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Better than Takeout Fried Rice with Shrimp
Making perfectly fluffy, better than takeout fried rice at home is easy. It's all about 3 important steps – follow the recipe below and you'll never have clumpy fried rice again!
Equipment
- 1 bowl or measuring cup
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry white rice, rinsed well
- 300 g shrimp, tails removed (see Note 1)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper, divided
- Cooking spray or 1 tbsp avocado oil
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup frozen carrots (see Note 2)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- ½ tsp MSG
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- Green onions, thinly sliced, to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop then chill for 2-3 hours or overnight (if you're making it the same day, leave it uncovered in the fridge)
- Pat the shrimp dry then season on both sides with salt and ½ tsp white pepper
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat then spray with avocado oil
- Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until pink and cooked through then remove from the pan and set aside (for large shrimp, chop once slightly cooled)
- Spray with a little more avocado oil then add the onion
- Sauté for 4-5 minutes until softened then add the garlic and frozen peas and carrots
- Cook for 2-3 minutes then add the rice and break up any clumps with a spatula
- In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, ½ tsp white pepper and the MSG
- Pour the sauce over the rice then mix
- Let cook for 8-10 minutes or until the sauce is FULLY absorbed and no liquid remains in the pan
- Push the rice to the side and add the eggs
- Break up the yolk and gently scramble the eggs, then let them cook without stirring
- Once the egg is fully cooked, break it up with a spatula, then return the shrimp to the pan and toss
- Top with toasted sesame oil and mix then serve
The rice needs to be cooked in advance to make sure there's no remaining moisture when it's added to the dish
It's crucial to ensure that all the sauce has been absorbed and the pan is dry before moving on to the next step
If you stir the egg into the rice before it's fully cooked, you'll coat the rice in liquid and it will steam instead of frying which will result in a sticky, clumpy texture
Notes
Note 1: You can use any size of shrimp for this recipe. I weigh the shrimp after removing the tails. You can also use cubed chicken breast instead of shrimp. Follow the same steps but increase the cooking time to 8-10 minutes.
Note 2: You can use raw carrots, but it will increase the cooking time. If you’re using raw carrots, add them at the same time as the onion and cook for 8-10 minutes. If I don’t have frozen carrots on hand, my trick is to cut a medium carrot into sticks then steam it in the steamer basket of my rice cooker to cut down on the cooking time.
Nutrition Facts in the recipe card below are calculated automatically and may be inaccurate. For more accurate nutrition information, refer to the macros below. Macros in the Recipe Notes section are calculated using a Macro Calculation App but will differ slightly based on ingredients used in individual variations. Nutritional information for this recipe is based on one serving.
Macros per serving: 563 calories/38g protein/70g carbs/14g fat
Nutrition
Serving: 1 servingCalories: 555kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 48gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 405mgSodium: 2745mgPotassium: 1016mgFiber: 8gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 13540IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 212mgIron: 5mg
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