15-Minute Shrimp Fried Rice

This shrimp fried rice is quick and easy to make, yet packed with scrumptious flavor to satisfy your cravings. Loaded with shrimp, scrambled eggs with aromas of garlic, onion, and scallions, this is the ultimate comfort meal for the busy days. Best of all, it takes only 15 minutes to make using a handful of ingredients! 

The winner for all busy weeknights

Fried rice will always be one of my favorite things to make – not only because it is incredibly satisfying but so quick and easy to put together. It’s also one of the most versatile dishes you can make, and a staple in every Asian kitchen.

One of my favorite kinds of fried rice, aside from my Kimchi Fried Rice, is this exact recipe I am sharing with you today. It truly is the ideal fried rice recipe – bringing together only the essential ingredients to make a batch of fried rice that tastes similar, if not better than takeout joints!

The biggest mission in my blog is to share recipes that are incredibly easy to make yet truly satisfy your taste buds, and this recipe is truly a testament to that principle. It’s also another one-pan recipe similar to my Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry and Shrimp Pad Thai recipes. Less cleanup, the better!

What do I need to make shrimp fried rice?

This recipe has been simplified enough to make your process easy and quick, yet has all the aromas and flavors needed to satisfy all your cravings. Here is a list of ingredients you will need:

• Vegetable oil: or any cooking oil of choice
• Cooked rice: preferably day old; cooked the day prior and stored in the fridge overnight. This helps to dry the grains out enough to yield the most ideal texture for fried rice, preventing it from getting mushy and soggy during the cooking process.
• Small shrimp: pre-cooked or raw, to be lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
• Green onion, garlic, and yellow onion: for the aromatics
• Eggs: to be lightly scrambled and mixed into the rice
• Soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds: for the seasoning

How do you make the best shrimp fried rice?

Fried rice is one of the easiest dishes to make, however the essential tips I’ll be sharing with you today will make your procedure a lot more seamless! Here are some important tips to make the best shrimp fried rice:

Which kind of rice should do I use?

• Use day-old rice if possible. The best time to make fried rice is when you have leftover rice! I find it helpful to keep individual portions of rice in the fridge or freezer to use for these types of cooking, and they are always handy.
  • If you don’t have any of these options, you can also add a little less water to your rice when cooking (I use a Korean pressure rice cooker to do the job for me), and let it cool prior to use.
    • Using day-old or cold rice will prevent the grains from sticking together and get mushy during the stir-frying process.
  • In your regular cooking sessions, I recommend making more portions of rice than usual, and placing each serving of rice (about 250g) into a freezer-safe storage bag, and storing them in your freezer.
    • When properly stored, cooked rice will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
    • To reheat the rice, simply pop it into the microwave until heated through, adding about a tablespoon of water when serving it separately. This trick has been a true lifesaver for many years!
• Even though I love my multigrain rice on my usual days, it’s important to use plain white rice for this recipe. The aromas of multigrain or scented rice will overshadow the fragrant notes of the shrimp fried rice, and often ruin the taste.

Additional tips & tricks

• Prepare all the ingredients in advance. Stir fry dishes are meant to be quick and seamless and preparing all your components in advance will make your process a lot easier!
• Pre-season your shrimp. If you are using frozen shrimp which is most likely the case, they will defrost quickly in cold water. Pat them dry with a paper towel, and season with salt and pepper prior to stir-frying. This will ensure the flavors of the shrimp are elevated for the fried rice!
• Optionally add more vegetables of your choice.
• I highly recommend using a non-stick wok like this to ease your cooking process.
  • This is essential cookware to use for any stir-fry dishes, including this one. A wok distributes heat very evenly on the entire surface, and the curvature allows the food to be tossed around without causing a mess.
• If you want to plate the rice as shown in the photos/video, it’s very easy to do! All you need is a small rice bowl, which you will add the shrimps into the bottom of the bowl (which will be flipped to be displayed at the top), and pack the rest of the bowl with the rice.
  • Pack it tightly with a rice spoon or a regular spoon, place a serving dish on top, and quickly and carefully flip over to plate the rice. Garnish with some parsley if preferred, and voila! A picture-perfect fried rice dish that’s also visually appetizing.

And that’s it! This is one of my most cherished recipes of all time, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 🙂

I hope you enjoy this easy and delicious recipe, and please feel free to leave a comment below or message me on Instagram for any questions!

Other easy dinner recipes you may like:

• 15-Minute Yaki Udon (Stir-Fried Udon Noodles)
• Dubu Jorim (Korean Braised Tofu)
• Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry
• 15-Minute Pad See Ew (Thai Stir-Fried Noodles)
• Kimchi Fried Rice with Tuna