I've never been a particularly big fan of Asian food. Of course, growing up in a rural northwestern Pennsylvania county that is 98.68 percent white, I didn't exactly have much exposure. I'm not sure the Chinese restaurant at which I occasionally dined would even qualify as Asian food, considering it served tater tots from a bag and called them "golden potato" (doesn't that sound exotic?)
But, of course, dating a Vietnamese guy has opened my eyes to the wonderful world of Viet food, which I had zero exposure to for most of my life. Now, not a week passes without a bowl of pho and/or (more often "and") a rice dish from a Vietnamtown restaurant.
Having a new addiction to Vietnamese food and not having the skills to prepare any dishes, as you can imagine, can take a toll on one's wallet. Being a poor grad student, this obviously isn't ideal. Well, one day last week, I had an ungodly craving for my favorite rice dish, shrimp fried rice. I was going to place a takeout order with my favorite Viet restaurant, but then I decided that it couldn't be that hard to make, and making it myself would save me $10. So I did some searching online, and (being the picky eater that I am) made some adjustments, and what resulted was the recipe I'm about to share. When I was done, it ended up being many times better than any restaurant version I've ever tasted. So if you enjoy shrimp fried rice as much as I do and want to know how to make a kick-ass dish of it, follow me below the doodle-thingy.
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Please come in. You're invited to make yourself at home! Join us beneath the doodle...
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This version of shrimp fried rice is fairly cheap and easy to prepare. I've made several adjustments to the original recipe (for example, I don't like onions, so those have been omitted). For the original recipe, click here.
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
You'll need 4 ounces of shrimp (the original recipe calls for uncooked - I used cooked and it turned out fine), 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of salt, some pepper to taste, one teaspoon of cornstarch, 4 ounces of ham (if you can find some cooked, cubed ham, it works wonderfully), 4 eggs (the original recipe calls for 2 eggs - nonsense!), 1/2 cup of frozen peas, 4 to 5 cups of cold cooked rice, and 4 to 5 tablespoons of oil.
The first thing you'll want to do is cook the rice. Follow the directions on the package and cook the rice well in advance, and then set aside.
Then, rinse off the shrimp and de-tail them. For some reason, this is my favorite part. I love de-tailing shrimp!
After you de-tail the shrimp, chop them up into small pieces. I chop each shrimp into three pieces. Of course, this is up to you - if you want whole shrimp in your rice, that's fine, too.
Once the shrimp are de-tailed and chopped, they need to marinate. But first, of course, you'll need to prepare the marinade. To do that, first mix the cornstarch with 1 1/2 teaspoons of water.
In a separate bowl, combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Then add the cornstarch mixture.
Then, add the shrimp and mix them into the marinade. Let them marinate for about 15 minutes.
Now, it's time to prepare the egg mixture. Combine the eggs with some salt and some oyster sauce if you'd like (I'd recommend adding the oyster sauce).
This is where a wok comes in handy. If you don't have a wok, it's not a big deal - I don't have one either, and I just used a frying pan. Whatever you're using, throw in about a tablespoon of oil and heat it up.
Then, add half of the egg mixture.
When one side is done, flip it over. It's a bit tricky, but it can be done. Don't stress if you mess up - the important part is that the egg is cooked.
Lay the egg on a cutting board.
Repeat for the other half of the egg mixture.
Then, cut the egg up. I originally cut the egg into long strips because I was going to put it on top of the shrimp fried rice. In the end, I decided to just mix it in, which I thought was a better idea. So I'd recommend cutting the egg up into smaller pieces than what is shown here.
By now, the shrimp should be sufficiently marinated. Add about two tablespoons of oil to the wok/pan, heat it up, and add the shrimp mixture. If you want onion (ew), add a chopped onion to the shrimp. Fry the shrimp on high for a few moments.
Then, remove the shrimp from the heat and set aside.
Do the same thing for the ham.
And the peas.
Once you're done cooking the shrimp, ham, and peas, it's time to stir-fry the rice. Add another tablespoon or two of oil to the wok/pan. Then, throw in the rice.
Mix in some soy sauce and oyster sauce (but not too much - use your judgment).
Add the shrimp, ham, and peas.
Then, add the egg.
Fry until sufficiently hot.
Voi la! Shrimp fried rice.
It's very easy and very yummy. If you have a family, depending on how big it is, you should be able to get a couple of meals out of this. If you live alone like me, say hello to shrimp fried rice for the next several days.
You won't be complaining, trust me.
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