Best Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe On A Home Stove

That’s probably why comedian Nigel Ng’s character “Uncle Roger” had a field day with the BBC’s version of Egg Fried Rice. You can check out the link for the video, but it’s a textbook example of how not to make fried rice. So what’s the proper way to do it? Keep reading to find out!

Why This Recipe Works?

By using leftover rice, the starch has had a chance to retrograde, which makes it dry and crumbly. This allows you to evenly fry each individual grain of rice, making the resulting fried rice nice and fluffy. Using a large pan not only gives you a lot of surface area to work with, but the extra mass also retains heat better, which imparts a toasty flavor to the rice. Stir-frying the shrimp at the beginning imparts some shrimp flavor into the oil, and removing the shrimp before adding the other ingredients keeps them plump and juicy.

Ingredients for Shrimp Fried Rice

Rice - Regardless of the type of rice you use, fried rice is best made with leftover rice. That’s because this gives the starches in the rice a chance to retrograde, which is just a fancy way of saying the rice gets stale. Usually, this wouldn’t be a good thing, but for fried rice, you need it to be dry and crumbly able to stir-fry it properly. The high heat in the pan allows the starches to gelatinize again, making the grains soft on the inside, while the outside gets nice and toasty. I used long-grain rice for this, which has a higher ratio of amylose to amylopectin. This allows the rice to retrograde faster, so you can use it after only a day in the fridge. If you’re using short-grain rice, I recommend keeping it in the fridge for 2-3 days. Shrimp - There’s no need to use fancy shrimp here as smaller shrimp integrate better with the rice. My shrimp were about 1.5-inches in diameter raw and ended up about 1-inch in diameter cooked. Just make sure you’ve shelled and cleaned them well. I have a tutorial on cleaning shrimp here. Egg - I like using eggs that come from chickens that were fed a diet high in beta-carotene. This makes the yolks orange, which gives the fried rice a nicer color. That being said, they don’t taste any different than eggs with a lighter colored yolk, so you can use any eggs you have on hand. Seasoning - For Shrimp Fried Rice, I like seasoning it with XO sauce, because it imparts tons of umami and seafood flavor into the rice. It’s usually made by frying ham, dried scallops, dried shrimp, crab roe, chili peppers, garlic, and onions in a good amount of neutral oil. It can be a little pricey due to all the dried seafood, so you can use my chili oil, soy sauce, or oyster sauce instead. Keep in mind that these all have different levels of salt, so you’ll need to adjust the quantity to work for the sauce you’re using. Vegetables - You can add any mix of finely chopped vegetables you like, such as carrots, onions, or peas, but I kept mine super simple by adding some chopped scallions at the end. Oil - Fried rice is cooked at a high temperature, so use an oil that has a high smoke point such as canola, grapeseed, or rice bran oil. I used rice bran oil for mine.

How to Make Shrimp Fried Rice At Home

The first thing you want to do is shell and devein your shrimp. Then you can marinate them with Shaoxing wine and a pinch of salt. Let these sit for a few minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. If your rice has gone stale enough, you should be able to crumble it into individual grains. Break up any clumps using your hands Heat a frying pan that’s at least 12-inches over high heat until it’s hot. Drizzle the oil around the pan and then add the shrimp in a single layer. The hot oil will spatter, so be careful. Stir-fry the shrimp until it’s cooked through. Transfer them to a bowl, leaving as much of the oil behind in the pan as possible. Break an egg directly into the pan, and then immediately scramble it for a few seconds before adding the rice. Stir-fry the rice together with the egg until it is fluffy and not sticking together. Add the XO sauce to the rice and stir-fry until the sauce has coated every grain of rice. You can taste the fried rice at this point to see if it needs any more salt and adjust the seasoning to taste. When you’re happy with the taste and the rice is just starting to brown, add the shrimp back in, along with the scallions. Toss all the ingredients together, and you’re Shrimp Fried Rice is ready to serve. Shrimp Fried Rice is fantastic with stir fries, like my Black Pepper Chicken, Black Pepper Beef, or Orange Chicken. Serving it instead of plain rice instantly elevates your meal to restaurant-quality and makes a weeknight meal taste like a special occasion.