Shrimp Fried Rice. Savoury rice fried with juicy jumbo shrimp, garlic, shallots, carrots and peas. A delicious option for dinner or lunch.
Ready in 30 minutes!
Ready in just 30 minutes with day old, cooked rice. This will be the best shrimp fried rice recipe you’ll ever make and enjoy at home!
Restaurant style fried rice
I know there are many shrimp fried rice recipes online but today I’m sharing restaurant style Chinese fried rice that is packed with flavour and is simple to make at home.
Easy to make!
This homemade shrimp fried rice is incredibly easy to make! The cooking process only takes less than 5 minutes especially in a hot wok.
With this Chinese shrimp fried rice recipe, you are simply preparing your ingredients ahead of time. Then frying your shrimp first until 50% cooked and removing to set aside. Then fry your aromatics and vegetables pushing that to the side to scramble your eggs. Incorporate with ingredients. Toss back in the shrimp.
Add in your day old, cooked rice and toss. Then pour in your sauce and mix until all granules are coloured in sauce. Remove off heat and garnish with green onions.
Great way to use up Frozen Shrimp
Fried rice is a staple dish in this household. I love making it because it’s a great way to use up leftover cold rice or ingredients left in the fridge. This simple shrimp fried rice always hits the spot in terms of taste and texture and it’s a great meal to make in advance to reheat for later. Also, if you have a bag of frozen shrimp that you need to use up, then this is one of those great shrimp recipes.
What You’ll Need
You will need the following shrimp fried rice ingredients:
- day old cooked jasmine rice
- jumbo shrimp
- shallot
- garlic
- carrots
- frozen peas
- eggs
- vegetable oil
Shrimp marinade:
- regular soy sauce
- shaoxing wine, or Dry Sherry wine
- cornstarch
- vegetable oil
Shrimp fried rice seasoning sauce:
- regular soy sauce
- dark soy sauce
- sesame oil
- chicken bouillon powder (aka. Chicken instant stock mix)
- white pepper
Optional:
green onions, for garnish
How to make Shrimp Fried Rice
Below are brief steps with visuals to show you how to make this dish. Please scroll down to the recipe card below to find full instructions and details.
Marinate your shrimp for 5 minutes with regular soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch and vegetable oil. Set aside.
In a bowl, pre-mix sauce ingredients as listed.
In a hot wok set over high heat, add 3 tbsp oil. Once oil is hot. Add shrimps. Fry shrimp until 50% cooked. Remove and set aside.
Fry garlic and shallots for 10 seconds or until softened. Quickly add in peas and carrots and fry for another 10 seconds. Push everything to the side of the wok.
Add 1 tbsp of oil into empty space of wok. Pour in eggs and scramble before mixing with ingredients in wok.
Toss back in shrimp.
Add rice and toss with ingredients.
Pour sauce over top. Mix until all rice granules are coloured brown.
Remove off heat. Serve and enjoy with optional green onions as a garnish.
Cooking Tips
These are some tips to make the best 30-minute shrimp fried rice:
Prepare ingredients ahead of time
I know this is common sense but believe it or not some people really do skip this step and jump right into cooking which isn’t the best idea. Because we are cooking fried rice, we don’t want to leave it in the pan or wok for too long as this results in overcooked mushy rice.
Pre-mix the sauce
This will prevent overcooking of your fried rice. Also keep in mind the cooking process is fast, less than 7 minutes in a ripping hot wok. So, it’s always best to premix the sauce so you can simply pour it over your rice.
Do not overcook Shrimp
Shrimp cooks very fast especially over high heat. To avoid overcooking your shrimp, cook it until 50% cooked and then remove to set aside to add back in to cook fully after your vegetables and eggs have been cooked. This prevents your shrimp from overcooking as you cook the other ingredients.
Scramble the eggs in wok before incorporating
After beating the eggs and pouring them into your hot pan, be sure to scramble and cook them a bit first before incorporating with the rest of your ingredients. This creates a bit more texture in your eggs.
Day old rice is the key to fluffy fried rice
Using day old, cooked rice helps to ensure your rice granules are separated and fluffy as you fry. If you use same day warm cooked rice, it’ll begin to stick together.
Break up rice with hands before cooking
Before adding the rice to your wok, make sure to break up your rice until the granules are all separated. If you break it up in the pan, you may overcook the rice.
Use a Wok for that Smoky Taste
Using a carbon steel or aluminum wok (not a non-stick wok) will give you that smoky taste that you get in most Chinese style cooking. That smoky taste comes from the smoke that is created when you add oil into a very hot wok. It’s called “wok hei” also known as “breathe of wok”. This smoke is the secret ingredient to making your fried rice taste like you got it at the restaurant! Of course, you can use a normal pan to make this dish but you may not get that “wok hei”
FAQ
Which oil is best for fried rice?
