Cajun Shrimp Fried Rice is a one-pot wonder full of flavorful shrimp and rice with a Cajun seasoning that the entire family will enjoy!
This Easy Cajun Shrimp Fried Rice is a spicy, wholesome, easy weeknight meal. It’s a one-pan, 30-minute meal with the flavours of New Orleans! And it’s gluten-free!
This Cajun shrimp with rice recipe would also be a fun dish to serve at a dinner party with friends. Place a large bowl or platter of this southern-flavored rice dish in the middle of the table, and invite your friends to dig in and serve themselves!
WHAT IS CAJUN SEASONING MADE OF?
“Cajun” is a word used to describe the Acadians, who were the French colonists who first settled in a region of Canada known as Acadia. Eventually, the Acadians were moved out of Canada by the British in the early 1700s and they migrated way down south to Louisiana. Because they didn’t have refrigerators, Cajuns learned to use every part of their animals for food and also used smoking and splicing techniques for preserving their foods. Cajun food is basically interpreted to mean “heavily seasoned” — which doesn’t always mean spicy, but often is anyway because of the heavy use of cayenne pepper in a lot of recipes.
How to Know if Cajun Shrimp Fried Rice is Done”
Best to break up the rice by hand and leave the oil for the wok. Once the rice is broken up, you’re ready to cook. Fried rice is more forgiving than most stir-fries (unlike meat or green vegetables, it’s not easy to overcook rice), but it’s still a fast process
Tricks to Perfect Fried Rice
- As mentioned, use chilled leftover rice! The dry refrigerator air helps dry the rice a bit, which is why cold leftover rice never tastes as good the next day if you eat it straight, but it’s perfect for frying.
- Use high heat. You don’t need a blazing hot restaurant kitchen stove, just patience to let your pan get hot. A hot pan will help everything fry quickly and help keep ingredients from sticking.
- Fry ingredients separately. To keep the ingredients and their flavors from mushing together, cook them separately, yet in the same pan. Start with the protein (in this case the shrimp), cook it until it’s almost done, then remove from the pan, and start cooking the other ingredients—the eggs next, then the rice. Add the protein and eggs back to the rice at the end.
- Minimize stirring. If you want browning, don’t stir. Just spread the rice out in the pan and let the pan do the work.
Can You Freeze Shrimp Fried Rice?
Absolutely! Fried rice freezes really well in the freezer and can be stored in the fridge or in the freezer for up to 3 months
Best way to freeze cooked rice:
There are two ways to freeze fried rice. With a Ziploc bag or vacuum sealer. However, using a vacuum sealer will require a special bag and a . To preserve fried rice:
Make sure fried rice is cool enough to touch; then spread it on a baking sheet to create a thin layer. Place the tray in the freezer for 1-2 hours
When the rice has cooled completely, portion it out into zip-top freezer bags or air-tight containers. Be sure to squeeze out as much air as possible from the bag and seal it
Don’t forget to label and date the bag
How to freeze special fried rice
When it comes to rice with gravy, such as Fujian fried rice, you will need to separate the rice and gravy to prevent the rice from getting mushy.
Fried rice is one great way to ensure that leftover rice doesn’t go to waste. Learn how to freeze fried rice and reheat frozen rice in a microwave or on a stovetop.
How to reheat frozen rice:
There are two ways to reheat frozen rice, but the most important note here is you can’t reheat rice more than once because repeated reheating will give space for nasty bacteria to grow.
In a microwave. You can cover the rice with a wet paper towel to prevent dryness. And if the rice still seems dry, add a tablespoon of water and reheat for 1-2 minutes in a microwave.
On a skillet. It is best to thaw the rice overnight. Heat oil in a skillet, add rice and stir occasionally until warm, about 5 minutes.
Ingredients:
° Leftover 3 cups cooked brown or white rice
° 1 k shrimp, peel & deveined
° 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, paprika, and garlic powder
° 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
° 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
° Fresh black pepper to taste
° 2 scrambled egg whites
° 1 whole egg, scrambled
° 1/2 medium onion, chopped
° 2 cloves minced garlic
° 5 medium green onions, chopped, whites and greens separated
° oil spray
° 1 tablespoon sesame oil
° 1 teaspoon ground red pepper flakes, or more to taste
° 4 teaspoons soy sauce, or more to taste
° 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce (or more soy sauce)
Ingredients:
° Leftover 3 cups cooked brown or white rice
° 1 k shrimp, peel & deveined
° 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, paprika, and garlic powder
° 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
° 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
° Fresh black pepper to taste
° 2 scrambled egg whites
° 1 whole egg, scrambled
° 1/2 medium onion, chopped
° 2 cloves minced garlic
° 5 medium green onions, chopped, whites and greens separated
° oil spray
° 1 tablespoon sesame oil
° 1 teaspoon ground red pepper flakes, or more to taste
° 4 teaspoons soy sauce, or more to taste
° 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce (or more soy sauce)
Directions :
In a bowl, season shrimp with cayenne pepper, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, & garlic powder.
In a hot skillet, over medium heat, spray a little oil and cook the eggs, when cooked, remove from the skillet and set aside, for 1 to 2 minutes.
Raise the heat to high heat, when it heats up add sesame oil and fry the onions, green onions, garlic, and chili flakes for 1-2 minutes.
Adding shrimp also fry to opaque, 2 to 3 min.
Add rice and simmer until bottom is browned, 2 to 3 minutes, stir and add eggs, soy sauce, and fish sauce, mixing well about 2 minutes.
Add greens from green onions and serve.
We added grilled huge shrimp on top.
Enjoy!
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