Shrimp Fried Rice is one of my go-to 30-minute meals and my family can’t get enough of it. Shrimp and rice loaded with veggies and egg is a protein-packed and easy dinner. Fried Rice is the best way to use leftover Cooked Rice.
We love recreating Asian takeout dishes like Chow Mein, General Tso’s Chicken, and of course saucy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry. Making fried rice is probably the easiest homemade takeout dish.
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Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe
Even though fried rice is easy to make, there are some things to know before you start to avoid gummy and sticky rice. I learned how to make (non-sticky) fried rice years ago from one of my favorite bloggers, Jaden of steamykitchen.com.
Once you have a great basic recipe for fried rice, you can easily change up the protein depending on what you have in the refrigerator or what leftovers you have from dinner the night before. That’s how we came up with our popular Chicken Fried Rice Recipe.
Shrimp Fried Rice Video Tutorial
I hope this Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe becomes a new favorite for you. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our Youtube Channel, and click the bell icon to be notified when we post a new video.
Secrets for the Best Fried Rice
Here is our best advice for making perfect (non-sticky) fried rice:
- Ingredients prepped ahead: The cooking process moves fast, so be sure to have everything prepped and ready before you start the stove
- Chilled rice: Start with cold cooked rice. Leftover rice is best. Avoid fresh, warm rice or it will become sticky and gooey when it hits the pan.
- High heat: Fried rice is supposed to cook quickly over high heat so give your pan a chance to heat up. Also, give the ingredients time to sizzle and resist the urge to stir constantly.
- Follow the process: Add ingredients to the pan separately and in the order listed. Adding everything at once will cool the pan too quickly and your fried rice will fail.
- Add sauces to taste: Add soy sauce and sesame oil to your taste preference. Depending on how your rice was cooked (with or without salt) or if you use low sodium soy sauce, you will likely need to adjust soy sauce and sesame oil.
Ingredients for Shrimp Fried Rice
- Rice: cooked and chilled rice works best (more on that below)
- Shrimp: use 20-24 count or 26-30 count RAW peeled and deveined shrimp.
- Cornstarch – makes the shrimp slightly crisp when stir-fried like in our Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos.
- Vegetables: we use a bag of frozen peas and carrots that we thaw according to package instructions.
- Eggs: large eggs add more protein and great texture and color to this dish
- Green onion – light and dark green parts, plus more to garnish
- Soy Sauce – use regular, low sodium or even coconut aminos then add them to taste since they will have varying amounts of salt in them.
- Sesame oil – DO NOT SKIP the sesame oil which makes it taste like authentic Chinese fried rice. Use pure sesame oil, not toasted.
How to Make Shrimp Fried Rice
From the time the shrimp hits the skillet, it takes about 10 minutes on the stove so you want everything measured out, prepped, and ready to add to the skillet.
- Marinate shrimp – toss shrimp together with cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Rest for 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Heat the skillet – preheat over medium/high heat then add cooking oil and shrimp. Cook 1 minute per side. Transfer shrimp to a plate and reduce heat to medium.
- Add beaten eggs – pour eggs into the hot skillet and scramble with your spatula until no longer runny. Transfer to the same plate as the shrimp.
- Wipe down the skillet with a paper towel then increase to medium/high heat, add oil and chives, and saute for 30 seconds.
- Spread rice into the skillet and sizzle for 1-2 minutes without stirring. Flip and sizzle another 1-2 minutes.
- Add Sauces & Veggies – drizzle in Soy sauce and sesame oil to taste then stir in vegetables.
- Add cooked shrimp and eggs back to the pan and stir to combine and add more soy sauce to taste.
How to Cook Rice for Fried Rice
Leftover chilled white rice is best, but If you don’t have leftover white rice, you can make it ahead, but be sure to rinse the rice until water runs clear prior to cooking to remove the extra starch.
Cook White Rice on the Stovetop then cool to room temperature, spread the rice into a casserole dish or baking sheet, and refrigerate until chilled. This will help dry out the rice so it doesn’t turn gummy on the skillet. We love Jasmine rice, but medium or long grain rice will work.
Common Questions
We love Jasmine rice, but medium or long grain rice will work. You can even use leftover brown rice for healthier fried rice.
Rice is gluten-free, so you really just need to make sure your soy sauce is gluten-free like this Tamari soy sauce.
Instead of soy sauce, try using Coconut Aminos, but you need a little more since it contains less salt.
You can leave out the shrimp altogether to make it vegetarian like our Pineapple Fried Rice, or substitute it with whatever protein you have such as ham, bacon (like this Bacon Mango Fried Rice) beef, or chicken for Chicken Fried Rice.
I hope you’re inspired to make some Shrimp Fried Rice this week. Thank you for watching, subscribing, and sharing our recipes with the people you love!
Do YOU have any recipe requests for future videos? Please let me know in a comment below.
More Asian Recipes to try
- Fresh Spring Rolls
- Asian Chopped Salad Recipe
- Korean Beef Tacos
- Crispy Egg Rolls
- Chicken Stir Fry
- California Rolls
Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb 26-30 count uncooked shrimp , (peeled and deveined)
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp LIGHT olive oil, or canola
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped
- 5 cups leftover chilled white rice , (rinse rice before cooking)
- 12 oz frozen carrots and peas, thawed
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos , or added to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix the shrimp, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Let marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium/high heat. When a bead of water sizzles and evaporates, swirl in 2 Tbsp of cooking oil and add shrimp to the hot skillet and spread them out in a single layer. Cook 1 minute per side, or until cooked through and opaque. Remove to a bowl.
- Over medium heat, add beaten eggs to the same skillet. Break up the eggs with a spatula and cook until no longer runny. Remove to a bowl.
- Wipe down the skillet with a paper towel and return to medium/high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil and onions and cook green onion until fragrant, 30 seconds.
