In the Kitchen: Shrimp Fried Rice

A new week brings a new recipe. I found the Shrimp Fried Rice recipe on SimplyRecipes.com. This was a 'must' make because everyone in our family loves fried rice. This recipe is easy and a healthier spin on typical fast food Chinese. The ingredients are simple and affordable.

The key to this recipe is day old rice. Using a rice cooker is ideal, but boiling in a pan works too. It has been recommended to me to wash your rice prior to cooking. Washing your rice is supposed to cut down on the starchy-ness of the rice. This would be important when using a pan to make your rice. I did use a pan to cook my washed rice; however, my rice still held more moisture than I would have liked. My last piece of advice is to gather all your ingredients prior to cooking because everything is cooked quickly.

Eggs cook super fast. Don't get distracted!

End results: My kids loved it! It was very filling for our family of five (note it says serves four). I served with a salad and ice cream for dessert.

Shrimp Fried Rice from SimplyRecipes.com

I’ve listed the recipe for you below:

Shrimp Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS

         8 ounces small raw shrimp, shelled and deveined

         1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

         freshly ground black pepper

         1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

         2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided

         3 eggs, beaten

         2 stalks green onion, minced

         4 cups leftover rice, grains separated well

         3/4 cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted

         1 tablespoon soy sauce

         1 teaspoon sesame oil

METHOD

1 In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper and cornstarch. Let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the pan is hot enough for a bead of water to instantly sizzle and evaporate, 

add just 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat pan.



2 Add the shrimp, quickly spreading out around the cooking surface area so that they are not overlapping. Let fry, untouched for 30 seconds. Flip over and let the other side fry for 30 seconds, or until about 80% cooked through. 

Remove the shrimp from the pan onto a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.



3 Turn the heat to medium, let the pan heat up again. Add the eggs, stirring in a quick motion to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through (they should still be slightly runny in the middle), dish out of the pan into the same plate as the cooked shrimp.



4 Use paper towels to wipe the same wok or sauté pan clean and return to high heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, swirling to coat. When the oil is very hot, add the green onions and fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add in the rice and stir well to mix in the green onions throughout. Spread the rice all around the wok surface area and let the rice heat up, untouched until you hear the bottoms of the grains sizzle, about 1-2 minutes. Use the spatula to toss the rice, again spreading the rice out over the surface of wok.



5 Drizzle the soy sauce all around the rice and toss. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked eggs, shrimp and sesame oil, tossing to mix the rice evenly with all of the ingredients. Let everything heat back up again, until the rice grains are so hot they practically dance! Taste and add an additional 1 teaspoon of soy sauce if needed.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!!!