This is to make two servings. So just divide it in half and share it with a friend.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 280 grams refrigerated rice
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons teriyaki sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1 pound shrimp
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons butter (divided)
- a couple ounces of white cooking wine
- salt and pepper to taste
Process
- Shell the shrimp. I like to freeze the shells because you can use it in other recipes or to make a flavorful stock.
- Melt one tablespoon of butter over medium low heat in a large frying pan, then add your wine, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Cook your shrimp in this small broth which will gradually reduce, especially if you turn up the heat a smidge. You want it just under medium heat, because you want to reduce the stock without burning the butter. It will reduce to a thickish sauce. Once the shrimp are cooked, remove your shrimp from the heat and set them aside in a bowl. Leave your sauce behind in the pot.
- In a small cup, whisk together two large eggs, then add them to the frying pan. You are going to scramble them in the shrimp sauce. Once again, do not put your heat too high because you do not want to burn the eggs. When they are fully cooked, add remove the eggs from the heat and add the eggs and what remains of your shrimp sauce (there likely won’t be a lot) into the bowl that is holding the shrimp.
- Turn up the heat to just above medium and wait for the pan to warm up to temperature. While you are waiting for the pan to come up to temperature, it is a good idea to measure out and combine your sauces (teriyaki, soy, and oyster) into a single pouring cup. so that they can be poured in at the same time. Once the pan is up to temperature, add your sesame oil into the pan and try to coat the entire pan. Once the oil has had a few moments to heat up, pour the rest of your sauces into the pan. Then add the last tablespoon of butter. Butter has a tendency to burn, so we are going to try to mix it with the other liquids as soon as it melts, which will pretty much be immediately.
- Now, you are ready to add the rice. I like to apportion the rice ahead of time so that there is not much delay between when you add the sauces and when you add the rice. It can take too long to weigh out 280 grams of rice at this point, but if the rice is already measured out and cooling in the refrigerator, you can just add it to the pan immediately after pouring your sauces in.
- This is where the artistry comes in. I can’t tell you exactly how to cook the rice. I can only say that the rice will need to be constantly “stirred.” But not really “stirred” and not really “constantly.” It’s more like flipping so no side of rice is exposed to too much heat at any one time. But you do need to let each side of the rice to stay on the heat for long enough to fry it, but not long enough to burn it. This task is made much easier if you have a wok. But I don’t have a wok and I manage to stir it just fine. If you like your rice a little crispier, you can leave it a little longer on the heat. It will eventually get to the desired consistency.
- Once the rice is fried to your desired consistency, turn the heat down to low. Then add your shrimp, eggs, and whatever is left of your shrimp sauce back to the pan and fold those ingredients into your rice. The goal is not to cook them – they are already cooked – but just to get them back up to serving temperature. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide into two equal portions and serve. This is a nice, fast, weeknight recipe that can be ready much more quickly than you would expect, so long as the rice is made ahead of time. My kids do not really like shrimp or fried rice, so this is enough for my husband and me to share for a reasonable dinner that is filling but doesn’t make you feel bloated.
Miscellaneous information
Cooking and preparation time: Shelling the shrimp (once they are thawed) takes only a few minutes. And then about 5 or 6 minutes to cook the shrimp, another 5 or 6 minutes to cook the eggs, and another 5 or 6 minutes to fry up the rice. If the ingredients are ready (thawed shrimp and refrigerated rice), this meal only takes about 20 – 30 minutes to prepare.
In terms of calories. there are about 680 calories per serving:
- sesame oil, 120 calories
- rice, 365 calories
- eggs, 155 calories
- sauces, 45 calories
- butter, 200 calories
- shrimp, 480 calories
- spices, negligible
- wine, negligible
- TOTAL (2 servings), 1365 calories
- Total per serving, ~680 calories
The best way to reduce calories if you are concerned about that (although 680 is not unreasonable for dinner, in my opinion) would be to halve the oils or reduce the shrimp. If you used a half pound of shrimp, a half tablespoon of sesame oil, and didn’t add the last tablespoon of butter to the pan to cook the rice, then there would only be 965 calories in total which amounts to only about 480 calories per serving.
