I made shrimp fried rice and it worked! I even used brown rice with no difficulty! I owe my success to Jaden of Steamy Kitchen who spares no detail in explaining how to achieve fantastic fried rice. I thought about not even bothering to post the recipe myself, and instead link you directly to her site, but I’ve decided to do both. I made a few slight changes to the ingredients but I followed her directions exactly. If you are considering making this recipe, please follow this link to read her rules for the best fried rice. And then stick to them. Unless, of course, you’re already a pro with a wok, and then I feel embarrassed because I’m such a novice. I’m still elated that I had my rice dancing in the skillet, and the eggs cooked to perfection, and that my husband kept mouthing “this is so good!” in between forkfuls of tender shrimp and rice!

I thought the flavor was very very good. But I was craving a little more kick. Nothing that I presume garlic couldn’t solve. So next time I’ll add a few cloves and see what happens. I just realized I might need to enroll in some sort of garlic addiction recovery program. I can’t make a recipe anymore without throwing some in. It seems wrong not too!

I can’t emphasize enough- strictly adhere to the instructions on the method of cooking. If you do, your fried rice will work like a charm. You’ll masterfully replicate the Chinese takeout favorite. My second piece of advise would be to prep all of your ingredients before you begin. There’s no time to chop and measure once you start frying. In a hot wok, things cook fast, and you’ll become flustered and most likely ruin the recipe. So be ready to go with your ingredients lined up next to your stove. This goes for any form of stir-frying- if you are prepared you have a much better chance of success!

Shrimp Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS

8 oz. small uncooked shrimp
1/4 tsp salt (or 1/2 tsp. kosher salt)
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
3 eggs, beaten
2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
4 cups leftover cooked brown rice, grains separated well (I recommend using day-old par-boiled brown rice, the grains are much less sticky)
3/4 cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted (I used 1/2 cup frozen peas and about 1/2 cup freshly grated carrot)
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce + 1 tsp. extra to taste
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

DIRECTIONS

(direct from Steamy Kitchen)
1. In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the salt, pepper and cornstarch. Let marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the pan is hot enough for a bead of water to instantly sizzle and evaporate, add just 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat pan.

2. Add the shrimp, quickly spreading out around the cooking surface area so that they are not overlapping. Let fry, untouched for 30 seconds. Flip over and let the other side fry for 30 seconds, or until about 80% cooked through. Remove the shrimp from the pan onto a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

3. Turn the heat to medium, let the pan heat up again. Add the eggs, stirring in a quick motion to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through (they should still be slightly runny in the middle), dish out of the pan into the same plate as the cooked shrimp.

4. Use paper towels to wipe the same wok or sauté pan clean and return to high heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, swirling to coat. When the oil is very hot, add the green onions and fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add in the rice and stir well to mix in the green onions throughout. Spread the rice all around the wok surface area and let the rice heat up, untouched until you hear the bottoms of the grains sizzle, about 1-2 minutes. Use the spatula to toss the rice, again spreading the rice out over the surface of wok.

5. Drizzle the soy sauce all around the rice and toss. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked eggs, shrimp and sesame oil, tossing to mix the rice evenly with all of the ingredients. Let everything heat back up again, until the rice grains are so hot they practically dance! Taste and add an additional 1 teaspoon of soy sauce if needed.

Serves 2-4.

(Adapted from Simply Recipes and Steamy Kitchen)