Why not make this Easy Chicken & Shrimp Fried Rice tonight instead of ordering a takeaway? Plump juicy shrimp & tender chicken are mixed with veggies, scrambled egg & rice to make a delicious one-pan meal, on the table in just 30 minutes!
I love making takeout style dinners at home and this chicken & shrimp fried rice is my new favourite!
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My family loves fried rice and we eat many variations of it including pork belly fried rice, hot dog fried rice and no egg special fried rice on rotation, as it makes a great quick dinner option for a busy weeknight.
There is something quite satisfying about being able to re-create a restaurant style meal to make it healthier, cheaper and allergy friendly!
A few of my other favourite take-away style recipes include Chinese crispy shredded chicken, beef with ginger & spring onion & king prawn balti, as well as the kids favourite, my Five Guys style burger & cajun fries!
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❤️ Why You Will Love This Recipe
- ✔️ Cooked In One-Pan: Which means less washing up and this, my friends, is priceless!
- ✔️ Great To Feed A Crowd: Stick the wok in the middle of the table and let your friends and family tuck in and serve themselves.
- ✔️ Better Than Takeout: Making takeaway style food yourself is healthier, cheaper and you can control the ingredients to make it suitable for any food allergies.
🥘 Ingredients Needed & Variations
Here is a brief overview of the ingredients you will need to make this chicken & shrimp fried rice. To find out how to make it allergy-friendly, simply scroll down to the section below this one.
- Chicken - I have used skinless chicken breast that I chopped into small bitesized chunks, like I did with these air fryer chicken kebabs. Feel free to use chicken thighs instead as this will also work well.
- Shrimp - Although shrimp is actually a different species to prawn, what we would call a "king prawn" in the UK, is generally referred to as a shrimp in the USA. I have used fresh, cooked king prawns.
- Aromatics - Minced fresh garlic and ginger, as well as finely diced white onion form the base of this dish.
- Vegetables - You can use a combination of veggies. Use whatever you have in the fridge or whatever you fancy! I have used sweetcorn, carrot & frozen peas but feel free to add diced red bell peppers, beansprouts or even some frozen mixed vegetables for ease.
- Rice - Leftover cooked, cold brown or white rice is best for fried rice as it is more sturdy, which allows the grains to remain separate and not clump together when fried. Using freshly cooked rice may turn the fried rice mushy. For quickness you can use a pouch of microwave rice as this has already been cooked.
- Eggs - The eggs are beaten directly in the pan to make scrambled eggs, which is then stirred through the rice for an authentic Chinese takeout flavour.
- Soy Sauce - I prefer to use light soy sauce for this recipe, although dark soy sauce can be used to. Be aware the dark version isn’t as salty as the light, so you may want to taste & add a bit more salt if necessary.
- Oil - I have used a mix of both olive oil and sesame oil. Sesame oil has a strong flavour so go easy on the amount used.
- Garnish - Chopped spring onion (green onions) and red chilli is sprinkled over the top for garnish and some crunch and heat.
✋ Double check all packaging for allergens ✋
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🥜 How Can I Make This Dish Allergy Friendly?
- Make It Gluten Free: Use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Both can be bought in most major supermarkets.
- Make It Soy Free: Swap the soy sauce for coconut aminos which has a very similar flavour.
- Make It Sesame Free: Use regular olive oil or vegetable oil instead.
- Make It Crustacean Free: Swap the shrimp for an alternative protein like tofu or pork.
- Make It Egg-Free: Crumbled silken tofu has a very similar texture to scrambled egg and is a great alternative. Just make sure you buy silken tofu and not regular tofu, which has a firmer texture and wont crumble like silken tofu does.
🤔 Can I Use Frozen or Raw Shrimp?
Yes, you can use either! If you're using frozen shrimp, it's best to defrost them in the fridge overnight before adding them to the rice. For raw shrimp, simply add them to the wok after removing the chicken (before adding the veggies). Cook for 1-2 minutes until they turn pink and are cooked. Remove and set aside, then add them back to the pan later following the original recipe.
✏️ How to Make - Step-By-Step Instructions
⬇️ Here you will find an overview of how to make the recipe. For full information on ingredients and quantities please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page ⬇️
Start by preparing the vegetables. Finely dice the carrot and onion, mince the garlic and ginger, and slice the spring onion and chilli. Set these aside for later use.
Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a large high sided skillet (frying pan) or wok, Dice the chicken breast into small, bite-sized chunks and add them to the hot pan. Cook the chicken until it is browned and fully cooked, which usually takes about 5-7 minutes. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
Step 2: In the same pan, add the sesame oil and allow it to heat up. Once hot, add the diced carrot and onion. Sauté them until they begin to soften, typically for about 4-5 minutes.
Step 3: Next, add the sweetcorn, frozen peas, minced garlic, and ginger to the pan. Stir-fry for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the vegetables are nice and tender.
Step 4: Add the leftover cooked rice to the pan, breaking up any clumps with a spoon. Pour the soy sauce over the rice and continue to fry for 2-3 minutes, until the rice is thoroughly heated and evenly coated with the sauce.
Step 5: Push the rice mixture to one side of the wok, creating an empty space. Add the lightly beaten eggs to this empty space and allow them to scramble slightly. Once the eggs start to set, stir them into the rice mixture.
