The Best Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe for a Delicious Dinner in Under 30 Minutes

What is Shrimp Fried Rice?

You have some day-old rice in your refrigerator, and you want to put it to good use. You rummage in your refrigerator and discover a handful of ingredients. You have a few vegetables, some shrimp, half-empty bottles of soy sauce and oyster sauce, some lard, a few cloves of garlic, and some green onions. These scant resources are all you need to whip up a tasty meal. That too, in quick time, and without having to break a sweat.

All you need to do is throw all these ingredients into a wok, and fry them up. The sauce lends a degree of tanginess to the shrimp-rice-vegetable combination, while pepper and garlic add zest. Add a couple of eggs and your plain old rice is now elevated to headlining dish.

Unless you make it yourself, you won't believe how easily and quickly shrimp fried rice can be put together, and how adaptable it is. Fried rice can be paired not only with shrimp, but with just about any meat, and the result is just as delightful.

Fried rice is a fantastic example of kitchen resourcefulness, where ingredients that would have ordinarily been tossed into the garbage bin, are tossed into a wok instead and turned into a dish to savor. Is there a more ingenuous way of preventing food wastage!

Origins of Fried Rice

While you enjoy your bowl of steaming rice brimming with shrimp, eggs, carrots, onions, and peas, spare a thought for the origins of fried rice. This modest yet delectable comfort food has an illustrious history.

Although the precise beginnings of fried rice can't be pinpointed, it is believed to have emerged in the Chinese city of Yangzhou in the province of Jiangsu during the reign of the Sui dynasty, from 589 to 618 CE.

The fried rice invented in Yangzhou came to assume the name of its founding city and became famous as Yangzhou or Yangchow fried rice. The ingredients used in it are cooked rice (ideally a day old); a variety of animal protein sources like shrimp, roast pork, boiled or roasted duck or chicken, and egg; scallions; vegetables; soy sauce; and sometimes, Shaoxing wine. Till today, Yangzhou fried rice is the yardstick by which every other Chinese fried rice dish is judged, and is sold in America as house special fried rice.

Not surprisingly, the original purpose of fried rice was to use up leftover rice. Fried rice is a cheap, convenient meal, although it's also something of a compromise in China, where the preference is for fluffy, fresh white rice. It worked well for families at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum, who found a safe and tasty meal that they can consume even as they saved money.

The art of stir-frying that is used to prepare fried rice became widespread during the latter part of the Ming era (1368 CE to 1644 CE), and then spread beyond China's borders. The humble fried rice evolved over the years, adapting to various cultural influences and modifying itself to suit local tastes. There are fried rice versions from Thai and Japanese traditions too, and today fried rice is a popular dish across East Asia, South East Asia, and parts of South Asia.

Fried rice appeared in the US just under 200 years ago, arriving with Chinese immigrants during the California Gold Rush (1848-1855).

As gold was found in California, gold seekers arrived in droves from the rest of America and all over the world. Chinese immigrants, however, faced discrimination in the US and were forced into farm, factory, and railroad construction work. For these immigrants, fried rice served a twofold purpose- it helped them stay connected to their culture, and save money in the face of economic hardship.

Over time, Chinese immigrants moved into urban ghettos and started small restaurants of their own, where they continued to serve up this staple, though adapted cleverly to the American palette.

Ingredients for Your Shrimp Fried Rice

One of the best fried rice recipes around is the Instant Pot shrimp fried rice recipe perfected by recipe developer Hayley MacLean. It's an extremely easy fried rice dish that can be made at home in less than 30 minutes, with no special culinary skills required. The ingredients are enough for four servings. Here's what you need-

• 16 ounces of peeled, deveined, and tail-on shrimp
• 2 tablespoons of divided vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 small and diced white onion
• 1 cup of rinsed and drained long-grain white rice
• 2 medium-sized peeled and diced carrots
• 1 cup of water
• 3/4 cup of thawed and drained frozen peas
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• Pepper and salt to taste
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
• Sesame seeds for garnishing (optional)

Steps to Making Shrimp Fried Rice

1. Prepare your instant pot for sauteing on medium. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pot.
2. Take a small bowl and whisk the eggs. Add the eggs to the pot. Stir frequently until they are just cooked. Transfer the eggs onto a plate and put them aside.
3. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pot again and then add the shrimp. Don't add all the shrimp, but put enough in the instant pot so that they cover the pot's bottom in one layer.
4. Cook the shrimp on both sides until they are partially cooked and turn somewhat opaque. However, be careful not to overcook the shrimp to prevent them from turning rubbery. Put them on a plate and set them aside. The aforementioned steps should then be followed to par-cook the rest of the shrimp.
5. Add the garlic and white onion to the pot and cook for five minutes until they become fragrant and translucent. You need not clean the pot in between steps. In fact, leftover flavors from each step enrich the final dish.
6. Then pour the rice into the instant pot, and let it saute for about 20-30 seconds.
7. Add the shrimp, diced carrots, and water, and mix thoroughly. Lock the instant pot lid and let the contents pressure-cook for five minutes on a high setting.
8. After the cooking is complete, let the pressure release for about 10-15 minutes. Then quickly release the remaining pressure.
9. Lift the pot's lid and stir in the eggs, peas, sesame oil, and soy sauce.
10. Add pepper and salt to taste, and garnish with sesame seeds. Serve hot.

