This easy shrimp fried rice recipe is savory, smoky, umami and loaded with tender, juicy shrimp. Let’s talk about why you should use leftover rice – and I’ve got a few easy hacks you can use to flavor your fried rice without reinventing the wheel. Ready in less than 15 minutes. Faster and cheaper than Chinese takeout!
Why This Recipe Works
- Restaurant quality shrimp fried rice with minimal effort. Just 15 minutes of your day.
- Powdered chicken stock imparts flavor without adding too much liquid.
- Cooking day-old rice on high heat gives you smoky and tender rice.
- You can use chopped shrimp or juicy whole shrimp. Your choice. I use both!
This may just be my absolute favorite quick and easy shrimp fried rice recipe. It’s based on the takeout classic – at a fraction of the cost.
Table of contents
Shrimp Fried Rice Best Practices
Always use leftover rice. Fried rice is always best when you use at least day-old rice that’s had some time to dry out in the fridge (a few days longer is fine too). Freshly cooked rice is plump with moisture and can get gummy when stir fried. Not nice! Dry, leftover rice can soak in cooking oil, egg and soy sauce and still keep its texture. Feel free to use use jasmine rice or short grain Japanese rice.
Try to limit liquid ingredients. A little soy sauce and sesame oil is fine. But a bunch of liquid seasonings can leave you with wet fried rice. In a second, I’ll tell you about a dried seasoning you can use in tandem with liquid ingredients for big time flavor.
Use a hot wok or pan. Cooking quickly on high heat will help veggies retain their crunch and keep your shrimp juicy and springy.
Use chopped shrimp in the fried rice. This is optional – but I love having a bit of shrimp in every bite. If you want whole shrimp as well, cook a few in a separate pan and serve on top of the fried rice.
What if I Don’t Have Leftover Rice?
Just make fresh rice, and then spread it out on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours. Longer if you have time. This will quickly dry it out.
Here’s how to make rice, both on the stovetop and in a rice cooker:
Shrimp Fried Rice Ingredients
Scroll to the bottom of this page for the full recipe!
- Oil: Use a neutral oil such as vegetable or grapeseed oil.
- Garlic: Two garlic cloves will infuse the rice with great aromatics.
- Bell pepper: Yellow, orange, or red bell peppers work as well.
- Carrot: Finely diced for a subtle crunch and sweetness.
- Shallot: Shallots are slightly sweeter than onions, so I tend to favor them quite often in my cooking. But you can use half a small onion if you don’t have shallots.
- Shrimp: I highly recommend spending a little extra on good quality, fresh shrimp. Try to use sustainable shrimp if you can.
- Leftover Cooked Rice: Jasmine rice is the industry standard. Japanese rice will be a little more sticky (but great).
- Powdered stock: Chicken bouillon or Consome by Ajinomoto are the two powdered stocks I use. But you can also use powdered vegetable stock.
- Soy Sauce: For fried rice that’s extra umami and savory. You can also opt for low sodium soy sauce if you prefer.
- Ground White Pepper: Hotter and sharper than black pepper with floral notes. You can use either white or black pepper for this recipe. Whatever is handy.
- Egg: One large egg, scrambled.
- Sesame oil: I like to drizzle a little sesame oil right before serving the fried rice to add a layer of nuttiness.
- Chopped Scallions: Green onions add a clean and refreshing crunch.
Using Powdered Stock in Fried Rice
Using powdered chicken stock is a great way to add flavor without introducing more liquid to the pan. If you’ve previously tried to make shrimp fried rice at home but couldn’t achieve the punchy flavor you get when ordering at a restaurant, chicken stock might just be what you were missing.
Pescatarian substitution: powdered veggie stock or Japanese dashi powder.
How to Make Shrimp Fried Rice
- Place a wok or a deep skillet over high heat and add the oil and garlic. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the chopped bell pepper, carrot, and shallot, and stir fry for about two minutes, until the vegetables have softened a little.
- Next, add the raw chopped shrimp and cook for 3 minutes, until they are cooked through.
- Add the rice and break it up using a rice paddle or spatula. Fold the rice in with the vegetables and shrimp. Once mixed, add the powdered stock, a splash of soy sauce, and ground white pepper. Keep folding and mixing until the seasoning is evenly distributed.
