Easy Shrimp Fried Rice

Once you’ve tried this easy 30 minute weeknight dinner recipe & cooked up a delicious pan full of Shrimp Fried Rice, takeout just might become a thing of the past! 

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How about a quick, easy, and colorful weeknight dinner recipe to brighten up a dreary winter’s day? Easy Shrimp Fried Rice could just as easily become chicken fried rice (use leftover chopped cooked chicken…), or it could contain broccoli and mushrooms instead of peas & carrots… or it could be an easy veggie side rice side dish… or, well: You can mix it up with whatever protein + veggies seems good to you, or whatever you have on hand on a given weeknight!

I went with shrimp today because I found a handy bag of easy-peasy peeled, deveined, and tail-off shrimp on special buy at ALDI — and then, I added the peas & carrots for a traditional U.S. Chinese restaurant presentation.

Easy Shrimp Fried Rice

Ingredients

– for the shrimp

12 oz frozen peeled, deveined medium shrimp (I used tail off)
1 Tbsp olive or canola oil (I prefer olive oil to cook shrimp, but use your own preference)
Black pepper, to taste

– for the veggies and rice

2 Tbsp canola or other high smoke point oil, divided
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 of a medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced small
1 Tbsp minced garlic (about six cloves)
1 cup frozen peas
1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (use less if you’re sensitive to heat)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 cups cold cooked rice
2 eggs

Directions

Thaw shrimp by putting them in a colander in the sink and running cold water over them for a few minutes, tossing shrimp and moving the colander around so that all the shrimp get exposed to the water. Drain well.

Heat olive oil in a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add shrimp to pan, season with black pepper, and cook about three minutes until bright pink and opaque, stirring frequently. Remove the cooked shrimp to a separate bowl, then drain and wipe out the pan.

Turn heat back to medium-high and add 1 Tbsp canola oil to the pan. Once shimmering, add the carrot, onion, and sesame oil and cook for about four minutes until nicely browned. Stir in garlic, peas, and crushed red pepper and continue cooking for about 30 seconds, then stir in the rice and spread it out in the pan, breaking up clumps. Let the rice cook undisturbed for two minutes, then stir in the soy sauce, spread out again, and let cook undisturbed for another two minutes.

Meanwhile, beat eggs in a small bowl. Push rice to the edges of the pan to create an open well in the center, then add 1 Tbsp canola oil to the center of the pan. Pour the beaten eggs into the center of the pan and cook for about two minutes until scrambled, occasionally pushing the egg to the middle and breaking it up. Stir and chop the cooked scrambled eggs into the rice.

Stir the cooked shrimp back into your fried rice, then taste to see if you need additional soy sauce, to taste.

Note: You can chop the shrimp before adding back into the rice if desired — I just left mine whole for a prettier presentation. 🙂 You can also optionally top with Sriracha and/or chopped green onions for an additional kick. Also note, on the rice: Cold cooked leftover rice works much better for fried rice than freshly cooked, and it’s also important for the final texture to let the rice sit spread out in the pan undisturbed for a while as directed, rather than stirring frequently.

Copycat Shrimp Fried Rice is better than takeout!

Once you try this simple 30 minute weeknight dinner recipe & create your own tasty shrimp fried rice, takeout just might become a thing of your past! Easy shrimp fried rice makes for a simple all-in-one crowd pleasing dinner, or you can pair it with homemade egg drop soup, a stir fry side, or fruit to make for a heartier meal.

Easy Shrimp Fried Rice, printable recipe

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5 from 2 votes

Easy Shrimp Fried Rice

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Once you've tried this easy 30 minute weeknight dinner recipe & cooked up a delicious pan full of Shrimp Fried Rice, takeout just might become a thing of the past! 

Course dinner

Cuisine fried rice

Keyword 30 minute meals, fried rice, shrimp, shrimp fried rice, weeknight dinner

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rachel Singer

Ingredients

– for the shrimp

• 12 oz frozen peeled deveined medium shrimp (I used tail off)
• 1 Tbsp olive or canola oil (I prefer olive oil to cook shrimp, but use your own preference)
• Black pepper to taste

– for the veggies and rice

• 2 Tbsp canola or other high smoke point oil divided
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 of a medium yellow onion diced
• 1 medium carrot peeled and diced small
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic about six small cloves
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper use less if you're sensitive to heat
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce plus more to taste
• 4 cups cold cooked rice
• 2 eggs

Instructions

• Thaw shrimp by putting them in a colander in the sink and running cold water over them for a few minutes, tossing shrimp and moving the colander around so that all the shrimp get exposed to the water. Drain well.
• Heat olive oil in a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add shrimp to pan, season with black pepper, and cook about three minutes until bright pink and opaque, stirring frequently. 
• Remove the cooked shrimp to a separate bowl, then drain and wipe out the pan.
• Turn heat back to medium-high and add 1 Tbsp canola oil to the pan. Once shimmering, add the carrot, onion, and sesame oil and cook for about four minutes until nicely browned. 
• Stir in garlic, peas, and crushed red pepper and continue cooking for about 30 seconds, then stir in the rice and spread it out in the pan, breaking up clumps.
•  Let the rice cook undisturbed for two minutes, then stir in the soy sauce, spread out again, and let cook undisturbed for another two minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat eggs in a small bowl. Push rice to the edges of the pan to create an open well in the center, then add 1 Tbsp canola oil to the center of the pan.
• Pour the beaten eggs into the center of the pan and cook for about two minutes until scrambled, occasionally pushing the egg to the middle and breaking it up. Stir and chop the cooked scrambled eggs into the rice.
• Stir the cooked shrimp back into your fried rice, then taste to see if you need additional soy sauce, to taste

Notes

You can chop the shrimp before adding back into the rice if desired — I just left mine whole for a prettier presentation. 🙂 You can also optionally top with Sriracha and/or chopped green onions for an additional kick. Also note, on the rice: Cold cooked leftover rice works much better for fried rice than freshly cooked, and it’s also important for the final texture to let the rice sit spread out in the pan undisturbed for a while as directed, rather than stirring frequently.

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