I was having an intense craving for Chinese food the other day.  Soooooo, instead of giving in and ordering a multi-thousand-calorie meal from a restaurant, I decided I could just make something at home.  I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a while now and it TOTALLY hit the spot.  In fact, it was a good thing that I only made enough for me and Beau because we both loved it so much that I’m not so sure we could have resisted eating another serving.

The crazy thing is that this recipe goes wicked fast.  Like . . . once you have your veggies cut up and your shrimp ready to go, you’ll go from start to finish in about 5-ish minutes.  No lie!  So, have everything prepped and ready to go before you heat up your skillet.

Here’s the catch (if you want to call it that).  You MUST use cold rice here.  Since I make brown rice in big batches, it isn’t uncommon for me to have leftover rice in the fridge.  However, if you don’t have leftover rice, just be sure to make some in the the morning so that it has time to cool and chill in the fridge before dinner.  It’s SUPER common and easy for me to bake my brown rice in the morning while I’m getting ready for the day, so I would tell you to do the same.

One of the days I made this I was running short on shrimp.  So, I used the balance of the needed protein with ham.  You’ll see that my pictures reflect this.  I will vouch that it was good both ways . . . all shrimp or half shrimp/half ham.  Honestly, I think just about any protein source would be pretty good here (I just LOVE shrimp).

The recipe is simple, it goes fast, and I was AMAZED at how the small amount of soy sauce really pounded in some Chinese flavor.  I doubted that it would be enough, but it seriously was.  We’ve eaten this twice in the last two weeks, and that’s pretty good for us (considering I’m always looking for new stuff to try).  I just couldn’t resist making it and eating it AGAIN.  I’m pretty sure that this recipe just became a “regular” around my house.

Shrimp Fried Rice
Adapted from Annie’s Eats

12 oz. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
2 whole eggs plus 2 additional egg whites, beaten
2 stalks green onions, minced
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups leftover brown rice
3/4 cup cup frozen peas and carrots, defrosted
1 tablespoon soy sauce (Light/Low-Sodium)
Few drops sesame oil, optional

In  a medium mixing bowl, combine the shrimp, salt, pepper and cornstarch, and toss well to coat the shrimp.  Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.  Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat.  When a drop of water immediately sizzles and evaporates, the pan is hot enough to add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil.  Swirl to coat the pan well.

Add the shrimp to the hot pan and quickly spread them out so that they are in a single layer, and all touching the pan surface.  (You may need to do this in two batches to ensure even cooking.)  Let them cook untouched for 30 seconds, then flip over (tongs work well for this) and let cook for 30 more seconds, so that the shrimp are about 80% cooked through.  Remove to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat on the pan to medium.  Add the eggs to the pan and stir quickly, to break up and scramble the eggs.  When the eggs are almost cooked through but still slightly runny in the middle, remove from the pan to the same plate as the shrimp.

Use paper towels to wipe the pan clean and return the pan to high heat.  Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil, swirling to coat.  Once the oil is very hot, add the green onions and the red pepper to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.  Add the rice to the pan and mix well to combine with the green onions.  Spread the rice out evenly over the pan and let cook without stirring, until you hear the rice grains sizzle, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Toss the rice a bit with your spatula, and again spread it out over the cooking surface.

Drizzle the soy sauce all over the rice, and toss again.  Add the peas and carrots, the cooked shrimp and eggs, and the sesame oil to the pan.  Toss to combine all the ingredients well with the rice.  Let everything heat back up again until the rice grains are sizzling again.  Add additional soy sauce to taste, if needed.  Serve.

Serves 4.

Nutritional Information (Per Serving = 1/4 the Recipe)
Calories:  294.6
Protein:  26.8g
Carbs:  28g
Fat:  8.4g (1.5g = Sat.)
Fiber:  2.9g
Sugars:  0g