Being Asian and growing up eating authentic Asian food, I’m always searching for good restaurants and recipes that bring back childhood memories.
Just a little background info: about 99% of Asian moms like my mother cook without using a recipe book. They don’t use measuring cups, they don’t use measuring spoons, and they don’t have recipe books. The next generation learns to cook from watching their mothers in the kitchen. Everything is cooked using the “guess-timate” technique. If something didn’t have enough salt, just add a little bit more in there and taste it again. Still not enough? Add some more until it tastes good.
How much salt total did that dish just take?
Yep, since everything is based on the “taste test”, I’ve never gotten any written recipes from my mom. Everything that I try to recreate is based on memories.
That being said, I love fried rice. And me being a fan of seafood, I’m a really big fan of shrimp fried rice. The flavors of fried rice in Taiwan is something that the Chinese-American restaurants just couldn’t recreate (at least I haven’t found a place here in the Twin Cities that can). I’m not saying this recipe is 100% authentic, but it’s pretty tasty, and I guess that’s all it matters.
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs, beaten
- A bunch of scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
- Salt and pepper
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveind
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 3 cups cooked rice – I used brown rice to make it a little healthier
- 1.5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon water
Directions:
- In a large skillet, scramble the eggs with the scallion whites with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- In the same skillet over medium heat, cook the shrimp with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then transfer to the plate with the eggs and set aside.
- In the same skillet (again), slightly cook the carrots with the scallion greens until it’s no longer crunchy – I like my carrots cooked well, not raw and crunchy.
- In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, and water.
- In the skillet (if you have a wok, a wok would be better), heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the rice and soy sauce mixture and stir until warmed through. Then add the eggs, shrimp, and carrots. Toss until everything is evenly mixed.
Enjoy!
