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.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I also want to mention I used a cast iron skillet and it posed no issue.
That’s so great to know! Thank you so much for sharing that 🙂
I LOVE this recipe. Made it for the first time a few months ago using day old long grain basmati rice. Turned out beautifully and got so many compliments.
Making it tonight with day old jasmine rice. Interested to see if this rice type will turn out as good as the basmati.
Thank you so much for sharing your awesome review! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Hi Natasha, Is it 5 cups of cooked rice or uncooked?
Yes, cooked rice 🙂
with 5 cups of uncooked rice you could feed an army…
I love dishes with shrimp and couldn’t wait to try this recipe. Although I rinsed the rice as directed and cooled it in the fridge, the rice stuck to the pan and the meal tasted like shrimp mush. So disappointing!
Marlo, did you make sure to use non-stick skillet? I realized that I used one in the pictures but did not specified it. It is important to use non-stick skillet or a wok when cooking a stir fry over hight heat to prevent sticking. I also updated the recipe to say non-stick skillet.
I’ve been looking to make shrimp fried rice from scratch for awhile, and this recipe looks fantastic! I’m looking forward to trying it out!
I hope you love it! 🙂
Thank you very much, the recipe looks delicious. I will cook soon
I would love to hear the outcome 😁
Hello 🙂 This might seem like a silly question, but would I be able to still make this dish without the sesame oil?
Excited to try it! Thanks!
Yes you could. It adds a nice kick of flavor but it will still taste great without it. 🙂
Hi Natasha! Question- you said we should rinse the rice so it doesn’t get sticky- I hope this isn’t a dumb question, but do you mean before boiling the rice? I have a lot of left over white rice in the fridge & want to make this for dinner 🙂 was trying to figure out if I’m supposed to rinse off my cooked left over rice? I didn’t rinse it before boiling it……. Hope I can still make it! Thank you!
Hi Lindsey, I only rinse rice before cooking it to get rid of the starch that makes it a little stickier. If you already cooked it and didn’t pre-rinse, it’s no problem. You can still use it, it just might be slightly stickier, but that’s ok :).
Thank you Natasha! I made it with chicken and it was a huge hit, thank you for another amazing recipe 🙂 much love! And next time I’ll rinse the rice BEFORE cooking….. 😉
I’m so happy you liked it! Thanks for the great review 🙂
I added some sweet chili, sriacha, Chinese cabbage and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. It was great!
Monica, thank you for the great review and great job on improvising :).
We made this last evening and it was delicious. I also cut back on the eggs and used just three. I didn’t have any scallions so used some chopped yellow onion instead. Excellent recipe!
Hi Cindy! I’m so happy you loved it :). That’s what I like about stir-fry; you can change it up and it will still work well 🙂
I made this for the first time tonight and I am keeping this recipe. It was delicious!! I am an island girl and I love fried rice! Thanks for this great fried rice recipe Natasha!
Lucy, thank you for the great review, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe :).
Hey, im cooking this as part of an assignment for health. For the most part is this meal a healthy dinner?
I’d say it is fairly healthy. I wouldn’t call it a diet food but it is nutritious.
Do you have nutrition information for this recipe?
HI Joanna, I don’t usually put up nutritional info, but when I need to research something, my best source: Caloriecount.com – sign in for free and then go to “tools” and then click “recipe analyzer” You can copy and paste your list of ingredients and it spits out the nutrition info. It’s a great tool.
Great recipe! 4 eggs seems like a bit too much so I cut it back to 2 and it was plenty. I also added a splash of saki to the shrimp and then again to the rice while cooking.
Thank you for sharing your great review! I’ve never tried this with saki.
This is, by far, my favorite recipe for fried rice. The whole family loves it. I make this recipe in 2 different batches and fry it on the electric griddle and it turns out great.
That’s so great! Thank you so much for the awesome review 🙂
This was absolutely delicious and so easy to make…thanks for posting this!!!
You are welcome Shelly, I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it :). I never get tired of this dish.
I have to say it’s a very good recipe! I’ve tried it twice and it turned out very good each time. That being said, if you add Sun-Bird Fried Rice spice or similar seasoning mix it’ll turn out even better!!! Enjoy! Also, I am definitely going to try other Natasha’s Kitchen recipes. They always turn out very good!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! Where do you buy that spice? I’ve never tried it before.
Can I use fresh carrots? Should I cook them before adding the onions?
Hi Allison, yes, that would be the best time to cook them without getting another pan dirty. That would work 🙂
First time making fried rice. Very simple to follow. You know how families have “PICKY EATERS”, well I have a picky husband. Who does not eat much of anything. But he did take a spoonful and tasted it, and very quietly got a plate filled it up and ate it. Thank you, now I have 5 dishes I can cook for him!
Aww that’s just music to my ears! Thank you so much for sharing that with me Bernice! 🙂
Made this recipe tonight. LOVED it!!! My daughters devoured it! Thank you so much.
That’s awesome! Thanks so much for sharing your great review 🙂
Can I use olive oil?
Yes, but I would recommend an extra light olive oil with a higher smoke point and not extra virgin.