Easy Shrimp Fried Rice Made at Home!
One of my easy & better than takeout recipe meals is my shrimp fried rice. It’s a one skillet meal that’s so tasty & delicious. It’s super fulfilling & is a sure crowd pleaser. It literally takes less than 25 minutes to make. This is the perfect weeknight or weekend meal! Especially when you’re in a rush or want to switch it up a bit in the kitchen.
My shrimp fried rice recipe is packed with a ton of flavor & loaded with seasoned shrimp. The shrimp is marinated in a little drizzle of oil, seasoned black pepper, Cajun seasoning & some smoked paprika. This fried rice is packed with some good tasting veggies such as fresh garlic, green onion, peas, carrots, & diced onion. The soy sauce combined with the oyster sauce gives this fried rice so much bold flavor. And last but not least- this yummy rice is Topped off with a delicious garlic butter.
I recommend preparing the garlic butter the day before & allowing the butter to soak up the combined flavors from the fresh garlic, green onion, & soy sauce.
GARLIC BUTTER RECIPE
Ingredients:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 to 1 tsp fresh garlic (minced) or garlic paste
1/2 to 1 tsp Kikkoman soy sauce
Directions:
1). First, allow the butter to soften and come to room temperature.
2). Then, purée the fresh minced garlic using garlic press or with a knife. (Alternative: you can use garlic paste instead)
3). Once the butter has softened, add the butter and garlic to a small bowl.
4). Slowly add the soy sauce to the garlic butter mixture until it’s totally incorporated, and no liquid remains at the bottom of the bowl.
***Note: You can store the butter in a covered container in the refrigerator for a few days to 1 week.
I promise- You don’t have to worry about greasy rice or mushy fried rice because this is the perfect takeout recipe made at home. I love the fact that I can have a yummy meal within a few minutes & it doesn’t take a lot of work.
A few tips & tricks for the best fried rice:
- If you’re allergic to oyster sauce- you can omit it from the recipe & your fried rice will still come out tasting delicious.
- Feel free to switch out regular soy sauce for low sodium soy sauce.
- I also recommend using fresh shrimp, but if you’re short on time you can use precooked shrimp.
- If you don’t want to season the shrimp with the spices listed. Just drizzle some soy sauce over the shrimp & sauté in the oil until fully cooked.
- Don’t bother thawing out the frozen peas & carrots. Just toss it in the skillet & sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Prepare the rice the day before for the best results. No need to add any butter to cook the rice. If you want to just drizzle a little bit of olive oil to the boiling water & cook the rice according to your package instructions.
- Note: You can cook the rice the day of! Once the rice is done, allow it to cool off or be at room temperature. Then, Stick the rice in the fridge for at least 1 hour .
- If you don’t have leftover rice on hand or don’t want to cook a batch, use two pouches of ready-to-serve rice.
- You can take your rice up a notch by adding some fresh ginger and/or frozen corn.
- It’s optional to add a pinch of your favorite fried rice seasoning. It’s just something I like to do. If you don’t add it- your rice will still taste just as delicious!
Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 to 1 Ib Small Shrimp (peeled & deveined)
- 1/8 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- 1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
- Sesame oil
- 1 to 2 Tbsp Garlic butter
- 2 cups Cooked Rice
- 1/4 cup Onion (diced)
- 2 to 3 Cloves Garlic (diced)
- 1/4 cup Green onion (diced)
- 1/3 cup Frozen Peas & Carrots
- Soy sauce (Start out with adding a little bit of soy sauce & gradually add more until your fried rice is to your desired preference).
- 2 to 3 Tbsp Oyster sauce
- 2 to 3 Eggs
- Pinch of brown sugar
- Pinch of fried rice seasoning
GARLIC BUTTER RECIPE
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 to 1 tsp fresh garlic minced or garlic paste
- 1/2 to 1 tsp Kikkoman soy sauce
Instructions
Garlic Butter Recipe:
- First, allow the butter to soften and come to room temperature.
- Then, purée the fresh minced garlic using garlic press or with a knife. (Alternative: you can use garlic paste instead)
- Once the butter has softened, add the butter and garlic to a small bowl.
- Slowly add the soy sauce to the garlic butter mixture until it’s totally incorporated, and no liquid remains at the bottom of the bowl.
- Note: You can store the butter in a covered container in the refrigerator for a few days to 1 week.
Fried Rice Recipe:
- Prepare the rice & garlic butter the day before.
- Tip: If you forget to prepare the rice the day before, you can cook the rice the same day. Once the rice is done, allow it to cool off. Then place in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Prep the onion, garlic, & green onion beforehand. Dice it into smaller pieces.
- Clean & devein the shrimp beforehand. Pat dry with a paper towel.
- Drizzle a small amount of oil over the shrimp, then season with the Cajun seasoning, black pepper & smoked paprika. Mix the ingredients together & set aside.
- Over medium high heat, drizzle some oil in a wok or skillet & allow the oil to get hot.
- Add the shrimp & cook for 2 to 4 minutes.
- Once the shrimp has been properly cooked, remove from pan & set aside.
- Next, add the sliced onion, frozen peas, and carrots. Stir for 2 minutes.
- Note: feel free to add more oil If you need to throughout the cooking time.
- Add the whisked eggs and allow the eggs to cook. Scramble throughout cooking time.
- Once the eggs are done, move to one side of the pan and add the fresh diced garlic.
- Sauté the garlic for a few seconds or until it becomes fragrant.
- Add the cooked rice & mix it into the other ingredients.
- Drizzle soy sauce & oyster sauce over the rice. Start in small increments & increase until the rice is to your desired preference.
- Add the cooked shrimp, garlic onion, & garlic butter.
- Add a pinch of brown sugar & stir.
- Optional: add a pinch of fried rice seasoning or white pepper and mix into the fried rice.
- Do a taste test of your fried rice & make any adjustments if needed.
- Once the rice is done, serve immediately. Enjoy.
