Shrimp Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Ham is quick and easy stir fried rice, shrimp, Chinese sausage, ham, eggs and vegetables in tasty, savory umani flavors. Fried rice with shrimp is one of the popular variation commonly ordered in Asian restaurants.
This Shrimp Fried Rice is definitely a meal on its own since it is loaded with huge shrimp or prawns, Chinese sausage, ham, eggs and vegetables. It is very satisfying and with all the trimmings it doesn’t need an entrée to go with it.
This type of fried rice is usually categorized as special fried rice in restaurants since it has a little bit of everything.
It is very versatile and you can customize it to your liking. Clean out your vegetable bin and use whatever vegetables you have. You can also use frozen veggies. There’s no right or wrong ingredients when it comes to fried rice.
When we were young, my mom can make fried rice from leftover pork or chicken dish in no time and it was delicious.
A simple fried rice can be seasoned with just soy sauce, a combination of soy sauce and fish sauce but to make an authentic Chinese fried rice, mirin, oyster sauce and sesame oil are added.
Mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine while oyster sauce is sweet and salty and a common ingredient in any Asian-style stir fry.
This is one of the easiest dish you can make at home that everyone will enjoy!
To save time, get headless shrimp that is peeled and deveined. I used large shrimp but you can always use smaller ones.
What rice to use?
A day old rice is used in fried rice. If you noticed, when you order from a restaurant the rice is not sticky and does not clump up.
White rice is steamed and stored in the fridge for a day. Refrigerating helps draw the moisture out of the rice.
Before cooking, break the rice with a kitchen utensil. It is dry but once you mix the sauce and the ingredients it will be fine. Don’t add water or you’ll end up with soggy, mushy rice.
Long grain white rice is used in Chinese cooking but short grain will work as well. If you prefer a healthier version you can use brown rice or cauliflower rice.
Again, this is a versatile rice dish and you can still enjoy it with any type of rice.
Tips to Make Shrimp Fried Rice
Making fried rice is a quick process so it is best if you prefer all your ingredients before cooking.
Thaw headless shrimp in the fridge before cooking. Peel and devein. Shrimp is stir fried first in hot wok until pink. Remove right away and set aside. It will continue cooking when added to the fried rice. Shrimp can get rubbery when overcook.
Use a wok or a skillet big enough to accommodate all the ingredients. It is easier to stir fry when you have room to toss and stir your ingredients.
Make sure wok or skillet is hot.
Use a day old rice. Break the rice before adding in the wok or skillet. It is much easier to mix with other ingredients.
As much as possible cut ham, Chinese sausage and vegetables the same sizes so they cook quickly and at the same time.
Chinese sausage is dried, raw and sweet that is made of pork and quite hard. Don’t overcook as it can become rubbery.
The last 2 ingredients added to the mixture are eggs and the half cooked shrimp.
In fact, you can cook the scrambled eggs in advance before cooking the shrimp and cutting it into smaller pieces, set aside and added at the end.
The other option is to cook it last with the rice mixture.
Push the rice mixture to the side making a well. At the center, cook and break the eggs until partially set. It will continue cooking when mixed with the rice.
Season with salt if you like, I don’t. Taste fried rice before adding salt since soy sauce and oyster sauce are salty.
Then stir-in the shrimp and green onion for a minute. Turn off heat and transfer right away to a serving plate so shrimp doesn’t overcook.
Leftover shrimp fried rice can be stored in a well sealed container in the fridge up to 2 days and a month in the freezer in a food saver.
Ingredient Substitutions
Shrimp – substitute it with pork, beef or chicken. For a quick fried rice, a store bought pork barbecue or rotisserie chicken can be added. In fact, you can make it meatless.
At times, I make fried rice with just scrambled egg and any vegetables I find in my fridge.
Red onion – use yellow onion or shallot.
Vegetables – I’ve used other vegetables like broccoli, celery, fresh asparagus or cauliflower.
Chinese Sausage and Ham – These 2 ingredients are optional. They are usually added when ordering special fried rice. Again, you can use other meat like pork barbecue or chicken.
Soy Sauce – You can use light or dark soy sauce but I usually use light or regular soy sauce. I like my fried rice lighter in color. At times, I combine equal parts of soy sauce and fish sauce.
Mirin – Substitute with Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry. Mirin is sweeter that Shaoxing rice wine so add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon.
Oyster Sauce is sweet and salty and a great substitute is soy sauce and sugar. Since this fried rice recipe has soy sauce, all you need is to add sugar. Hoisin sauce is another sub you can use.
Recipe
Shrimp Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Ham
Ingredients
- 4 cups day old white rice refrigerated
- 1 small red onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ pounds large headless shrimp peeled and deveined
- 4 to 5 pieces Chinese sausage sliced thinly or diced
- ¾ cup diced ham
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
- ¾ cup frozen green peas
- 3 stalks green onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons regular soy sauce
- 2 ½ tablespoons Mirin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 eggs
- 3 tablespoons oil
- salt to taste optional
Instructions
- Prepare all the ingredients as this will be quick process.
- In a big wok or skillet, add oil over medium heat.
- Once hot, quickly cook the shrimp until pink. Remove and set aside.
- Add onion and cook for a minute.
- Stir-in garlic. Cook until golden.
- Add Chinese sausage and cook for a minute.
- Add carrots and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Toss-in ham and green peas.
- Stir-in soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce and garlic powder.
- Add the rice and mix well.
- Move the mixture to the side forming a well and add the eggs at the center. Break the eggs, cook until partially set and mix with the ingredients. It will continue cooking while mixed with the rice.
- Season with salt, if needed. I don’t.
- Toss-in the shrimp and the green onion, mix with the fried rice and cook for a minute.
- Turn off heat and transfer to a serving platter right away so shrimp doesn’t overcook.
Notes
- To save you time, buy headless, peeled and deveined shrimp.
- You can scramble and cook the eggs before the shrimp, if you are not comfortable cooking it with the mixture. Cut into smaller pieces, set aside and add it till the end with the shrimp.
- I have listed substitutions for some of the ingredients in the post.
- Make sure to use a day old rice and break it before cooking. If you use a newly cooked rice, fried rice will be sticky and clumpy.
- Taste before adding salt. Soy sauce and oyster sauce are already salty, so you might not even need salt.
- Leftover shrimp fried rice can be stored in a well sealed container in the fridge up to 2 days and a month in the freezer in a food saver.
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