thai shrimp fried rice

There are few things I love more in this world than fried rice.

I mean, there are cookies and ice cream and mini pigs and Jesus and my husband, but also, fried rice.

Oh, and the beach and summer night walks and peanut butter and a big cup of coffee in the morning and my family and friends and some other stuff, but then — FRIED RICE.

And if you were to rank all the types of fried rice in the world, this Thai shrimp fried rice would be at the tippy top for me, I love it so.

Basically, this stuff is good. Really good. And I can’t believe I put mini pigs and Jesus in the same sentence.

I recently won a giveaway (from the lovely Stephie, actually), which NEVER happens, and in the box of goodies I received was a bag of Alter Eco‘s Thai sticky purple rice. Intrigued, I thought I’d give it a go in this Thai shrimp fried rice dish I love so much. And do you know what happened? I loved it even more. I didn’t even know such a thing was possible, but there you go.

This rice, oh this rice. It’s sticky. It’s purple. It’s slightly sweet on its own but then you add salty things to it like, well, salt and soy sauce and it instantly becomes ultimate flavor magic in the mouth. Then you add crisp, stir-fried broccoli and red bell pepper and shrimpy shrimp (I’m not sure how else to describe shrimp, really) and some scrambled egg and scallions and red curry paste and — well I could go on, but I think you get the picture. This dish is EPIC.

I will warn you, this recipe makes for a bit of a mess in the kitchen of the multiple dishes variety, but it is totally worth it. Especially if you volunteer to make dinner and leave the spouse to clean the dishes. #win

Thai Shrimp Fried Rice
Adapted from Cooking Light

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
2 eggs
1 small bunch green onions
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil, divided
2 1/2 cups cooked and slightly cooled rice (I used Thai sticky purple rice, but any rice will do)
1/4 cup thin-sliced shallots
1 lb cooked peeled, de-veined, tail-off shrimp
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup julienne-cut red bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon red curry paste and 1/8 teaspoon salt. In a separate small bowl, whisk together eggs and remaining red curry paste.

Chop green onions on the diagonal; chop white parts into 1-inch pieces and set aside separately.

Heat a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons oil; swirl to coat pan. Add rice and stir 1 1/2 minutes, then transfer to a large bowl. Add another 2 teaspoons oil to the pan. Add shallots and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly until soft. Add shrimp and cook 2 minutes, until shrimp is heated through.

Add brown sugar-soy sauce mixture to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer 2 minutes until liquid thickens and reduces slightly. Add contents of pan to rice in large bowl.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add another 2 teaspoons oil, then add broccoli and red bell pepper. Stir 3 minutes until just tender. Add remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, white parts of green onions and minced garlic. Stir 1 minute until fragrant. Return shrimp and rice mixture to pan and stir ingredients until combined and heated through. Transfer all contents back to large bowl.

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining teaspoon oil; swirl to coat pan. Add egg mixture and cook 1 minute until just set. Transfer egg to a cutting board and roughly chop. Stir into shrimp-rice mixture along with half of the remaining chopped green onions. Serve with more green onions on top and lime wedges on the side.