This shrimp fried rice is the easiest (and yummiest!) way to use up all of the leftover rice + veggies in your fridge.
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This recipe is…
I love a good fried rice dish and this one lives up to all of my greatest fried rice expectations. This recipe is the easiest, complete meal ever, and — bonus! — it also happens to be the very best way to use up ANY leftover rice (and veggies!) you have hanging out in the fridge. Family friendly and super easy to pull off, this dish is perfect for both busy weeknights and easy weekends.
Is shrimp fried rice healthy?
I think so! It’s loaded with veggies, protein, energizing carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Take a look at the ingredients list, though, and make sure that you feel really good about it — if you know your body tolerates everything well, it’s a healthy choice for you!
Recipe Ingredients
Below, you’ll find everything you’ll need for homemade shrimp fried rice!
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – to start, you’ll need 1 tablespoon of either extra-virgin olive oil or ghee.
- Shallot – 1 large diced shallot (or ½ of an onion if you don’t have a shallot!) heads into the hot oiled skillet first.
- Ginger – a 1-inch piece of peeled and grated ginger adds really delicious flavor to the dish.
- Garlic – to up the flavor even more, you’ll also need 3 cloves of grated garlic.
- Carrots – as for veggies, you’ll need 1 cup of shredded carrots, along with…
- Snow Peas – …1 cup of snow peas.
- Green Onions – for more flavor and some added color, you’ll also need 1 bunch of green onions that have been cut into 1-inch long pieces.
- Shrimp – 1 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp acts as the protein here.
- Soy Sauce – a ¼-⅓ cup of soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free) heads into the pan to give a salty umami to the dish.
- Rice Vinegar – you’ll also need 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar.
- Fish Sauce – 1 teaspoon of fish sauce adds a nice brininess to the dish. If you don’t love the flavor of fish sauce, either reduce the amount or omit it altogether.
- Sesame Oil – 1 tablespoon of sesame oil gets added into the mix too! You’ll need an extra teaspoon of sesame oil for frying your egg.
- Red Pepper Flakes – for a kick of spice, you’ll also add a ¼ of a teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the skillet. If spice isn’t your thing, feel free to reduce or omit this ingredient also!
- White Rice – what would fried rice be without rice?! For this recipe, you’ll need 4 cups of cooked, white rice. The very best rice to use here is day-old (or several days-old) rice that’s been in the fridge and has had the chance to dry out a bit!
- Egg – 1 egg gets fried and added to the dish just before serving.
Ingredient Modifications
There are all kinds of modifications that can be done with this fried rice recipe! A few that we know will work really well…
- Change the protein: don’t like shrimp? No problem! Use chicken thighs, chicken breasts, or thinly sliced steak instead. Follow the instructions in the recipe for cooking it, or (if you have it), use an already-cooked, leftover protein and just toss it in the skillet for a heat-through.
- Use different veggies: the veggie options are endless here. Use any veggies you have hanging out in the fridge already. Bell peppers, green peas, green beans, mushrooms, and broccoli would all be delicious here.
- Make it gluten-free: use tamari instead of soy sauce to make this recipe GF!
- Make it egg-free: though egg is a pretty common fried rice ingredient, it certainly isn’t a must. If you need to be egg-free (or just prefer an egg-less fried rice), simply omit it!
What type of shrimp is best when making an easy shrimp fried rice?
Don’t worry too much about the type of shrimp you buy — whatever you can find is great! Something to note: you can buy already peeled and deveined shrimp at the store (my preference) or peel and devein the shrimp at home. Also, the person working the fish counter at your local grocery store is an excellent resource for any questions you may have about the specific shrimp variations available!
How to Make Shrimp Fried Rice
The process is super easy! Here’s how you’ll bring this fried rice dish together:
- Cook the veggies – heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil runs thin, add the shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes, until translucent, then add the ginger, garlic, carrots, green onions, and snow peas. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until the carrots and peas are softened.
- Add the shrimp – add the shrimp to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes, then flip and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until the shrimp begins to curl in on itself.
- Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes – pour the soy sauce (or tamari), rice vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes into the pan and toss to coat the shrimp and veggies in it.
- Add the rice – add the rice to the pan and stir to coat the rice in the sauce and combine all of the veggies. Cook for 3-4 minutes, without stirring, then flip. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, until the rice begins to brown.
- Fry the egg – while the rice is crisping, heat a separate, small skillet over medium heat and add the teaspoon of sesame oil. Beat the egg in a bowl, pour it into the skillet, and fry it. Once cooked, chop it up and add to the fried rice.
- Stir and serve – stir everything together until well combined, serve, and enjoy!
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftover fried rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You can either heat your leftover shrimp fried rice in the microwave or in a skillet on the stovetop. I typically go the microwave route if I’m heating just one serving, but opt for a skillet reheat when I’m heating more than one serving. Both methods work, so choose whichever works best for you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! I personally prefer chicken thighs in a chicken fried rice because they’re crispier on the outside and juicier on the inside than chicken breasts, but chicken breasts will work too if that’s what you have on hand/prefer. If you plan on using chicken instead of shrimp, simply chop the raw chicken thighs or breasts and add it in once the carrots and peas are softened (the same time that you’d add the shrimp). Cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side, until fully cooked through!
This recipe calls for carrots, snow peas, and green onions, but truly, any veggie will do. Green beans, bell peppers, and mushrooms would all make excellent veggie additions (or swaps).
Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, your shrimp fried rice will last for 5 days.
Because this fried rice is a complete meal all on its own, I don’t typically serve it alongside anything else (that’s actually one of my favorite things about this dish). If you want to serve it with something else, though, a side of simple steamed vegetables (think: broccoli or bok choy) are great nutritional adds.
More Favorite Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or ghee
- 1 large shallot or ½ of an onion, diced
- 1- inch piece of fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 3 cloves of garlic grated
- 1 cup carrots shredded
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1 bunch green onions cut into 1-inch long pieces
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- ¼-⅓ cup soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cups white rice cooked
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil runs thin, add the shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes, until translucent, then add the ginger, garlic, carrots, green onions, and snow peas. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until the carrots and peas are softened.
- Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes, then flip and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until the shrimp begins to curl in on itself.
- Pour the soy sauce (or tamari), rice vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes into the pan and toss to coat the shrimp and veggies in it.
- Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat the rice in the sauce and combine all of the veggies. Cook for 3-4 minutes, without stirring, then flip. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, until the rice begins to brown.
- While the rice is crisping, heat a separate, small skillet over medium heat and add the teaspoon of sesame oil. Beat the egg in a bowl, pour it into the skillet, and fry it. Once cooked, chop it up and add to the fried rice.
- Stir everything together until well combined, serve, and enjoy!
Nutrition
This was super tasty. We didn’t have sesame oil but still turned out great – used olive oil instead. I’m not sure I would agree this meal took less than 30 minutes – lots of chopping and grating, but still very good and will make again.
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us, Jaynie! I am glad that you enjoyed! I also appreciate the feedback on the total time. We will definitely take that into consideration when updating the recipe card! ~Melissa