An easy 20-minute egg fried rice recipe with prawns/shrimp. Tasty fried rice tossed in a delicious umami sauce, with fluffy pieces of scrambled egg, and succulent prawns/shrimp. Whether you've got some leftover rice you need to put to good use or you're seeking a healthy alternative to a takeaway, this recipe has got you covered.
Want more quick and easy prawn recipes? Try my Curried Prawns with Coconut Milk and Easy Prawn Pho.
The post contains additional information and helpful tips to ensure the recipe turns out great the first time. Please use the link above to jump to the recipe card at the end if you are in a hurry!
✅ 5 reasons why you'll love this recipe:
- Quick and easy - there's just 20 minutes of cooking and prep time required. An ideal mid-week meal on a busy day just like my Easy Keema Rice.
- Simple, yet super tasty - fried rice tossed in a delicious umami sauce, with fluffy pieces of scrambled egg, succulent prawns/shrimp topped with crunchy scallions/green onion.
- Versatile - fried rice is one of those dishes you can make on the fly because you don't have to follow the recipe exactly for it to taste great. Feel free to throw in the meat, fish and veggies you have available.
- Uses up leftover rice and veggies - fried rice tastes so much better when it is made with cold day-old rice making it an excellent way to put leftover rice to good use. It's also a great way to use up any vegetables that are lingering in your fridge.
- It's cheaper and healthier than a Chinese takeaway, and probably quicker too.
🛒 Ingredients and variations:
You'll be able to grab all the ingredients you need to make this tasty fried rice dish at your local store.
- Rice - Any type of long grain rice, including basmati or brown rice will work well. For best results, cook your rice the night before and refrigerate it as soon as it cools. This enables the rice to harden slightly and ensures the grains remain separate and that it does not go mushy. However, don't worry, if you do not have time to do this, you can also cook the rice before you make the dish and still get good results. You can also buy pre-cooked rice to save time.
- Prawns/shrimp - I opt for raw king prawns/shrimp, but you can also use pre-cooked and skip the frying the prawns/shrimp stage in the recipe.
- Peas/other veggies - this fried rice recipe is an excellent way to use up leftover veggies. Red peppers, carrots, cabbage and corn are all good options if you are looking to clear out your fridge. Otherwise, just grab some frozen peas from your freezer and ensure they are thawed before you add them to the dish.
- Sriracha - this adds a little heat to the sauce. You can swap it for another type of hot sauce or omit it if you are very sensitive to spice.
🧑🍳 Recipe steps
1. Make the sauce: Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and optional sriracha in a small jug or bowl and set aside.
2. Cook the prawns: Place a wok or large frying pan on a medium to high heat and add sesame oil. Add the prawns when the oil is hot and fry for a few minutes until they are opaque, then set them aside.
3. Aromatics and Peas: Fry the white onions and spring onions/scallions for a few minutes until the white onions are soft and translucent. Then add the chilli and garlic and fry for another minute or two until fragrant.
4. Egg: Reduce the pan to a medium heat and move the ingredients to one side of the pan and pour in the beaten eggs. Wait a few seconds for them to begin to set. Scramble using chopsticks or a spatula.
5. Rice and prawns/shrimp: Add the cooked rice to the pan and mix well. Then pour on the sauce and continue to mix before you add the cooked prawns/shrimp. Serve immediately topped with freshly sliced raw spring onion/scallions.
👍 Top tips
- Use yesterday's rice if possible - this allows the grains to separate, the rice to harden slightly and improves its consistency. If you do not have time to do this, don't worry. The dish will still turn out well, you'll just get an improved texture if you use yesterday's rice.
- Prep all your ingredients before you begin cooking - make sure all ingredients are thoroughly prepped. Everything happens very quickly once you start cooking and there is no time to chop ingredients as you go.
- Remove the cooked prawns/shrimp from the pan as soon as they are done - take the prawns/shrimp out of the pan as soon as they turn opaque. They will be perfectly juicy and tender at this point. They will become dry and rubbery if you leave them in the pan for longer.
🙋 Recipe FAQs
This is a topic of debate. Some recipes advise you to cook the egg first and set it aside and add it back at the end, while others suggest you scramble the egg just before adding the rice or alongside the rice. In my view you should scramble the egg before mixing it into the rice to ensure you have nice definite pieces of scrambled egg as opposed to having egg that is well blended with the rice it disappears. You also want to avoid having cold and dry chunks of egg, which can be a risk when you add the egg first.
You can crack the eggs straight into the pan. Push the other ingredients aside first and then be prepared to move fast. You need to make sure you beat the eggs and whites together before they start to set. Chopsticks are a very effective tool for beating the eggs before you scramble them.
Fried rice can be a main dish or a side. It really depends on what you put in it. A fried rice dish that contains fish/meat and veggies can be enjoyed as a meal in itself, whereas fried rice that just contains egg is probably best served as a side.
📦 Storage
Eating leftover shellfish can be risky. Fried rice tastes best when it is served straight from the pan. If you have leftovers, refrigerate them as soon as they are cool and eat them within 24 hours. Ensure you reheat them thoroughly first on the stove or in the microwave.
😋 More fried rice recipes
Did you try this recipe? It would be really great if you could leave a comment and a star rating ⭐️. I would love to receive your feedback and know that other readers find it helpful too.
Don't forget to tag #knifeandsoulrecipes on Instagram or @knifeandsoul on Pinterest!
📖 Recipe
Egg Fried Rice With Prawns
Equipment
Ingredients
Sauce
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sriracha (optional)
Fried Rice
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 160 g (6 oz) raw prawns/shrimp peeled and deveined (note 2)
- ½ onion finely chopped
- 2 spring onions/scallions finely chopped + extra for serving
- 1 red chili finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 130 g (1 cup) peas defrosted if using frozen
- 2 eggs beaten
- 350 g (12 oz) cooked long-grain rice preferably cooked the day before (note 1)
Instructions
- Make the sauce by mixing the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil and optional sriracha in a small jug or bowl.
- Place a wok or large frying pan on medium to high heat and add the neutral oil. Add the prawns/shrimp when the oil is hot and fry for a few minutes until they become opaque. Remove them from the pan and set them aside.
- Add the onion and spring onions/scallions to the pan and fry for a few minutes until soft. Add a little more oil if you need to.
- Add the chilli and garlic and fry for another minute or two until fragrant.
- Add the peas and toss them in the pan until they become hot.
- Reduce the heat to medium and move the ingredients in the pan to one side and pour in the beaten eggs, wait a few seconds for them to begin to cook, and scramble using chopsticks or a spatula.
- Add the cooked rice and mix well.
- Pour on sauce and continue to mix.
- Add the cooked prawns/shrimp and serve immediately with more chopped spring onions/scallions.
Notes
- Cooking the rice the night before and storing it in the refrigerator once it's cool ensures that the grains separate and harden a little, so the rice does not go mushy. I recommend doing this if you have time, but don't worry if you don't. I've often skipped this step and the results are still tasty as long as you don't overcook the rice.
- You can also use cooked prawns/shrimp and skip step 2.
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