Shrimp Fried Rice is one of my most loved recipes because of how easy and simple it is. Anyone can make it and without fail, you will have a good meal because of how flavorful this is!
Back in 2020, I posted my Shrimp Fried Rice recipe and it garnered about 4 million views across my social media channels.
Up until now, this famous Chinese takeout is well-loved because fried rice is one of the most flexible foods you can learn to make. As long as you have rice, protein of choice, and leftover vegetables, you can make yourself a complete meal.
When you get the hang of the different parts of fried rice, it is a delicious, filling, and nutritious meal in just 15 minutes tops. Best of all, you just need one pan to make it! This is especially great for parents who need a weeknight meal in a rush!
Ingredients for the Best Shrimp Fried Rice
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Rice
One of the best things about fried rice is that it is amenable to any kind of rice—white, brown, cauliflower, etc—you can fry them all up and make this! Personally, though, I like hot, freshly steamed white rice for my fried rice.
Truthfully, in restaurants, we use day-old rice because they are easier to crumble to make big batches of fried rice. You can do that too if you always make gummy rice. Allowing it to dry out in the fridge will keep you from getting wet fried rice.
However, once you follow my method and get a hang of how to make steamed rice, I’m sure you will love it fresh too!
Shrimp
Since this is Shrimp Fried Rice, we are going to use a fresh, jumbo-sized shrimp. I like it big, juicy, and sweet! I prepare them by peeling and deveining them so it’s thoroughly cleaned. Nevertheless, if you are going the quicker route, you can also use frozen shrimp.
If you prefer other protein options, check out kimchi fried rice, steak fried rice, short rib fried rice, and my other rice dishes from the blog.
Note: For additional protein, I also like to add two scrambled eggs just to add more volume and make the dish more filling. Cook it separately to keep your rice from getting wet.
Aromatics and Vegetables
For the aromatics, the most important are the scallions and garlic. Once they are sauteed, they will bring so much flavor to the dish.
For the vegetables, we’re using onions and carrots. You most likely have them already; it’s colorful and pretty when mixed in the food, and they also bring good flavor. Essentially, any vegetables will work out here.
Note: Just remember my 1:1 ratio rule. It should always be 1 cup of rice to 1 cup of all toppings combined (ex. Shrimp, Veggies, Egg). That way, you get everything in one bite!
Seasoning
For the seasoning, we will use soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. We’re only going to put a little bit of soy sauce so it doesn’t change the color of the rice too much and a little bit of oyster sauce for a boost in umami. These two, in combination with sesame oil, are a trifecta of flavors!
If there is a need to adjust the taste, just use salt and pepper so that the color of the rice stays light.
Lastly, my secret would be half a tablespoon of butter! Just imagine how well the butter would complement the shrimp and the garlic!
How to Make Shrimp Fried Rice?
First of all, prepare your ingredients by chopping the vegetables bite-size. We’re going to cook on high heat and it’s going to be quick so we need all these chopped up and prepared. Scramble the eggs too and set aside.
Following that, in shallow oil, fry the shrimp and season with salt and pepper on both sides. You will only need to fry this until it turns bright orange, do not overcook it! Set aside after cooking. You have the option to chop it or not so you can have your preferred chunks of shrimp in every bite.
Now for the fried rice, in high heat, and a splash of oil, saute the garlic and onion. Once aromatic, add the shrimp and mix well. Then, add the onion and carrots and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the rice, and season with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Put all these on top of the rice so you can break it up easily.
Add back the egg and butter, crumble the big chunks of rice, and mix thoroughly. Adding the ingredients one by one is essential as you allow each to cook down and reduce moisture so you do not end up with wet fried rice.
Lastly, taste and adjust with salt and pepper to your liking. Give it another mix, and you’re good to go!
Tips for Making Better-than-Takeout Shrimp Fried Rice:
- If you own a wok, it is best to cook your fried rice using that. But I know not a lot of people don’t have that, so you can simply blow torch your fried rice to give off that similar “wok hei” or smoky flavor from the restaurants. Be careful in handling this!
- If you want the fried rice to be a little dry and a little crispy, allow it to sit on the pan and spread evenly on medium-high heat to get that crispy bottom.
- As always, to take it up a notch, always make sure you use different colored veggies, and top it with a runny sunny-side-up egg. Your food should both look good and taste good!
Note: To cook a perfect sunny-side-up egg, heat up your nonstick pan and keep it on medium heat. Put a splash of oil in the pan and add the egg. Allow it to cook low and slow until the desired doneness for the yolk is reached!
What to Serve with Shrimp Fried Rice and How to Store Leftovers
You can serve shrimp fried rice with a variety of protein options ranging from LA galbi, soy garlic chicken barbecue, dumplings, sweet and spicy fried chicken, Korean rolled omelette, or even kimchi pancake! Essentially, grilled or fried items are great with it!
For any leftovers or if you plan to make this ahead, you can store it in the fridge and it is good for about 5 days. Just reheat in the microwave for a minute or two. If anything else, do not leave it out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Other quick and easy dishes you might like:
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Quick Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- Vegetable or Canola Oil For frying and sauteing
- 1 1/2 cup Rice
- 10 pieces Jumbo Shrimp Peeled and deveined
- 2 pcs Eggs Scrambled
- 1/2 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 2 stalks Scallions Chopped, Save 1/4 for garnish
- 1/4 of Large Onion Diced
- 1/4 of Carrot Diced
- 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- Sesame Seeds
- Salt and Pepper To taste
Instructions
- Prepare the aromatics, and vegetables, and scramble the eggs. Set aside.
- In shallow oil, fry the shrimp and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Cook until they are bright orange, chop to preferred chunks, and set aside once done.
- In high heat and splash of oil, saute the scallions and minced garlic. Once aromatic, add the shrimp and mix thoroughly.
- Add onion and carrots, and saute well.
- Add rice, then put soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds on top to break it up easily. Mix until the rice is broken up properly and the sauce is evenly spread out.
- Add the egg, and butter, and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Give it one last mix.
- Serve, add sunny side egg on top, garnish with sesame seeds, and green onions, and enjoy.
No matter what I do my fried rice taste awful help
Try following the tips I shared here, use your favorite ingredients for protein and vegetables, and just season with salt, pepper, and a little bit of soy sauce or oyster sauce. Use a good brand for seasoning too!
Awesome recipe! Easy and quick! It didn’t say how much butter to you so I used 4 tablespoons… It still came out awesome! Thank you
Great job!!
Great Recipes!
Thank you so much!
first time making the shrimp fried rice, and I was very impressed. it was delicious and I’ll make it again and again Thank you, Ria
AYYYY LET’S GO!!! Yeobosayo!!!
This is delicious! Thank you for all your recipes!
Yeobosayo!! More than happy to share all my recipes with you guys!!
Will try this recipe and let you knows.
How was it??
Thanks for the cooking inspiration! I used kinders Japanese BBQ sauce to finish the job! Epic results. 🙏
Ayyy! Glad you got inspired and owned the recipe!! Yeobosayo!!
I first tossed rhe shrimp (large) in baking soda, salt & pepper. Then scrambled th eggs. Sautéed the carrots & onions, added the garlic & a handful of peas, then same as your recipe. Excellent dish that we will have again! I intend to try some of your other recipes now, as well.
Ayyyy!! Glad you liked it!! Feel free to browse through the website and I hope you find many recipes you like!!