Shrimp Fried Rice

Have leftover rice?  Have no idea what to do with it?  Leftover rice, to be really honest, doesn't taste all that great, depending on what kind of rice it is.  The best thing to do with leftover rice is to make fried rice.  Now, I know yinz have all seen fried rice at Chinese places.  Sound difficult?  Actually, it isn't!  This particular recipe is straight from Cooking from Above: Asian by Jody Vassallo (other than the fact that I'm putting the directions in my own words) because I had all the ingredients for once and I didn't feel like making anything up.

photo by Emily

Shrimp Fried Rice

3/4 c. cooked and cooled rice (see Note)
3 large shrimp, deshelled and deveined
1 lup cheong (Chinese sausage)
1 spring onion (scallion/green onion)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. shredded fresh gingerroot
1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. Shaoxing rice wine

Note: Fried rice is really only done with left over/cold rice.  If you don't have any already made, make rice as normal, then put in the fridge until it has thoroughly cooled before making this dish.  If you've made frozen rice packets (see "No Rice Cooker?  No Problem!"), it will make your life that much easier!  Just thaw out one of the rice packets and you're good to go.

Roughly chop the shrimp into pieces and slice the lup cheong into 1/4 in. pieces on the diagonal.  Heat half of the oil in a pan, add the egg, and swirl in the pan to coat the bottom.  Cook the egg until set, then remove from the pan and roll up into an omelet. (Or, if you're like me and you are incapable of cooking a proper omelet and butcher it to pieces, just make a blob of egg roughly shaped like a log.  It'll still taste the same.)  Cut the egg into thin shreds.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan, then add the shrimp, ginger, and lup cheong.  Stir-fry until the shrimp turns pink/red. 

Slice the scallion into roughly 1/4 - 1/2 in. pieces on the diagonal, then add them, the rice, and the egg to the stir fry to heat through. 

Mix the rice wine and soy sauce together, then add to the pan, cook, and stir briefly until the stir fry is evenly coated.  Serve immediately.