I find that vegetable oil or any high smoke point oil (grapeseed, avocado or peanut oil) is the best for cooking fried rice and shrimp at high temperatures as they both have a high smoking point.
What gives Chinese fried rice its flavor?
When the hot oil hits the hot wok, you’ll see smoke appear above it called “wok hei” or “breathe of wok”. That same smoke is the secret ingredient to making fried rice taste so good and “smoky”.
Can I make fried rice with freshly cooked rice?
Yes! But I would recommend using a non-stick pan unless you’re very experienced in using a wok.
What does shrimp fried rice contain?
My recipe contains day old, cooked rice, jumbo shrimp, garlic, shallots, peas, carrots, eggs, regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, cornstarch, white pepper, sesame oil, chicken stock mix powder, and vegetable oil.
Why is my fried rice soggy?
This can be due to a variety of reasons:
- Day old, cooked rice was not used
- Proteins and vegetables were added after rice was added to wok
- The heat wasn’t high enough
What goes well with fried rice?
There are many dishes that go well with fried rice. Here are some ideas below:
- Sweet and sour pork, General Tso Chicken, Mongolian chicken or any Chinese style fried protein in sauce
- Stir fried greens
- Fried egg served over fried rice
- Spring rolls or egg rolls
- Chow mein
Other recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed this fried rice with shrimp, you may enjoy these other recipes:
10-min. Egg Fried Rice
Spam Fried Rice
Egg Tofu Fried Rice
Vegan Mushroom Kimchi Fried Rice
Chinese Chicken Fried Rice
Tomato Egg Fried Rice
Pineapple Fried Rice
Try it!
Well, I hope you give my Shrimp Fried Rice a try! It always excites me when you make my recipes and I hope this is one you try and most importantly, enjoy.
Sharing is caring
If you enjoyed my recipe, please share it with your family and friends or on social media! Take a picture of your re-creation and make sure to tag me @ChristieAtHome in your feed or stories as I would love to see it!
Did you enjoy it?
If you genuinely enjoyed my recipe, please leave a 5-star review. I would greatly appreciate it 🙂
Take care,
Christie
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Chinese Shrimp Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups cooked jasmine rice day old rice (see Notes for amount of uncooked rice)
- 350 grams jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup carrot finely diced
- ½ cup peas frozen
- 3 eggs beaten
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
Shrimp marinade:
- 1 tsp regular soy sauce
- 1 tsp Shaoxing Cooking Wine (or sub with Dry Sherry Wine)
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
Sauce:
- 2 tbsp regular soy sauce
- ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder (aka chicken stock powder)
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
Optional:
- ½ stalk green onion finely sliced
Instructions
- Marinate your shrimp for 5 minutes. Set aside.
- In a bowl, pre-mix sauce ingredients as listed. Set aside.
- In a hot wok set over high heat, add 3 tbsp oil. Once oil is hot. Add shrimps. Fry shrimp until 50% cooked. Remove and set aside.
- Fry garlic and shallots for 10 seconds or until softened. Quickly add peas and carrots and fry for another 10 seconds or until softened. Push everything to the side of the wok.
- Add 1 tbsp of oil into empty space of wok. Pour in eggs and scramble before mixing with ingredients in wok.
- Toss back in shrimp.
- Add rice and toss with ingredients. Pour sauce over top. Mix until all rice granules are coloured brown.
- Remove off heat. Serve and enjoy with optional green onions as a garnish.
Fried rice and shrimp are two of my very favorite things... and now you've combined them. This is so perfect, especially with the avocado oil!
Delicious!!! Saw your post on Instagram and instantly knew I was making it for dinner next week. Shocked that no ginger was used but it still came out great! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much Erica for making my recipe! Glad you enjoyed it! Feel free to add as much ginger as you'd like for future 🙂 Have a great day! - Christie
I FLOVE this recipe. I have been making fried rice since I was in college and this recipe is a game changer. Thank you! Do you have one for pan friend noodles as well?
Thank you for making my recipe Jaclyn! I am so glad you enjoyed it 🙂 I have many pan fried noodle recipes and if you search under noodles you'll find them all listed. Thanks and have a great day!
Can I make this without the wine and chicken instant stock?
Yes but it won't be AS flavourful without the instant stock but still good!
Hello Christie!
This is the best recipe ever. I marinated the king prawns in brandy instead of the Shaoxing wine. All the family love it. Thanks
Thank you for making my recipe Maria! I'm so happy you all liked it and great idea with the brandy! Have a lovely day - Christie
So easy and tasty. If I can make a meal this nice anyone can
Aw thank you so much Peter! Really glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for making my recipe!
Can I make without the wine if I don’t have any?
Yes you definitely can!