cooked again in the stir-fry step of the dish.
Add the squid to the hot water, and blanch until they are curled, or about 10 seconds, and transfer these to a plate.
Asian grocery stores sometimes stock prepared squid that is cut and blanched into curls in the freezer section; if you have access, it’s a handy shortcut!
For putting together the full dish:
Heat your wok over medium-high heat, and coat the perimeter of the wok with two tablespoons of oil. Heat until the oil slides easily around the wok and starts to shimmer.
Add the ginger slices to the wok, and let fry for about 10 seconds.
Add the scallions and garlic, and stir-fry for another 10 seconds.
Next, add the carrots, bamboo shoots, and peppers, and turn the heat up to high. Give everything a good stir-fry for 30 seconds, and then add the straw mushrooms, snap peas, and onion.
Next, stir in the seafood, and add the Shaoxing wine. Stir-fry everything for another minute and add the hot chicken stock.
It’s important to add hot or even boiling chicken stock to keep the wok up to temperature, especially since most average stoves can have trouble generating enough heat for a good stir fry in the first place. You can also add more or less chicken stock depending on how much sauce you want in the dish.
While the mixture is coming up to a boil, add the salt, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil, and stir everything until well combined. Taste the sauce with a spoon, and add more seasonings to your preference, but be quick about it, or your seafood may overcook!
Mix together the cornstarch and water so that it’s uniformly combined, and add to the wok slowly while stirring. Again, you can add more, less, or leave it out entirely depending upon your taste preferences, but it’s best to get to a consistency so that the sauce coats all of the ingredients.
Carefully spoon the mixture into your taro basket, and serve your seafood bird best dish immediately!
Fish and seafood should always be the last dish you cook in a family-style meal, because it should be served hot. Banquet-style dishes usually taste better at the restaurant because servers rush each course out once it is plated from the wok!
This Chinese style seafood bird nest is delicate, tasty and will impress your guests so plan it for your next Chinese New year feast or special gathering!
Chinese Seafood Bird Nest Banquet Dish
Ingredients
For the taro basket:
- 4 cups taro (julienned)
- 6 cups canola oil (for frying)
For the seafood:
- 6 large shrimp (16 to 20 size, about 6 ounces/170g by weight; peeled and deveined)
- 6 large diver or sea scallops (about 6 ounces/170g by weight)
- 6 ounces whole squid (170g, cleaned)
For the rest of the dish:
- 3 tablespoons canola oil (divided)
- 8 fresh ginger slices (⅛-inch thick)
- 2 scallions (white parts only, sliced at an angle into 1½-inch pieces)
- 2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- ½ of a carrot (cut into a star pattern about ⅛-inch thick)
- ½ cup bamboo shoots (rinsed and drained)
- ¼ of a whole red bell pepper (cut into 1-inch slices)
- ½ cup straw mushrooms (fresh or canned)
- 1 cup sugar snap peas (tips removed)
- 1 small red onion (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 cup hot chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1½ tablespoons cornstarch (mixed with 1½ tablespoons warm water, optional)
Instructions
- For the taro basket, spread the julienned taro in a criss-cross pattern over a large steel mesh strainer, letting some of the taro hang over the edges. The taro will be slightly wet and starchy after it is julienned, which is exactly what you want for maximum adhesion. Take another steel mesh strainer of the same size and place it over the top so the taro strands are sandwiched between the two strainers.
- In a wok or pot, heat 6 cups of oil to 325 degrees F (use a thermometer to check the temperature), and place the “nest,” still sandwiched between the two strainers, in the oil. Fry until golden brown, tilting the basket in different angles so the entire taro basket is fried evenly. Using a wok for frying is ideal, as you will have more room without having to use excessive amounts of oil, but a deep pot large enough for the basket will work also. Be sure to place the taro basket in the pot slowly and use the utmost caution! Using a deeper pot or wok also makes frying safer since the taro basket, when first placed into the oil, will cause the oil to expand and overflow if your pot is too small and if your oil is too close to the top of the pot.
- For the seafood, make sure your shrimp and scallops are cleaned.