- Push the rice to one side of the wok and pour the whisked egg on the empty side. Wait a few seconds and start to stir the egg in a zigzag motion until it’s completely scrambled. Mix it with the fried rice and turn the heat off.
- Drizzle the sesame oil over the fried rice and top with chopped scallions. Serve immediately.
Recipe Variations
One of the best parts about making fried rice is that it’s a clearinghouse for veggie crisper drawers – and works well with all types of proteins. Here are a few ideas to how to up your shrimp fried rice game.
- Play with sauces. You can easily add or augment flavors with readymade condiments like oyster sauce, fish sauce, chili crisp and sambal oelek (not all at once though!). No matter what you choose, start slowly. You can always add more if you need to. And try not to add so much liquid that your fried rice becomes a soggy mess.
- Swap proteins. Chicken, roast pork, tofu and even bacon or breakfast sausage work well in fried rice. Breakfast fried rice is totally a thing.
- Add kimchi. Funky, sour and slightly spicy. Yes, please.
- Top with a fried egg. Crispy edges, runny yolk. Enough said.
- Add chilis. Augment the spice level with anything from sansho pepper to Thai chilis to Korean gochugaru.
Ultimate Flavor Hack: Seasoning Packets
An even easier way to make fried rice is by using seasoning packets. They taste amazing! If you can get a hold of these, DO IT. Made by Nagatanien or Glico, these little fried rice packets season your rice so well you won’t need to add anything else to flavor it! They are the ultimate lazy chef ingredient. Secret: I use them all the time. The garlic fried rice packet in particular is incredible.
Storage
Save leftover fried rice in an airtight storage container with a lid and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.
Reheat leftovers on high in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until the rice is tender. Or quickly reheat in a pan on the stovetop with a little oil.
In the Freezer
- Let the fried rice cool to room temperature before freezing.
- Portion the rice into individual servings and save each serving in a freezer bag or air-tight container.
- Squeeze out the air from each bag and seal, or close the container lids.
- Write the date on each bag or container and freeze.
Frozen fried rice will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fried rice was first made popular during the Sui Dynasty in Yangzhou City, China, around the end of the sixth century. Eventually, other Asian cultures adopted the practice of frying rice with local ingredients. Therefore Japanese yakimeshi, Thai khao phat and Filipino sinangag are all local variations of that first Chinese fried rice recipe.
You can! But you’ll need to make some ingredient changes. Use powdered vegetable stock or msg instead of the chicken bouillon. Use firm tofu or veggies instead of the shrimp. And you’ll want to omit the egg entirely. Or you can try this vegan fried rice recipe instead.
Not as written. But it sure can be. Simply swap out the soy sauce and use tamari or liquid aminos instead. Also, it’s important to read the ingredients label on your powdered chicken stock in case there’s some sneaky wheat lurking in there.
What to Serve With Shrimp Fried Rice
- Chinese Eggplant With Garlic Sauce
- Stir Fried Bean Sprouts with Tofu and Garlic Chives
- Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry
- Easy Vegetable Egg Rolls
- Bok Choy With Garlic and Oyster Sauce
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Have you made this shrimp fried rice recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
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Easy Shrimp Fried Rice
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 13 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Rice
- Method: Stir frying
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Low Lactose
Description
Ready in less than 15 minutes and with delicately sweet, savory and briny flavors. This shrimp fried rice recipe beats takeout any day!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup carrot, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 10 large shrimp, chopped bite size
- 3 cups day old cooked short grain Japanese rice, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon powdered chicken stock
- 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon white ground pepper
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large pan or wok over high heat, add oil and garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds, until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add bell peppers, carrots, and shallots and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add shrimp and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add rice, break it and combine with shrimp and vegetables.
- Add powdered chicken stock, soy sauce and white pepper and mix until the rice is uniformly golden / light brown.
- Push rice to one side and add egg. Continuously stir and break with your spatula until it’s almost fully cooked. Mix it in with the fried rice.
- Turn the heat off, add sesame oil and top with scallions.
- Season with salt and pepper if needed, and serve immediately
Notes
Keep the leftover fried rice in an airtight storage container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 301
- Sugar: 1.6g
- Sodium: 310.9mg
- Fat: 9.6g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 44g
- Fiber: 0.7g
- Protein: 8.7g
- Cholesterol: 67.4mg