- Stir in rice then spread it evenly over the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes without disturbing it then stir and sauté another 1 to 2 minutes. Rice should sizzle.
- Drizzle 2 Tbsp soy sauce (or add to taste) over rice and stir well. Add sesame oil and vegetables and mix well.
- Add cooked shrimp and cooked eggs back to the pan and mix well. Continue to cook until the rice is hot and sizzles, stirring frequently. Add more soy sauce to taste, if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
This recipe was first published in 2014 and republished in 2022. We have added a video, new photos (see original photo below), and more tips for making the Best Shrimp Fried Rice.
Hello
Its our time of Lent and I was looking into a change. I usually fry fish but I had seen some shrimp at our local HEB and decided to give it a go. The recipe that is posted looks like it will taste good. But i have a concern in regards to the amount of oils. i have attempted to create another shrimp recipe and it stated a certain amount of sesame and soy sauce. But when I followed the recipe, it tasted good. But not as good as when i go to the restaurants. And I know everyone who eats fried rice have their own tastes. So want to get it right and tasty
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Martin! We believe we found the perfect balance for restaurant quality at hime. I hope you give this recipe a try and love it!
I rarely (almost never) use frozen veggies but this was so easy and so good! I added a little white pepper. I will be making it again.
I’m so glad you loved it, Sal!
This recipe was delicious, and easy to prepare. I made it exactly as written. Thank you, Natasha!
You’re welcome, Lynn! Thank you for sharing.
I have made a number of Your recipes and they always come out spot on. I love it. Thank you so much.
Hi Greg! That’s wonderful. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Made exactly as recipe said. Wife said was amazing and we both had seconds. Definitely in the dinner rotation!
Lovely to hear that, Ron. Glad you both enjoyed it!
This recipe is excellent. Best shrimp fried rice I have had in many years.
So glad you love it!
I loved this recipe! Everybody else in family thought it was to much of something. Either soy sauce, or sesame oil. They also thought it needed a little spice like sriracha. Overall the recipe was a 3/5
HI Amanda, did you maybe use a low sodium or alternate product or maybe too much rice? Adding extra rice will make it seem that way without adjusting everything else accordingly.
Hi Natasha,
Can you leave out the eggs in this recipe? I don’t like eggs. Would it alter the texture?
Hi Dina, I haven’t tested this recipe without eggs to advise. If you happen to try that as an experiment, we’d love to know how it turns out.
This is the first time I’ve made this recipe. I have some leftover whole grain brown rice pilaf made with chicken stock instead of water. Can I use that??
Hi Marilyn, I always recommend making the recipe as written the first time around before adjusting, but I imagine that may work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I added two teaspoons of crushed garlic, teaspoon of ginger, quarter teaspoon of red chilly and small tin of drained oysters. Very tasty.
Glad you liked it! Thank you for sharing.
Extremely bland. Added lots more sesame oil and soy sauce. Added lots of garlic and ginger, salt and pepper. Sriracha helped too when it was done.
Hi Shannon, normally this is definitely not bland but it can be if too much rice is added in which case more sauce would be necessary.
I made this Shrimp fried rice an it was delicious. 😋 thanks
I was surprised it don’t have ginger in it.
What is the serving size?
Hi Karen! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. The recipe makes 6 servings. The nutrition facts listed are per 1 serving. Sorry, I don’t have the exact measurement of what that would be. You’ll have to measure it our evenly or weight the recipe on a food scale and divide that weight by 6.
Love this receipe! Do you use plain sesame oil or toasted sesame oil. Thanks!
Hi Cindy! We use pure sesame oil, not toasted.
Very easy and delicious recipe, I’ve made it several times now. I do everything per the recipe except cut the rice in half, because for me it’s too much rice. I end up with about 4 servings. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Angelina! You’re welcome. I’m so glad you love the recipe. 🙂
Not a recipe rating! I love your recipes, but I also read many reviews! Ads or interfering with reading and writing!! Very irritating trying to read or write! I have been interrupted several times typing this to you!
I understand, but reviews are my map to good recipes! 10 interruptions!
Thank you for sharing your concerns and feedback. The only way we can continue providing free recipes is by having ads on our site, so we are not able to remove those at this time. We find that most people would rather see the ads than pay to see the recipes. But we will definitely take note of your feedback and use it to improve our website.
I appreciate your feedback, and I hope you love every recipe you try.
I agree with Lucy. The ads and pop up videos take over the site. They change constantly while looking at the same recipe. forcing the page to refresh which is totally annoying.
Love your recipes, the site is just too heavy on the ads.
I pared down the recipe for two people and it was great. I have never made fried rice cooking the elements separately, but it was delicious. Probably will always cook it this way now.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Anne!
Loved this recipe. Didn’t change a thing. Made such a large portion that I shared with my daughter and her family who also gave it rave reviews.
That’s wonderful, Annette! I’m so glad it was enjoyed.
Can you use already cooked shrimp that you can buy. I love this recipe
Hi Ronda, I always think cooking shrimp from raw is tastier, but you can use cooked shrimp. Recooking cooked shrimp does cause it to be a little dry and rubbery.
Hi Natasha,
Just made this for a late lunch. It was quick and DELICIOUS, two of my favorite things when cooking. My husband loved it!
Thank You,
Monica
Great to hear that, Monica. Thanks for sharing! I hope your family will love all the recipes that you will try.
Made this easy fried rice today and it was excellent! I followed the recipe to a t and it came out perfect. My two boys really enjoyed it! I’ll be keeping this recipe in my files. Thanks!
That’s wonderful, Asia! So glad you found a keeper!
Natasha I made this incredible meal tonight Thank you for sharing your this incredible recipe.It was so delicious.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you loved it. Thank you for the review.