- Prepare the squid by separating the tentacles and body and removing the hard skeleton parts. Use the tentacles as is, and set them aside to drain. Cut the mantle so you have flat pieces, and remove the inside skeleton. Cut the flat pieces into 2 by 3 inch rectangles, and score them diagonally in a criss-cross pattern, making sure not to cut the squid all the way through.
- Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in your wok, and blanch the shrimp and scallops by slowly stirring them in the water until just opaque (about 20 seconds), and transfer to a plate. The shrimp and scallops should be just 70% cooked, since they will be cooked again in the stir-fry step of the dish.
- Add the squid to the hot water, and blanch until they are curled, or about 10 seconds, and transfer these to a plate. Asian grocery stores sometimes stock prepared squid that is cut and blanched into curls in the freezer section; if you have access, it’s a handy shortcut!
- Heat your wok over medium-high heat, and coat the perimeter of the wok with two tablespoons of oil. Heat until the oil slides easily around the wok and starts to shimmer.
- Add the ginger slices to the wok, and let fry for about 10 seconds. Add the scallion and garlic, and stir-fry for another 10 seconds.
- Next, add the carrots, bamboo shoots, and peppers, and turn the heat up to high. Give everything a good stir-fry for 30 seconds, and then add the straw mushrooms, snap peas, and onion.
- Next, stir in the seafood, and add the Shaoxing wine. Stir-fry everything for another minute and add the hot chicken stock. It’s important to add hot or even boiling chicken stock to keep the wok up to temperature, especially since most average stoves can have trouble generating enough heat for a good stir fry in the first place. You can also add more or less chicken stock depending on how much sauce you want in the dish.
- While the mixture is coming up to a boil, add the salt, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil, and stir everything until well combined. Taste the sauce with a spoon, and add more seasonings to your preference, but be quick about it, or your seafood may overcook!
- Mix together the cornstarch and water so that it’s uniformly combined, and add to the wok slowly while stirring. Again, you can add more, less, or leave it out entirely depending upon your taste preferences, but it’s best to get to a consistency so that the sauce coats all of the ingredients.
- Carefully spoon the mixture into your taro basket, and serve immediately!
Nutrition
Sok Hieng says
I love ordering this dish at restaurants, and my first attempt was great! I really loved the taste, and the instructions and pictures were great guides! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us, stay safe!
Bill says
Hi Sok Hieng, excellent to hear that – upload the photo of your finished dish to Instagram next time if you get a chance. Tag us, and we’ll feature it! ;-)
Stephanie says
Sorry auto correct there: undercooked or raw taro can cause stomach upset due to high oxalate content…
M Stephanie Lee says
Don’t mess with perfection! I did and: BIG FAT FAIL! I thought I would oven bake the taro shreds, because, well, taro chips… So I nestled them between two strainers, sprayed them with oil with a light touch and tried to bake them at 350 on convection. Thought that might get me something I could sub for the deep fried taro nests but NOPE. The edges of the taro browned and crisped up nicely but most parts stayed almost raw, soft and slimey. Didn’t get better with flipping the strainers over, longer time or higher convection temp and then it was time to eat. I was worried about the undercooked parts because other websites said uncooked taro can be somewhat toxic (not deadly but really causing GI upset due to high palate content)… But the seafood stir fry was GREAT!
Bill says
Hi Stephanie, sometimes there is no good substitute and trying to get around deep frying the basket is a good example! If you want to impress with the look (along with the crispiness of the edible taro basket), then deep frying is essential. Thanks for sharing your experience with us and our readers!
Ronald Crook says
I love the look of these baskets lovely and colorful and Full of sea food, I would love to try to make this Dish. Can you tell me is there anything else other than Taro to make the Basket,
would Noodles or Potatoes work ?
Bill says
Hi Ronald, yes, noodles or potato would work, but I don’t have the details on how to substitute each of those. I like using the taro, since it has a really nice flavor when fried.
Ronald Crook says
Thank You Bill,
The only reason I was thinking of a replacement for the Taro is I live in Spain and I don’t recall ever seeing Taro in the Shops or Supermarkets anyway thanks for the reply and I will keep you informed on how it works out
Alexis says
I am Chinese and have this dish often. I have never seen it made with red peppers. Also, where is the oyster sauce? Big miss. Oyster sauce is signature for asian dishes.