Step 6: Now, return the cooked chicken to the skillet pan, along with the cooked shrimp (prawns). Toss everything together, until all of the ingredients are well combined. Stir-fry for an further 2-3 minutes, until everything is heated through.
Season the fried rice with salt and pepper, garnish with thinly sliced spring onions and red chilli, serve immediately, and enjoy!
💡 Tips & Tricks
- ✔️ Use Cooked, Cold Leftover Rice: Cold rice works best for fried rice as it's less likely to become mushy when stir-fried. You can use leftover rice from a previous meal or cook the rice a few hours before making the fried rice, letting it cool in the fridge. Microwave rice is another good option, just add it straight from the pouch, no need to microwave beforehand.
- ✔️ Prep Ingredients Before Cooking: Chop all your vegetables, dice the chicken and have your sauces ready before you start cooking. Once you start, everything cooks really quickly, so its handy to have it all ready.
- ✔️ High Heat: Use a hot skillet or wok for stir-frying. High heat helps to quickly cook the ingredients while maintaining their texture, so the ingredients keep their crispness & don’t steam or go soggy in the pan.
✔️Don't Overcook The Shrimp: If you are using cooked shrimp, they only need to be added at the end to warm through. Overcooking shrimp makes them tough and rubbery. - Garnish Before Serving: I love to garnish the fried rice with sliced spring onions for crunch and texture and red chilli to add a bit of heat.
🥡 Storage / Reheating / Freezing
According to the Food Standards Agency, rice should never be reheated more than once, therefore as the rice has previously been cooked and heated, I would advise eating this dish straight away and not storing or freezing it for later use.
💬 Recipe FAQs
Long grain, jasmine, brown or basmati rice would all work for this dish.
How do I stop the rice from becoming mushy?
Using cold, cooked rice is key to preventing mushiness. Also, avoid overcooking the rice and make sure your pan is hot enough before adding the rice.
⚡ More Takeaway Style Dishes
If you loved this recipe, please leave me a 5🌟 rating or comment below. I really do appreciate it. 😊
📖 Recipe
Easy Chicken & Shrimp Fried Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g (2-3 cups) leftover cooked cold rice
- 2 medium chicken breasts diced into small chunks
- 150 g (5.5 oz) shrimp (king prawns) fresh and cooked
- 1 medium (½ cup) carrot finely diced
- 100 g (¾ cup) frozen peas
- 75 g (½ cup) sweetcorn
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ inch fresh ginger minced
- 3 medium eggs swap for silken tofu for egg free
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce swap for coconut aminos for gluten and soy free
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- 2 spring onion ( green onion) sliced
- 1 medium red chilli sliced
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables. Finely dice the carrot and onion, mince the garlic and ginger, slice the spring onion and chilli, then set aside.
- In a large skillet (frying pan) or wok, heat 2 teaspoon of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Dice the chicken breast into small bite-sized chunks and add to the pan. Cook until browned and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the sesame oil. When hot, add the diced carrot & onion and cook until they start to soften, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the sweetcorn, frozen peas, minced garlic, and ginger to the skillet pan. Stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the cooked rice to the pan, breaking up any clumps with a spoon. Pour the soy sauce over the rice and fry for 2-3 minutes until the rice is heated through and evenly coated with the sauce.
- Push the rice mixture to one side of the wok and add the lightly beaten eggs to the other side. Allow the eggs to scramble slightly, then stir them into the rice mixture.
- Return the cooked chicken to the skillet pan along with the cooked shrimp (prawns) and toss everything together. Stir-fry for an additional 2-3 minutes until everything is heated through.
- Season the fried rice with salt and black pepper to taste. Garnish with thinly sliced spring onions & red chilli and serve immediately.
Notes
- Make It Gluten Free: Use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Both can be bought in most major supermarkets.
- Make It Soy Free: Swap the soy sauce for coconut aminos which has a very similar flavour.
- Make It Sesame Free: Use regular olive oil or vegetable oil instead.
- Make It Crustacean Free: Swap the shrimp for an alternative protein like tofu or pork.
- Make It Egg-Free: Crumbled silken tofu has a very similar texture to scrambled egg and is a great alternative. Just make sure you buy silken tofu and not regular tofu, which has a firmer texture and wont crumble like silken tofu does.
- Use Cooked, Cold Leftover Rice: Cold rice works best for fried rice as it's less likely to become mushy when stir-fried. You can use leftover rice from a previous meal or cook the rice a few hours before making the fried rice, letting it cool in the fridge. Microwave rice is another good option, just add it straight from the pouch, no need to microwave beforehand.
- Prep Ingredients Before Cooking: Chop all your vegetables, dice the chicken and have your sauces ready before you start cooking. Once you start, everything cooks really quickly, so its handy to have it all ready.
- High Heat: Use a hot skillet or wok for stir-frying. High heat helps to quickly cook the ingredients while maintaining their texture, so the ingredients keep their crispness & don’t steam or go soggy in the pan.
- Don't Overcook The Shrimp: If you are using cooked shrimp, they only need to be added at the end to warm through. Overcooking shrimp makes them tough and rubbery.
- Garnish Before Serving: I love to garnish the fried rice with sliced spring onions for crunch and texture and red chilli to add a bit of heat.
Tim says
Yummy; used sweet chilli sauce and hoisin rather than soy and bypassed the carrots as I didn't have any
Lauren Woodger says
Sounds delicious!