December 26, 2010

Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem


Last nights dinner plans were easy: chicken terriyaki and shrimp egg rolls. I had everything defrosted, marinated and had even pre-cut my veggies before hand. I was on the ball! So naturally I took it real easy as dinner time approached and about an hour before we usually eat, I casually strolled into the kitchen to throw everything together last minute. So you could imagine my surprise (read: freaking-out) when I realized my egg roll wrappers were really samosa wrappers which are exactly the same thing except the samosa wrappers are about 1/3 the length of an egg roll wrapper and what the heck kind of egg rolls can I make with those?! This is right about the time I started to really freak out and then remembered my mom.

She's a big proponent of wingin' it...as in, just planning as she goes and if one thing doesn't work out, she always manages to make something else better than the first plan, Allahumma barakfeeha. I, on the other hand, resort to freaking out (did I mention that yet?). But I did my best to channel my mom and decided to toss the egg roll filling into my fried rice and there you have it, (impromptu) spicy shrimp fried rice.


Spicy Shrimp Fried Rice
(I am in no way whatsoever claiming this to be anything close to an authentic Asian fried rice, but rather my take on it ... and also a way to use up left over veggies. I left the traditional scrambled egg out to suit my family's taste and upped the heat factor too. As with anything, use spices to your liking)

1 lb raw shrimp (I prefer the 22/25 size, wild caught and already cleaned variety)
2 cups cooked white rice
3 stalks celery, julienne
2 medium carrots, julienne
1 tablespoon garlic and ginger paste
2 table spoon seaseme oil (regular vegetable oil is fine)
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice (if you don't have this, substitute with ground cumin, ground fennel and a dash of ground cloves. Or whatever spice flavor you like)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon red chili powder

Directions
1. In a bowl, toss shrimp with five spice seasoning and garlic and ginger paste. In a frying pan, heat sesame oil on medium low heat in pan. Add shrimp and cook 3 - 4 minutes until no longer pink, under cooking  slightly(they will be returned to the hot rice at the end and will continue to cook then. Remove while they are still slightly undercooked to avoid tough, rubbery, overcooked shrimp). Remove from pan and  give them a rough chop. Keep aside.

2. Add carrots and celery to the hot pan (add more oil if necessary) and cook until starting to soften. Throw in the rice, soy sauce and chili powder. Toss everything to coat. Allow mixture to cook for a minute or two to absorb any extra liquid and giving the rice that 'fried rice' texture. In last 3 minutes of cooking, add shrimp pieces to hot pan and mix well. Serve hot.

3 comments:

  1. Mmm this looks delicious mashaAllah I think I'll have to try it out inshaAllah love your blog, so mouth-watering! :) JazakAllahu Khairun for stopping by my blog and your lovely comments <3

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  2. Jazakillah khair Eva! Tell me how you like it :)

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  3. Yummy, it look really tasty and must to have it. THank you for hsaring the recipe with us, will be trying this out soon and hope that it will be delicious

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Tell me what you think! As always, feedback and reviews are appreciated...happy cooking!