Thai-spiced fried rice with shrimp
Fried rice is a weekly meal at our place. It’s super quick and easy to make, and it uses leftover rice (and any leftover veggies lurking in the bottom of the fridge, as well). And fried rice is fun to play around with. You can create lots of varieties by adding different vegetables and protein sources, and using various seasonings to turn it into a Chinese-style, Indonesian-style, Vietnamese-style or, as in this recipe, Thai-style fried rice.
Typically, for a truly authentic Thai flavor and aroma, you’d use Jasmine rice for this dish, but we happened to have leftover plain long-grain rice in the fridge, and it was still delicious. Regardless of the type of rice, the main thing is to use cold precooked rice so that it fries instead of steams during cooking, keeping the grains separate. It’s also important to get your wok or skillet really hot before adding the oil which helps prevent sticking and adds extra flavor.
This Thai fried rice makes the most of everyday ingredients to make a really yummy and colorful dish. Crunchy carrot and green beans, and succulent shrimp (we use the precooked, peeled type) are stir-fried with rice and a delicately-spiced sauce made with Thai red curry paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and garlic. Scallion, lime juice and cilantro are added at the end of cooking for a hit of fresh flavor.
In terms of variations, we tend to go for veggies like mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, bean sprouts, snow peas, peas, and corn (kernels or baby corn), and cut them into similar-size pieces so they cook evenly. Of course you can use raw shrimp if preferred, and just stir-fry them at the start, then remove them from the wok while you stir-fry the remaining ingredients, and return them at the end of cooking, tossing to combine. Or instead of shrimp, precooked chicken (leftover roast chicken is ideal) can be diced or shredded and added to the stir-fry towards the end of cooking to heat through. For extra protein and texture, a handful of peanuts or cashews make a good addition. And you can also replace the cilantro with finely chopped fresh basil, and the lime juice with lemon juice.
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese soy sauce
1 teaspoon superfine (caster) sugar
4 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
24 green beans — cut into ½-inch pieces
2 carrots — finely diced
4 garlic cloves — finely chopped
4 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
32 large cooked shrimp (prawns) — peeled and deveined
2 scallions — finely sliced on the diagonal
4 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (fresh coriander)
2 tablespoons lime juice
Variations: We tend to go for veggies like mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, bean sprouts, snow peas, peas, and corn (kernels or baby corn), and cut them into similar-size pieces so they cook evenly. Instead of shrimp, precooked chicken (leftover roast chicken is ideal) can be diced or shredded and added to the stir-fry towards the end of cooking to heat through. For extra protein and texture, a handful of peanuts or cashews make a good addition. And you can also replace the cilantro with finely chopped fresh basil, and the lime juice with lemon juice.
