We had a party this weekend and Lulu's family came over. We had a bunch of leftover steamed jasmine rice so this was the perfect occasion to make some shrimp fried rice (cơm chiên tôm in Vietnamese). I had bought some shrimp for the party because Lulu's relatives are all carnivores. I decided to use them as the protein in this dish. The shrimp, not the relatives that is...
It's super easy once you know the tricks of the trade. You won't have to go to your local Chinese restaurant anymore when you're in need of a fried rice fix.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons canola oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 whole eggs, lightly beaten
2 dozen baby shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup chicken breast, cooked, finely diced
1 package frozen mixed diced vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans), (10 oz)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, freshly ground
2 stalks green oinion, finely sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1 drizzle sesame oil, optional
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped
Preparation
Wash the shrimp and pat them dry. In a bowl, place the shelled and deveined shrimp. Add yogurt. Refrigerate overnight.
In a nonstick fry pan, cook a teaspoon of chopped garlic in a little oil until the garlic is slightly golden. Pour half the amount of the beaten eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Flip it and remove from the pan. Repeat with the rest of the eggs. Let it cool down for 5 minutes. Finely slice the thin omelets. Set aside.
Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator. Season with salt. In the same fry pan, add another tablespoon of oil. Add 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic and cook until it's slightly golden. Make sure the oil is hot. Saute the shrimp for about a minute or 2. Add pepper. Set aside.
In a small bowl, dilute the soy sauce with water. Set aside.
In a wok, add the remaining oil. Cook the remaining garlic until it is slightly golden then cook the vegetables. Stir fry until they are slightly translucent then season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate.
In the same wok, add butter. Stir fry the sliced green onions until it is golden. Add the rice and stir until each grain is evenly coated with butter. Spread the rice evenly oven the wok and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes. Scrape any grains of rice that may be stuck on the wok with a silicone spatula. You know it's time to add the soy sauce when some of the grains of rice start popping and jumping up in the wok.
Add the sliced omelets, the shrimp, the vegetables and the diced chicken to the wok. Toss using 2 spatulas positioned on either side of the wok to prevent the food from sticking to the bottom. Cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the coriander and finish with a dash of sesame oil and some pepper.
Enjoy!
Tips
All the vegetables and chicken cubes should be diced the same size for a homogeneous product.
Preferably marinate your shrimp overnight. I always "precook" the shrimp first halfway in garlic, so there is no fishy smell. Then finish cooking them in the rice at the end. Do not overcook the shrimp.
A lot of cooks say that the way to make a good "dry" non-mushy fried rice is to chill your rice overnight. I would add other tips to it:
1 - The addition of the oil and butter at the beginning is the same procedure as the one I make for my risotto to prevent from being soggy. Coating each grain of rice in fat prevents them from sticking to one another.
2 - The higher the range of your stove is, the better. We use a 20,000 BTU burner at home. The food cooks faster and you get to keep all the nutrients in your food, especially when sauteing vegetables. If you do not own a range with very high BTUs, when you place the rice in your pan, resist the urge of moving the rice. Let it untouch for about 2-3 minutes to let it dry a little.
3 - Make sure you've stir fried your rice over very high heat until you see each grain of rice popping in the wok.Then pour the soy sauce mixture.
The addition of the sesame oil at the end is optional but brings a nice fragrance to the rice.
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About Jackie
Hi! My name is Jacqueline Pham and I am a self-taught home cook based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am French-Vietnamese, born and raised in Paris, France. I live with my husband Lulu and his family.
My hubby's family is from India, so our home is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines with all the rewards and challenges that you can imagine. There are vegetarians, meat-lovers and allergies of every kind. This site is a way for me to share my love of food and interact with all you Femme Fatales out there putting food on the table for your loved ones everyday.
