Quick & Easy Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe
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This quick and easy Shrimp Fried Rice is a perfect weeknight recipe idea. This dish is ready to go, start to finish, in under 30 minutes. This Asian Inspired dinner uses cooked rice, shrimp, frozen peas and carrots, and eggs. If you are craving takeout but don’t want to order out, this recipe will satisfy that craving.
This would be a great side dish for Chinese New Year and I’ve got more delicious recipes for Chinese New Year for you to enjoy – right-click and open in a new tab so that you can read them next.
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Shrimp Fried Rice
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions; to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required, and to understand the steps and timings involved.
Fried rice is one of my favorite dishes from a Chinese take-out, and it’s a dish that is really quick and easy to make. Plus it’s so customisable with different ingredients that you can make it to your personal tastes!
The secret is using cooked and chilled rice – leftover from another recipe maybe? This means the rice is drier and gives the texture that you find in fried rice.
If you use fresh, hot rice, the dish will be glutinous, sticky, soggy – and well, you may as well not bother.
So cook up some rice a day or two before and store in the fridge. Or, cook a meal with rice and make an extra batch for this recipe.
Now of course this recipe is made using shrimp, but you could use cooked chicken, ham, or even just veggies instead.
Storing Cooked Rice
Rice is one of those foods that many people don’t realise can cause food poisoning. I’m always extra careful when storing and re-heating cooked rice.
Now, depending on which health authority website you read, or country you live in, cooked rice can be covered and stored in the fridge from one to seven days.
In the UK the NHS website says one day. An Australian site I read four to seven days… an American site said three to four days. Confusing right?
My advice is to always cook and cool the rice quickly (no more than 1 hour at room temperature) and store it in the fridge. To cool it quickly, spread it onto a baking sheet (that’s a trick I learned at Sushi School!).
When reheating, make sure that the rice is piping hot throughout, and do not reheat rice more than once.
Always use your sense of smell – if the rice smells funky after you’ve stored it in the fridge – toss it, it’s not worth getting sick over!
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
For your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon or other stores if available online. The full list of ingredients with measurements is found in the recipe card.
- Frozen Shrimp – thawed
- Frozen Peas
- Fresh Products – carrots, onion, scallions (green/spring onions), ginger
- Garlic Powder
- Cooked Rice – chilled. In fried rice recipes, using cooked and cooled rice is really important! Cook some rice the day before you make this recipe. Or if you’re eating rice a day or two before, cook up an extra batch to use in this shrimp fried rice.
- Toasted Sesame Oil
- Soy sauce or Tamari or Coconut Aminos – see below.
Depending on your dietary requirements you may want to use one of the following in this recipe:
- Soy Sauce – the regular stuff made from fermented soybeans and roasted grains.
- Tamari – a gluten-free soy sauce (but always check the label) if this is a concern for you.
- Coconut Aminos – a soy-free, soy sauce made with coconut tree sap and salt, and popular in Paleo, Keto, and Whole 30 communities.
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog! I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. You can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).
What is the difference between shrimp and prawns?
If you’re from the UK, you probably call shrimp, prawns; and if you’re from the US, you call them shrimp. I thought that was the difference – a UK v USA thing – but they’re actually different animals. I think most people would use them interchangeably and not realise there was a difference – and to be honest, to save confusion, I will continue to do so, but I found it fascinating to learn that they were not one and the same!
Shrimp and prawns can both be found in salt and freshwater. However, shrimp are found mostly in saltwater, and prawns are mostly found in freshwater – especially the ones we cook and eat. Shrimp are usually smaller than prawns but is not always an indicator of which is which. And they both taste the same – so essentially… it doesn’t matter!
Whether you call these sweet, succulent, seafood morsels shrimp or prawns – it doesn’t matter – cook ’em up and use them in this recipe! I’ll be referring to them as shrimp in this recipe to save on any confusion!
More Recipes Using Shrimp
One of the hero ingredients in this recipe is shrimp, so here are some more recipes using the same:
More Rice Recipes
Looking for more rice dish inspo? Check these recipes out next:
Recipe Tips
- Time-Saving Tip: To save time cutting up fresh carrots, use two-thirds cups of frozen peas and carrots mix in place of the measurements listed in the recipe.
How Do I Make Shrimp Fried Rice?
Just check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. Any demonstration photos do not print out to save your ink.
Shrimp Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 4 large eggs lightly beaten
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- ¾ lbs 350g frozen shrimp, thawed and chopped
- ⅓ cup frozen peas
- ⅓ cup carrots finely diced
- 3 Tbsp white onion finely diced
- 2 large green onions (scallions/spring onions) divided, sliced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger finely minced
- ¾ tsp garlic powder
- 4 cups cooked rice chilled
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari or coconut aminos
For Garnish
- Sliced green onions optional
SUGGESTED PRODUCTS
Instructions
- Add one tablespoon butter to a wok or large skillet set over medium-high heat.
- Add the eggs and cook, stirring and chopping with a spatula continually, until cooked through, approximately 2 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl and set aside.
- Add a second tablespoon of butter to the wok. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Transfer shrimp to the bowl with the eggs. (Shrimp will not be full cooked at this point).
- Add remaining butter to the wok, along with the peas, carrots, onion, and white portion of green onions.
- Add fresh ginger and garlic powder. Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes until vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Add rice, sesame oil, soy sauce, and green part of onions to the wok and stir to combine.
- Return shrimp and eggs to wok and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continually, until heated through and all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately topped with additional sliced green onion, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Meal!
This dish could be eaten as a main dish or as a side, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal!
- Appetizer: Cantonese Spring Rolls with Pork & Shrimp
- Main Dish: Chinese-Style Pulled Pork
- Side Dish: Spicy Chicken Satay Recipe with a Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Beverage: Ginger Peach Iced Tea Recipe
- Dessert: Hong Kong Egg Tarts
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too!