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Delicious and easy to make, this simple shrimp fried rice makes for a great family weeknight meal. All made in one skillet, it’s ready to serve in 20 minutes.
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Egg fried rice is so simple and delicious, and when combined with shrimp and fresh veggies, it turns into a wonderful main meal.
This easy shrimp fried rice recipe is perfect in its simplicity, and it has a perfect balance of carbs, protein and veggies to make it great for a weeknight meal.
Seasoned with soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sesame oil, every bite is so tasty and it’s super quick to make.
Be sure to try my Easy Dirty Rice with Shrimp and Grilled Shrimp Skewers too!
Why you will love this recipe!
- One-pan: This whole recipe is cooked on the stovetop in a skillet, so clean-up is a breeze!
- Quick: It takes no time at all to make this homemade shrimp fried rice recipe. Ready to serve in about 20 minutes, it’s a great weeknight meal after a busy day.
- Healthy: Loaded with fresh veggies, this is a great well-balanced, and high protein dinner.
Ingredients for shrimp fried rice
To make the best shrimp fried rice recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- Sesame oil: Sesame oil adds a wonderful flavor to the dish and is highly recommended. If you don’t have sesame oil, you can use olive or canola.
- Shrimp: I like to use large shrimp for this recipe, but you can use smaller ones if that’s what you have.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter, just adjust the added salt accordingly.
- Vegetables: Carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, frozen peas, green onions.
- Salt and pepper: Added to taste.
- Eggs: Scrambled eggs are a wonderful addition to this rice dish.
- Rice: The rice should be cooked ahead of time, a day before is ideal.
- Soy sauce: For flavor. You can also use fish sauce or tamari if you are gluten-free.
How to make shrimp fried rice
If you want to learn how to make the fried rice with shrimp, follow my simple steps below.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp to the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes on each side until translucent and opaque. Transfer to a plate.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, and season with a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Saute for about 3 – 4 minutes or until the carrots and onion are soft. Add minced garlic and ginger and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Move the vegetables to one side of the skillet (or set them aside on a plate if your skillet is small), and add an additional 1 tablespoon of butter to the other side of the skillet and stir until melted. Add whisked eggs to the empty side of the skillet and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. You don’t want to mix the eggs with the vegetables yet, you want them to be fluffy. When eggs are scrambled, you can mix them with the vegetables in the skillet.
- Add the last 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet and stir until melted. Immediately add the chilled rice, cooked shrimp, green peas, soy sauce, sesame oil, and stir until combined. Continue stirring for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice.
- Remove from heat. Add the sliced green onions and stir until combined. Serve warm.
What’s the best rice to use?
I like to use medium long-grain white rice like jasmine or basmati for my fried rice. It’s important that the cooked rice is cold when you add it to the skillet so that it fries well. A day-old, leftover rice is ideal as it has a chance to dry out. If you use freshly cooked rice, the dish can end up quite soggy.
Can you use frozen shrimp?
You can use fresh or frozen shrimp/prawns in this recipe for shrimp fried rice. I prefer the texture of fresh, but frozen is often much more convenient. If you use frozen, fully thaw it and pat it dry before cooking it.
Can you make it ahead of time?
As I mentioned, the rice should be cooked a day before if possible. This shrimp with fried rice recipe is best served immediately when it is hot and even though you can refrigerate it for later, unfortunately, cooked shrimp doesn’t taste as good if it’s reheated the next day. This recipe serves four and is easily halved. I find it better to just cook what you need rather than planning for leftovers.
TIPS FROM NELI’S KITCHEN
Recipe Notes and Tips for Healthy Shrimp Fried Rice
- Use the largest skillet you have to make this shrimp rice recipe so you don’t overcrowd the ingredients. The rice and veggies need to fry and if they are overcrowded they will steam and can become soggy.
- Have your skillet on a medium-high to high heat and move the ingredients frequently so that they don’t burn.
- Take care not to overcook the shrimp. They only need a couple of minutes on each side and can become tough if overcooked.
- Make sure you use cooked and chilled rice for the best results.
- For Paleo or Whole30 options, you can sub the soy sauce with fish sauce and use cauliflower rice instead of regular rice.
More Rice Recipes
If you like this rice and shrimp recipe, check out these other reader favorites:
Shrimp Fried Rice
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Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil, or more to taste
- 1 lb large shrimp, deveined and tail off
- 3 Tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 3 cups cooked and chilled rice, I prefer jasmine or basmati rice
- ¾ cup frozen green peas, thawed
- 3-4 Tablespoons soy sauce, or fish sauce
- Green onions, chopped
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp to the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes on each side until translucent and opaque. Transfer to a plate.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, and season with a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Saute for about 3 – 4 minutes or until the carrots and onion are soft. Add minced garlic and ginger and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Move the vegetables to one side of the skillet (or set them aside on a plate if your skillet is small), and add an additional 1 tablespoon of butter to the other side of the skillet and stir until melted. Add whisked eggs to the empty side of the skillet and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. You don’t want to mix the eggs with the vegetables yet, you want them to be fluffy. When eggs are scrambled, you can mix them with the vegetables in the skillet.
- Add the last 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet and stir until melted. Immediately add the chilled rice, cooked shrimp, green peas, soy sauce, sesame oil, and stir until combined. Continue stirring for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice.
- Remove from heat. Add the sliced green onions and stir until combined. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- Use the largest skillet you have to make this recipe so you don’t overcrowd the ingredients. The rice and veggies need to fry and if they are overcrowded they will steam and can become soggy.
- Have your skillet on a medium high to high heat and move the ingredients frequently so that they don’t burn.
- Take care not to over cook the shrimp. They only need a couple of minutes on each side and can become tough if over cooked.
