home sweet home – Cantonese Shrimp Fried Rice
Ever since I got home from visiting childhood friends in San Francisco, I have this yearning to eat my childhood’s favorite food. There’s Egg Custard Tarts with the flaky pastry dough, Ginger Milk, a nice bowl of Wonton Noodle Soup, Poached Chicken with a simple Ginger Scallion condiment and the ultimate comfort food of all, Fried Rice.
The recipe for my ‘Cantonese’ Fried Rice is more of a guideline. Fried Rice is one of those easy recipes you can add any fresh ingredients, leftovers, herbs and condiments. There are no rules to it except one- no soggy mess. The key to good fried rice is
1. Air-dried the rice to rid of excess moisture.
2. Bloom the aromatics (scallion, ginger, etc).
Once you follow these simple steps, you can change up ingredients according to your mood or what’s available in the refrigerator. I used items that I always keep in my freezer, Wild Blue Shrimp (12-15 count) from Trader Joe’s, frozen Peas & Carrots.
Cantonese Shrimp Fried Rice
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 8 ounces shrimp, fresh or frozen, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/3 cup scallions, thinly sliced, set aside 2 tablespoon of chopped scallions
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (less if you don’t like the heat)
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 4 cups white rice, cooked, spread to air dry
- 2 cups frozen peas & carrots or just peas, keep frozen
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (optional)
Directions:
1. Whisk oyster sauce, soy sauce and vinegar in bowl. In another bowl, beat eggs with 1/4 teaspoon salt until combined.Toss shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt, set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet on medium-high heat until just smoking. Add eggs to pan to form a thin sheet, 1 to 2 minutes. Cook till it’s slightly firm , break into small pieces, transfer to plate.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in empty skillet until just smoking, add shrimp and cook until slightly pink, about 2 minute. Shrimp does not need to be fully cooked. Transfer shrimp to plate.
4. Add remaining 2 tablespoon oil to empty skillet.Cook onions, all but 2 tablespoon of scallions, ginger and 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt until just beginning to softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add rice to skillet, toss until well coated, add sauce mixture and cook until liquid has evaporated and rice is heated through, 2 to 4 minutes. Fried rice should look dried, not saucy.
5. Stir in peas and carrots, shrimp and black pepper until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of scallion and egg, stir constantly until heated through, another 2 minutes. Serve.
