Got leftover white rice? Make shrimp fried rice for a protein and veggie-packed meal ready to go in less than 30 minutes.
Favorite Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe
Shrimp fried rice is one of my go-to takeout meals. I love that it’s made with protein-packed shrimp, tons of veggies, and a yummy fried rice sauce.
It’s a versatile dish that can be made your very own by using the veggies you have on hand and whatever leftover rice you have. That’s right, shrimp fried rice uses leftover (chilled) rice.
In this post, we’ll teach you how to make shrimp fried rice and also share some tips and tricks to make sure your dish comes out perfect!
Try an authentic shrimp fried rice recipe by checking out the Woks of Life’s Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe. Their recipe comes directly from their family’s Chinese takeout restaurant.
Why you’ll love it!
In addition to shrimp fried rice being a balanced meal, here’s why you need to make it!
Versatile
Kid-Friendly
High-Protein
Featured Ingredients
- Shrimp: for this recipe we’re using jumbo shrimp that’s deveined and peeled. Before anyything you’ll marinate it in a combination of sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic chili sauce, and lime juice to make it nice and juicy and flavorful.
- Veggies: the nice thing about shrimp fried rice is that you can use pretty much any veggie. In our shrimp fried rice recipe we use green onion, carrot, red pepper, and edamame.
- Chilled white rice: any kind of cooked, chilled rice (for at least overnight!) will work for this recipe. We prefer a long-grain white rice such as jasmine or basmati.
- Egg: eggs are scrambled in right at the end to add texture and protein.
Do you have to use chilled rice for fried rice?
While you don’t HAVE to use chilled rice for fried rice, we do recommend doing it. Overnight white rice is the key to restaurant-style fried rice where the rice doesn’t clump and every bite is flavorful.
Fried Rice Sauce
The key to fried rice is the fried rice sauce. Ours is made with 6 simple ingredients.
- Soy sauce
- Maple syrup (classic fried rice doesn’t use any sweetener, but we prefer it!)
- Rice vinegar
- Fish sauce
- Minced garlic
- Chili garlic sauce
How to Season Shrimp for Fried Rice
Seasoning shrimp for fried rice is simple. We recommend letting your peeled and deveined shrimp marinate in sesame oil, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and a little lime juice before cooking. Let sit for 30 minutes.
Why season your shrimp first? We like to do this to make sure the shrimp is infused with flavor in every bite!
How to Make Shrimp Fried Rice
- Marinate shrimp: combine sesame oil, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and lime juice in a medium bowl. Then, toss the shrimp in it and let marinate for 30 minutes.
- Make fried rice sauce: combine soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, and chili garlic sauce and set aside.
- Cook shrimp: Cook shrimp for 4 minutes over medium/high and then flip and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Cook veggies: cook green onion and minced carrot in sesame oil.
- Add white rice: add chilled white rice, red pepper, and edamame, and cook for 4-6 minutes. Add fried rice sauce and toss.
- Cook eggs: create a well in the middle of the fride rice and crack in 3 eggs. Gently whisk until cooked.
- Toss: toss your shrimp fried rice together and serve immediately.
Top Tips for Fried Rice with Shrimp
Use cold rice: make sure to use chilled rice. If you use freshly cooked rice, you’ll notice that it becomes mushy.
Don’t over scramble the egg: make sure to keep your scrambled eggs nice and large. If you over-scramble it, it will get lost in your shrimp fried rice!
Don’t overcook the shrimp: whatever you do, don’t overcook the shrimp! Overcooked shrimp becomes rubbery and no one wants that.
Recipe Pairings
FAQ
Shrimp fried rice is made with cooked shrimp, a variety of veggies, eggs, and a fried rice sauce composed of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and fish sauce.
You’re more than welcome to put oyster sauce in shrimp fried rice.
We recommend letting your shrimp marinate in a combination of sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic sauce, and lime juice. It will give your shrimp extra flavor in every bite.
Storage
Store shrimp fried rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat: feel free to reheat in the microwave on high for 90 seconds or in a nonstick skillet. Heat a little olive oil over medium/high heat and cook fried rice for 3-5 minutes or until hot.
Shrimp Fried Rice
Learn how to make shrimp fried rice with this simple recipe. It’s made with jumbo shrimp, fried rice sauce, and veggies to round out this balanced meal.
Prep:30 minutes
Cook:30 minutes
Total:1 hour
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil separated
- 3 teaspoons soy sauce separated
- 1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
- ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 lb. raw shrimp (we used jumbo) peeled, de-veined, and tail removed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 green onions minced
- 3 small carrots minced (~1 cup)
- 4 cups cooked chilled white rice (or brown)*
- 1 large red pepper minced
- 1 cup frozen edamame
- 3 large eggs
Sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon chili garlic sauce
Instructions
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First, marinate the shrimp. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to a large bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of chili sauce, and lime juice to the bowl. Whisk the ingredients together. Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss the shrimp into the sauce. Sprinkle the garlic powder over the shrimp and toss once more. Cover the bowl and place the shrimp in the fridge for 30 minutes.
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Meanwhile, prepare the fried rice sauce. Mix all ingredients together and set aside.
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Once the shrimp has marinated it’s time to cook the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a large cold skillet pan with sides. Turn the heat to high and cook the shrimp for 4 minutes on one side. Remove the skillet from the heat and flip the shrimp over. Let them cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and fully cooked. Remove the shrimp from the pan.
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Place the skillet pan back on to the heat. Add another tablespoon of sesame oil to the pan, and then add only the white parts of the green onion and minced carrot. Saute over medium/high heat for 2-3 minutes.
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Then, add the chilled white rice and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add the red pepper and frozen edamame and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Finally, add fried rice sauce and cooked shrimp and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes.
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Turn heat down to medium and then create a large well in the center of your pan. Crack in 3 large eggs and scramble. Then, add 1 teaspoon soy sauce to the scrambled eggs and mix. Let eggs cook in the pan, folding them onto themselves while maintaining larger chunks of scrambled eggs. Once the eggs are fully cooked, mix everything together to combine.
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Serve shrimp fried rice with the green parts of the green onion.
Tips & Notes
- Be sure to use chilled rice that has sat for at least overnight. It creates the most delicious fried rice texture. You can use brown rice, too, but we highly recommend long-grain white rice.
- Feel free to change out the vegetables in the recipe for a frozen mix of fried rice vegetables. Just omit the fresh vegetables and add all of the vegetables to the pan when you add the frozen edamame.
- If you like spicy fried rice, add more garlic chili sauce.
- We like a little more fish sauce in our stir fry sauce so we always add more than a teaspoon, but feel free to use as much as you’d like.
Nutrition facts
Calories: 585kcal Carbohydrates: 65g Protein: 45g Fat: 14g Fiber: 9g Sugar: 9g
Photography: photos taken in this post are by Ashley McGlaughlin from The Edible Perspective.