Bill says
Hi Alexis, oyster sauce is a great addition to the sauce – even a splash of soy sauce works, but I was aiming for a pure white sauce with ginger and scallion flavors for this dish. I like the red peppers also so I added them – feel free to customize to your own tastes. That’s the beauty of home cooking!
Andrew Davidson says
Saying all Asian dishes have to contain oyster sauce is like saying all Western cooking must contain red wine. Oyster sauce would ruin this perfectly clear sauce and really ruin the presentation of the dish in my mind.
maripaz says
: ( I was really excited for this dish, but my taro ended up sticking to the two strainers. I had to scrape them off and pour the seafood mixture over “broken twigs”. I’m also curious how you fry the part of the nest close to the handle of the strainers? I tried to bend the strainer so that it was perpendicular and I could “lower” the whole thing in, but it didn’t quite work. Then I tried to take it off so I could rotate it, but that’s when I discovered the whole thing stuck. Was there a step that I missed? I also used a grater for the taro, and that worked out pretty well.
Bill says
Hi maripaz, grating may have produced excess starchy liquid which caused the sticking, so best to use a mandolin or chef’s knife. I finished the frying by rotating the basket after it got unstuck. You can also use a ladle to pour hot oil over the parts you need to fry. I bet your dish was still tasty over broken twigs – call it a messy nest :)
Gloria says
Hi, can the taro basket be made ahead of time (several hours or even the day before) and then reheated?
Bill says
Hi Gloria, making the basket ahead of time and reheating is a great idea! It may even work reheated in a 425 degree F oven but frying would be a sure thing. Happy cooking!
Hank says
I am a 67 year old man who’s just gotten into cooking. I found The Woks of Life on an internet for recipes and have made several of your recipes with great success. The Woks of Life is one of my favorite sites. But being new to the art of cooking I have a few basic questions. I want to make Chinese Seafood Birds Nest for my wife’s birthday in June but I’m having 6 people for dinner. The recipe says serves 4 but the photo shows three of each seafood in one nest, indicating it serves 2. If I triple the seafood in the recipe do I also triple the rest of the recipe? My wife dies t like the taste of sesame oil. What’s a good substitute? Thanks for your help
Andy says
Hello, Hank! Let me try to help since there is no official response yet. Chinese food is usually served family style. In your situation, I’d either make a bigger version by tripling every ingredient, or follow the recipe thrice to make 3 separate nests. The recipe should scale up in terms of the amount of ingredients, but the cooking times may increase if the wok is more crowded. I can’t think of a substitute for sesame oil, so I’d just omit it if I were you. Good luck, and I hope your wife has a wonderful birthday!
Bill says
Hi Hank, sorry to have missed your comment and thanks Andy for helping out!
I agree with Andy’s recommendation on making three or possibly two smaller nests, since the nest is easy to make when smaller, unless you use a much larger pot or wok and a lot more oil.
Since we are precooking the seafood in this recipe, cooking a large batch does work if you have a large wok, but my experience usually has been that dishes usually taste better in small batches. So for a special occasion like your wife’s birthday, I would cook triple the recipe in two batches. There are not a whole lot of veggies in this recipe, so tripling the entire recipe should work just fine.
We all wish your wife a happy birthday from The Woks of Life!
Chris Glenn says
Bill:
I will admit that I have not tried this recipe yet or making this “specific” basket for serving/presentation of food!
However I think you should include some cautions in your recipe about the technique for frying the basket.
325 degree oil, 6 cups of oil and a hot stove burner of any kind is an extremely dangerous mix, certainly so because you state the taro should be slightly wet/which sounds like some splatter!? That said…..
Many thanks to the 4 of you, for your wonderful recipes, beautiful photography and certainly a lot of work developing all these fantastic recipes and making them available to so many people!
Chris
Bill says
Hi Chris, Good point, especially for beginner cooks. Yes, You do have to be cautious. Thanks for your comment and I updated the recipe and post!
Sharon says
I’m more of a lurker of this site, and I don’t think I’ve ever left a comment, but I had to after seeing this. THIS LOOKS AMAZING! So colourful, elegant! Looks delicious!
Bill says
Thanks Sharon and don’t be bashful to share your comments and requests!