Shrimp Fried Rice (Chinese Style)

If you love fried rice but think it is too hard to make at home, today’s post is for you.  Because it is an easy, fast and incredibly delicious meal that can be put together with hardly any effort at all.

I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t love fried rice.  It is one of those gifts from Asia for which we need to be eternally grateful.  So I am.  Very, very grateful.  Even though I don’t eat it often, trying to live low-carb and all.  But when I do splurge, I remember to be grateful.

Of course, there are many different ways to make fried rice because many countries in Asia have a variation of this beautiful dish.  My recipe most closely resembles a Chinese version.

Here’s what you need

First cook your rice and let it come to room temperature.  Fried rice does not work well at all with hot or cold rice.  If the rice is not at room temperature, it will tend to clump up.  The finished product should be loose and crumbly.

I like to use Basmati rice.

The ginger and the sesame oil are what give this a more distinctly Chinese flavor.

I cut the shrimp in half, since these were a little large.  I like the meat to be small enough for a good bite size.  It makes the fried rice easier to eat.

I sometimes add a couple of scrambled eggs, but I didn’t today.

Start by sautéing the onion, garlic, and ginger in the sesame and canola oils

I like to use a large, non-stick skillet on medium high flame.  You want a big surface area to spread the rice out on, so as much of it is exposed to the cooking surface as possible.  Otherwise, the rice stacks up on itself and steams more than fries.  Or you could use a wok, which tends to get hotter.

Cook just until the onion starts to soften.

Then add the rice

Stir to distribute the onion, garlic, and ginger and to heat the rice through.

Then add the veggies

Next, stir the veggies to distribute and to heat

Then add the shrimp

I like to add the shrimp while it is raw.  By this point, the rice and the other ingredients are pretty hot.  Shrimp cooks quickly, so it will cook from the heat of the other ingredients.  If you cook it before the rice and then layer the other ingredients after, you risk overcooking the shrimp.  Over cooked shrimp gets pretty rubbery.  You want it nice and tender.

Stir the shrimp down into and under the rice to cook faster

Finally, drizzle the soy sauce into the rice, spreading it out in a large circle

See, the shrimp is already pink.

Make sure to spread the soy sauce around, not just drop it into a big clump in one spot.  As you stir, the soy sauce spreads to all of the rice and gives both a beautiful nutty color and the salty, umami flavor seasoning.  If you dump it all in one spot, it will not distribute well when you stir.

Then add the green onion

I like to add the green onion at the end because I want it to still have its shape and color when the rice is served.

Sam did not like this much onion.  If you think you won’t either, use less.  Steve and I love it this way.  We win.

Doesn’t that look just wonderful?

Once the green onion has been stirred in, it is ready to be transferred to your serving dish, which is where this post started.

First, from the serving dish to your dinner plate.  Then, from your dinner plate to your happy mouth and tummy.

Feeling very grateful right about now.

Shrimp Fried Rice (Chinese Style)

Lori

A quick, and easy entrée or side dish, full of flavor and on the table in minutes.

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 4 side portions

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups cooked white rice lightly salted
• ½ pound raw shrimp
• 1½ cup frozen mixed vegetables thawed
• ¼ cup diced sweet onion
• 2 cloves garlic diced
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ginger diced
• 1½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 3 scallions thinly sliced (can use less, to taste)

Instructions

 

• The cooked rice can be made well in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
• If cooking same day, or if previously refrigerated, allow rice to come to room temperature before making the fried rice.
• Heat a large, non-stick skillet to medium high.
• Add the sesame and canola oils.
• Add the onion, garlic and ginger.
• Sauté until onion is just softened.
• Add the rice and stir to distribute the onion, garlic and ginger.
• Keep stirring until rice is heated throughout.
• Add the mixed vegetables, stirring to distribute and heat.
• Add the raw shrimp, stirring under the rice to facilitate cooking.
• Drizzle the soy sauce in a wide circle and stir the rice mixture thoroughly until it is an even light brown color.
• Add the scallions and stir into the rice.
• Transfer to serving dish and serve