The best of Chinese takeout with stir fried rice with prawns at home! It's easy to make a family favourite and save time and money.
We love to make copycat recipes at home. I will admit to getting Chinese carryout as a guilty pleasure at times! There's just something about the taste, am I right? But we've nailed down the keys to perfect fried rice at home here!
Try Venison Teriyaki Stir Fry, which can be served over rice or noodles. Another crowd pleaser is Sweet & Sour Meatballs which are super easy to just let simmer away.
Key Ingredients
Rice - Day old cooked rice is key here! It will keep your stir fry from being mushy. I also stirred in a can of coconut oil for good fats.
Protein - Shrimp and egg add a tasty bit of protein to make this a full meal on its own.
Onion - I like garlic, yellow onion, and green onions here.
Sauce - Soy sauce and oyster sauce are the key combo to takeout taste.
How to Make Shrimp Fried Rice
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Sauté onions until softened.
Step 2: Add shrimp or other protein and just until just done.
Step 3: Scramble eggs on one side of the pan.
Step 4: Add cold rice!
Step 5: Gently break up the rice, allowing clumps to remain.
Step 6: Stir in sauces and seasonings and serve.
FAQs
If you want to perfect that carryout taste at home, then yes - you'll need a couple specialty ingredients. But they will be used in lots of dishes that have the same profile, and the bottles are small enough and stable enough to last a good long while. Sesame oil and oyster sauce are items you will really want to keep in the pantry to make dishes like this one!
So while people use prawn and shrimp quite interchangeably, often prawn is referring to larger specimens. This is the star of the dish so look for hefty ones for presentation. But if serving to children, you can peel and remove the tails to make it easy on them. Another way to make this a pantry-friendly quick meal is to keep cans of salad shrimp on hand to quickly stir into rice.
Not a fan of shrimp or can't get to the store? Dice up chicken breast very small so it cooks quickly and is easy to eat. You can also dice up cooked ham or use bacon crumbles. Cooking the onions in bacon fat will add a tasty level of flavor.
We have found that the key to the perfect stir fried rice texture is using cold rice, and especially if you cooked it yesterday. This gives the starches time to settle and allows you to have some clumps. Keep it in the fridge until you are ready to add to the pan. Also make sure you don't break up all the clumps into individual grains of rice to help with that texture.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
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Stir Fried Rice with Prawns
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil optional
- 1 large onion diced
- 16 - 20 prawns fresh or thawed if frozen
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups cooked rice day old and chilled in fridge
- 1 can coconut milk optional
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 green onions sliced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh cilantro for topping
- Bean sprouts for topping
Instructions
- Heat olive and sesame oils in a large skillet or wok on medium heat and toss in the diced onions and minced garlic and stir and sauté for a few minutes.
- Add prawns or whatever protein you are using, and stir fry with onions until prawns are lightly cooked on both sides, for another few minutes.
- Crack and whisk eggs thoroughly. Move prawns/protein and onions to one side of the skillet and add eggs in the rest of the pan, stirring up in to a light scramble on the side quickly.
- Now add your cold rice en masse and start to break it apart with a spatula without mashing it up. The coldness helps keep the rice firm. Continue until rice is no longer in large clumps and evenly distributed throughout the fry.
- Splash the sauces on top of the stir fry and add ¾ of your green onions, keeping some aside for topping. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Cook everything together on low heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Serve on plates or bowls while hot and top with pieces of cilantro and bean sprouts.
Notes
- Leftovers will keep for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet with a splash of water or soy sauce.
- Use any protein you like such as ham, small diced chicken, or bacon.
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