This dish for Shrimp Fried Rice is an attempt to make a takeout favorite a bit healthier. To do so,
Cooking Light cut the amount of rice, added a bunch of veggies, and cut out some of the salt. So because of this, I think this recipe should more be called “
Shrimp Fried
Rice” (There’s a lot of shrimp, a little bit of fried, and an itty bit of rice. Have no fear, you won’t even miss it.)
Ingredients:
1 cup broccoli florets
7 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium orange bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 cup snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1 cup cooked long-grain white rice, chilled
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Sriracha
1/4 cup thinly diagonally sliced green onions
This recipe works best with day-old rice but I didn’t have the foresight to do that. So I made my rice in my rice cooker and popped it in the refrigerator.
To make, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the broccoli to a steam basket and steam over the boiling water for 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. (I cheated and steamed my broccoli in my rice cooker after making the rice). Add to a large bowl.
Prepare your vegetables.
Add 1 teaspoon canola oil to a saute pan over medium high heat. If you have a wok, use it here. If not (like me) just use your largest saute pan. Add the peppers and snow peas and stir fry for 2 minutes.
Remove the vegetables and place in a large bowl with the broccoli. Add 2 tablespoons canola oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add the ginger, cooking for 10 seconds. Add the chilled rice and cook for 5 minutes or until the rice is lightly browned.
Remove the rice and add to the bowl with the vegetables.
Mix the soy sauce, vinegar and Sriracha in a bowl. Set aside.
Wipe the pan with paper towels and return to medium-high heat. Add the sesame oil (I used toasted sesame oil, you can use regular as well), and swirl to coat. Add the shrimp and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in the soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil.
Cook for 3 minutes or until the liquid slightly thickens.
Add back in the vegetables plus the sliced green onions, stirring to combine. Cook for 1 minute and serve.
So easy right? And look at those beautiful colors!
There is a ton of flavor in this dish, and it ends with a slight spiciness. I would by no means call this a spicy dish though, it’s really great!
With so many vegetables in the dish, the rice became more a complement than the entire meal which was actually quite refreshing.
I wish I had taken the tails off the shrimp though, I wanted to just inhale this meal and the tails kept slowing me down!
