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Skip the takeout this week and make this healthier shrimp fried rice in minutes at home. Made with brown rice and vegetables, this hearty stir fried dish is one delicious family meal.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Shrimp: Peel and devein the shrimp before quickly cooking on each side. Small size shrimp works best for stir fry, but any size is fine.
- Cooked brown rice: For best results, use cold leftover rice. When you refrigerate it, the rice becomes firm making it easier to separate and not become mushy.
- Eggs: Eggs are a classic ingredient in fried rice and add a great texture as well as protein. Scramble them with the rice until cooked through.
- Scallions: You’ll need both the green and white parts of the scallions. Save some of the prettier greens for garnish. In a pinch, you can also use yellow onions.
- Vegetables: We use carrots, scallions and peas for the vegetables in this recipe, but you can easily add other veggies like mushrooms, corn or bell pepper.
- Garlic and ginger: Use freshly minced garlic and ginger for the best flavor.
- Soy sauce: Soy sauce adds a salty and tamari flavor, and is a key ingredients in Chinese cooking. If gluten-free, you can use Tamari or coconut aminos.
- Olive oil & toasted sesame seed oil: Olive oil is used to cook the shrimp and vegetables and sesame oil is added for flavor. The olive oil can be replaced with avocado oil or your cooking oil for choice.
How to make shrimp fried rice
- Cook the shrimp on both sides until pink and opaque.
- Remove the shrimp and cook the scallions, garlic and ginger until soft and fragrant.
- Add the rice and eggs to the skillet and cook until the eggs are cooked through.
- Add the vegetables and seasonings.
- Stir to combine.
- Add the shrimp back to the skillet to warm through.
Tips for making the recipe fried rice
- Use day old rice. Whether you use white or brown rice, the day old rice is key to perfecting homemade fried rice the way restaurants make it. Cold rice separates more easily so it can cook rapidly to achieve that burnt smoky flavor that you get at restaurants.
- Be careful not to overcook the shrimp. Shrimp cooks quickly and only needs a couple of minutes on each side. Over cooking it can lead to tough and chewy shrimp.
- Make it spicier. We like to finish the dish with a garnish of chili flakes, but if you like things spicier, you can add a chopped red chili to the dish when you cook the garlic and ginger. You can also stir in some sriracha once it is cooked for an extra burst of flavor and spice.
- Swap the protein. If you don’t have shrimp, or prefer to use a different protein, it’s easy to adapt this dish. You can use cubed, ground or shredded chicken, turkey or beef. To make this dish meat-free, marinated tofu works great.
Frequently asked questions
You can use fresh or frozen shrimp for this recipe. If using frozen, make sure that the shrimp is fully defrosted and pat dry to remove excess moisture before cooking.
We love this dish with brown rice, it not only adds some whole grains to your plate, but it also has a great nutty flavor which adds depth to the dish. You can use white rice if you prefer.
This shrimp fried rice will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days. Let it cool and store in an airtight container to keep it fresh. Reheat it in a skillet or wok on a medium heat stirring occasionally, until the shrimp is heated through. If the shrimps aren’t added to the fried rice, it will keep well for up to 7 days.
It’s so quick and easy to make this shrimp fried rice at home. You’ll notice that by controlling the ingredients in this homemade version, it ends up being a healthier alternative to takeout. The fresh flavors is this fried rice are so delicious but it’s also great or using up odds and ends you have in your fridge!
More asian inspired recipes :
- Asian Noodle Salad
- Thai Peanut Chicken Stir Fry
- Chicken Lo Mein
- Honey Walnut Shrimp
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
If you try this healthy-ish feel good Shrimp Fried Rice recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Shrimp Fried Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 pound uncooked shrimp peeled and deveined, tails removed
- 1 bunch scallions thinly sliced
- 3 large cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 1 inch knob fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
- 4 cups cooked brown rice day old rice is ideal
- 4 large eggs whisked
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup soy sauce or more to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- Crushed red pepper for serving
Instructions
- Pat shrimp dry with paper towels and generously salt all over.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook until opaque and slightly pink, 2 minutes per side. Remove with tongs and set aside on a plate.
- In same pan, add remaining tablespoon olive oil. Add scallions, reserving some greens for garnish, garlic, and ginger and cook until softened and fragrant, 3 minutes. Add rice and eggs and cook until egg is cooked through, 3 minutes. Add carrots, peas, soy sauce, and sesame oil and mix to combine.
- Add shrimp back and season rice to taste with more soy sauce and black pepper, as needed. Serve with reserved scallion greens and crushed red pepper.
Notes
Nutrition
Wonderful recipe Yumna, please keep creating!
Thank you!!
I made this yesterday. Eating it 2nd day now, sooooo delicious!! 👌👌👌
Love that! Yay!!
The recipe was amazingg😍😍👌👌it’s full of nutrients and helped me clean up my freezer by using leftover rice
Thank you so much!!
I made this yesterday. Eating it 2nd day now, sooooo delicious!! 👌👌👌
That makes me so happy to hear! Glad you’re enjoying it.
This recipe is amazing 🤩 full of nutrients and helped me clear out my freezer by using left over rice 😍
Thank you! That’s great!!
how much ginger is in a 1-1 inch knob?
I would guesstimate it’s about half a tablespoon to one tablespoon of ginger.
I’m going to try it, looks delicious
Yay! Let me know what you think once you do.