Making fried rice is every Asian kid’s right of passage. It’s one of the foods that we fall in love with as a kid, and one of the foods that we are first taught to cook.
It’s delicious, filling, and can be quickly whipped together with leftover ingredients.
In today’s recipe, I’m making shrimp fried rice, using large shrimp. When cooking shrimp, avoid overcooking to prevent them from becoming tough and rubbery. I start off by cooking the shrimp with a bit of garlic and oil, but I leave them undercooked as I add the rest of the ingredients. By the time I finish tossing the rice, the shrimp would be perfect.
Like all fried rice recipes, it’s best to use day-old cold rice as opposed to freshly cooked rice. Freshly cooked rice will simply turn to mush in the hot wok. If you don’t have day-old rice, you can make rice but use less water than you normally would.
The rice in this recipe is seasoned with a bit of ground white pepper, salt, sugar, soy sauce, and chicken bouillon powder. For those who don’t have chicken bouillon powder, you can leave it out. Others like to use oyster sauce instead of soy sauce. You can also toss in a tablespoon of butter for that buttery flavor.
There are no strict rules, other than using day-old rice. So use whatever leftover ingredients you have on hand and whatever seasonings you like. Fried rice is versatile and solely exists to use up leftover ingredients.
In the words of my childhood hero Captain Planet, the power is yours.
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Shrimp Fried Rice (Cơm Chiên Tôm)
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
Description
Fried rice is a childhood favorite and a first cooking lesson for many. This shrimp fried rice recipe comes together quickly with leftover ingredients.
Ingredients
Rice
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil (divided)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 12 oz shrimp (size 21/25; peel and devein)
- 2 oz frozen peas and carrots
- 2 whole eggs (beaten)
- 1 lb day-old cold rice
Seasonings
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon chicken or mushroom bouillon powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the shrimp and vegetables: In a large wok, add about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Heat on medium high. Toss in shrimp and garlic. Sauté until shrimp is mostly cooked (about 30 seconds). Mix in frozen peas and carrot and cook them for an additional 10 seconds.
- Fry the eggs: Clear the center by pushing all the ingredients to the sides of the wok. Add another 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the center. Allow the oil to heat for 15 seconds then add beaten eggs. Scramble the eggs then mix it into the rest of the ingredients.
- Add rice: Add day-old rice. If the rice is clumping up, use the backside of a large ladle to gently smash the rice grains apart. Season rice with ground white pepper, sugar, chicken bouillon powder, salt and soy sauce to taste. Turn up the heat to high and toss vigorously with two large wooden spoons for 2-3 minutes or until combined. Serve immediately for best results.
- Prep Time: 8
- Cook Time: 7
- Category: entree
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: asian, vietnamese