3 Perfect Side Dishes to go With Your Shrimp Fried Rice

There are many side dishes that go well with shrimp fried rice, but the ideal option is something light. Here are three side dishes to go with shrimp fried rice-

1. Broiled salmon- The savory and sweet flavor of the fried rice is perfectly complemented by the salmon's smoky flavor. Broil the salmon with pepper, salt, and slices of lemon in foil packets, and bake them for 15-20 minutes at high heat (400 F). Put the mixture on top of the fried rice and serve steaming hot. This way of cooking ensures that you capture every flavor, apart from the texture and moisture of both dishes.

2. Fried eggs- This Side Dish involves frying eggs sunny side up in oil, keeping the yolk runny. Fried eggs added on the top give the shrimp fried rice great texture and richness, without overwhelming the main dish.

3. Salad- Don't underestimate the value of a simple salad as a Side Dish to accompany your shrimp fried rice. In fact crisp, fresh carrots, lettuce, and cucumber provide a delightful contrast to the salty and savory flavor of the shrimp. If it's a complete meal you're after, stir fry some additional vegetables like bell pepper and broccoli and pair them with the fried rice.

Nutritional Benefits

How healthy is shrimp fried rice? We can find this out by looking at the nutritional profile of the dish. A cup of shrimp fried rice weighing around 200g contains around 55g of carbohydrates, 13g of proteins, and 6g of fat.

It also has minerals like sodium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, and the cancer-fighting selenium.

Shrimp fried rice has a significant amount of choline, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B3. It also provides you with folate, Vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B12, K, D, and E.

Each serving of shrimp fried rice contains around 125 mg of cholesterol and around 300 calories of energy.

The dish comprising rice, vegetables, and protein in the form of eggs and shrimp is a well-rounded meal. It can be made healthier by cutting down on sesame oil and butter.

Cooking Tips and Tricks

Here are a couple of tips and tricks that will ensure your shrimp fried rice is of the highest quality every time you make it, no matter what recipe you choose.

Fried rice is best made with cold, leftover rice. Previously cooked rice is drier, which will ensure that the dish won't end up soggy. Rice that is two-three days old works best. Ensure that the rice is not clumpy by rubbing it between your fingers before cooking.

Leave the rice overnight in the refrigerator. This will result in the grains firming up and separating easily, guaranteeing that the dish doesn't turn mushy. If you are in a hurry, use air to dry up freshly cooked rice, and place it in the fridge a few hours prior to preparation.

Always go for medium or long grains. Short-grain rice is softer and stickier, and not well suited for making fried rice. A good choice is medium-grain jasmine rice that is sturdy and fluffy and doesn't clump together or fall apart at the time of frying.

But, what will you do if there is no pre-cooked rice on hand? Restaurateur and chef Ming Tsai has an answer. According to Ming, a batch of rice that is freshly cooked can be put on a baking sheet and frozen for 25-30 minutes. This could be a good substitute, even though the fried rice won't have the rich texture that is possible with older rice. A couple of pouches of ready-to-serve rice may also be used.

As far as the shrimp is concerned, buy them fresh for the best flavor. Alternatively, you can make do with already cooked and frozen shrimp.

Let's now look at the cooking equipment. You would need a large wok. Make the wok blazing hot and add a sufficient amount of oil so that the ingredients don't get stuck to the wok surface. Preheat the wok before putting in the ingredients.

Packing your wok with ingredients will prevent it from heating up sufficiently. The ingredients will then become mushy, resulting in the rice clumping together.

It's best to cook the ingredients one by one and transfer them onto separate plates. They can then be emptied back into the pan during the final mixing of the ingredients and seasoning.

Talking of seasoning, avoid overdoing it. Simply add a little sauce, and a pinch of salt. Remember that rice can turn soggy with too much sauce.

Food Safety and Cooking

Let's conclude by examining the Food Safety requirements you should follow when preparing, storing, and reheating your shrimp fried rice.

Shrimp should be cooked till they turn opaque and pearly to render them safe for consumption. Rice, on the other hand, needs to be cooked past the temperature danger zone.

The temperature danger zone, in this regard, is a range between 40-140 F, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This is the temperature zone in which disease-causing germs rapidly multiply. The National Restaurant Association's training and certification service provider ServSafe puts the temperature danger zone between 41-135 F.

You need to also adhere to the general guidelines on hot holding, refrigeration, and reheating to ensure Health Safety.

Through a proper hot holding process, you can keep your shrimp fried rice hot before or during serving. You have to necessarily hot-hold it at a temperature above the 'danger zone'. If you are going to store the dish for later use, cold-hold it in a refrigerator at a temperature of 40 F or lower. Both, cooked rice and shrimp need strict temperature and time control.

Monitor the temperature of the dish every two hours, whether it is being hot-held or cold-held. If you are hot-holding your shrimp fried rice, ensure that it doesn't sit at temperatures lower than 140 F for more than four hours. Generally, make sure that no perishable food item stays at room temperature (68-72 F) for more than two hours. If the ambient temperature at the place where the food is being handled rises above 90 F, the food must be refrigerated within an hour. Cooked leftovers like fried rice have to be consumed within four days.

Leftover cooked rice can be reheated in a microwave oven or a frying pan with a splash of chicken broth or plain water. Food should generally be reheated to 165 F and held at that temperature for two minutes. Reheating food again and again may cause it to lose its natural flavors and nutritional value. Food should ideally be reheated only once.