Chili Shrimp Fried Rice by Rob Li
Food52
Photo by Rob Li
- Serves
- 4
- Prep Time
- 15 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 10 Minutes
"No, this seriously might be one of the best fried rices you’ll ever have.
If you love big, bold flavors like I do, you’re going to love the sweet, spicy, and umami kick from all the flavor bomb ingredients that we’re going to put in.
A few standouts are lots of chili crisp for heat, chicken powder/bouillon for rich, umami flavor, and MSG because it’s the secret big corporate doesn’t want to tell you about.
Some key tips/techniques to making this the best it can be:
- Use day-old rice which is drier than freshly cooked rice, which will absorb much more sauce and flavor without it getting soggy.. which is also why we want to add as little liquid as possible, to keep our fried rice “fried” and crispy.
- Can of course sub the crab for whatever you want (i.e. chicken, beef, shrimp) or leave out the protein all together. Will still be excellent!
- If you do decide to splurge on crab, I do recommend the highest-quality jumbo lump crab meat you can get so that you can have big pieces of crab meat when you dig in instead of the canned flaky ones that will almost disintegrate into the rice."—Rob Li
Ingredients
For the fried rice:
- 6 tablespoon vegetable, canola, or peanut oil, divided
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 fresno chilis, seeds removed and finely diced
- 6 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts divided)
- 2 eggs
- 4 cup day-old cooked white rice
- 1 1/4 cup (8–10 oz.) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup sweet soy sauce (can sub with the same amount of soy sauce and a teaspoon of sugar)
- 4-8 tablespoon chili crisp, depending on how spicy you like it (mix the jar with a spoon or shake with the lid on so that the crisp and the oil become homogeneous)
- pinch of white pepper
- 1 tablespoon chicken powder or bouillon
- pinch of msg
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
For garnish:
- chili crisp
- fried shallots or crispy onions (homemade or store-bought)
- cilantro (leaves)
- scallions, thinly sliced
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Directions
Instructions
- Step 1
Heat a wok (or a large cast iron skillet) over high heat and add in 2 tablespoons of vegetable, canola, or peanut oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add in the shallot, garlic, chili, and the scallions (white parts only). Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often, until lightly golden brown, then push the aromatics to the side of the pan so that they’re off the direct heat.
- Step 2
Add another tablespoon of oil to the center of the pan and toss in your peeled, deveined shrimp (roughly chopped if large). Cook for 1–2 minutes, flipping or stirring occasionally, until just cooked through and pink. Push the shrimp to the side of the pan with the aromatics.
- Step 3
Add another 2 tablespoons of oil to the center of the pan and crack in your eggs. Use a spatula to scramble the eggs, and once they’re 90% cooked through, push them to the side, off the direct heat.
- Step 4
Add in the final 2 tablespoons of oil, then add in the cooked white rice and stir it together with the aromatics and eggs. Cook for 3-4 minutes to crisp the rice, then stir in the lump crab meat (if using crab). Turn the heat down to medium, then add sweet soy sauce, chili crisp, white pepper, chicken powder (or bouillon), MSG, and sesame oil. Stir everything together, then turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro and the sliced green parts of the scallions. Taste and season with more soy sauce, MSG, or chili crisp to your desired liking!
- Step 5
Serve on a platter or individual plates and garnish with more chili crisp, fried shallots or crispy onions, cilantro, and scallions.