The addition of prawns and peas transforms Egg Fried Rice from a side dish to a main course, yet requires hardly any extra effort. A really quick and simple dish to make on a busy midweek night when you haven’t got much time, but you still want to make something tasty and nutritious.
Egg Fried Rice with Prawns and Peas
Egg Fried Rice with Prawns and Peas is one of my favourite easy peasy dinners. It’s a real crowdpleaser and takes just 20 minutes to make (and only 10 minutes if you already have some leftover rice from another meal!)
All you need to do is stir-fry cooked rice in a frying pan or wok, then add your eggs and fry some more. Next you add raw prawns, frozen peas, soy sauce and sesame oil, and it’s ready to serve when the prawns are cooked. What could be simpler? And it’s all done in under 20 minutes – perfect for those busy weeknight evenings!
Always use cold rice
It’s really important to use cold rice to make Egg Fried Rice – it works so much better than hot rice. You can cook the rice earlier in the day and refrigerate until needed, use leftover rice straight from the fridge (make sure you are careful to follow food safety rules for rice!), or do what I do and cool the hot rice in a sieve under cold water until it’s properly cold – believe me it’s really worth doing this tiny extra step. Also, make sure you fry the rice for a good 3 minutes before adding in the eggs. It will make all the difference.
A sneaky shortcut
If time is tight, I have a brilliant shortcut – use those microwavable pouches of rice! If you just get a plain one, all you are buying is cooked rice, essentially. You will need 600g cooked rice to make this dish.
The perfect emergency meal!
This recipe is also a good one to make if your original plans fall through – rice, eggs and frozen peas are all things you are likely to have in your kitchen already, so stick a bag of prawns in your freezer too and you know you’ve always got the makings of an easy peasy standby meal whenever you need it.
Make it your own
This delicious Egg Fried Rice recipe is very easy to adapt:
- Use any kind of rice you like – this works really well with white rice, brown rice or basmati rice
- Use leftover cooked chicken, turkey or pork, instead of the prawns
- Add sweetcorn as well as / instead of the peas
- Make this veggie by frying up some onions, peppers and mushrooms, before adding the rice (and omit the prawns, obviously!)
- Use crumbled tofu instead of egg, add extra veggies and omit the prawns for a vegan version
- Add garlic and/or fresh chilli or dried chilli flakes at the same time as you add the rice for more oomph!
- Scatter with sliced spring onions (scallions) and / or fresh coriander (cilantro) for garnish
What to serve with Egg Fried Rice?
I tend to serve this easy Egg Fried Rice with Prawns and Peas recipe on its own as a quick and simple midweek dinner, but you could also serve it as a side dish to go with my Easy Peasy Homemade Stir Fry or any other Chinese-style dishes that you like to make. I always serve this dish with extra soy sauce and sesame oil on the table for people to help themselves.
What to drink with Egg Fried Rice?
This egg fried rice pairs beautifully with a citrussy Sauvignon Blanc from France, Chile or New Zealand. Alternatively, a dry Riesling from Germany, Alsace or Australia works very well too. Other matches worth trying include Austrian Grüner Veltliner or Italian Pinot Grigio.
Can you reheat leftover egg fried rice?
I don’t recommend reheating this dish. Both rice and prawns can lead to food poisoning if reheated incorrectly, and it is never a good idea to reheat food that has already been reheated once before.
Can you freeze egg fried rice ?
No, this recipe is not suitable for freezing.
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Egg Fried Rice with Prawns and Peas
Ingredients
- 300 g uncooked white rice (See Note 1)
- 1 tablespoon sunflower/vegetable/wok oil
- 3 medium eggs
- 250 g raw prawns defrosted first, if frozen
- 100 g frozen peas no need to defrost first
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce plus extra for serving
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil plus extra for serving
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to packet instructions / your own preferences. Drain and rinse under cold water until properly cold. Drain again thoroughly. (See Note 1)
- Place the oil into a large frying pan or wok and heat for 1 minute over a medium high burner. Add the rice and stir fry for 3 minutes until properly hot.
- Crack 3 eggs into a jug and mix together using a whisk or a fork. Make a well in the centre of your rice and add the beaten eggs. Leave like this for 30 seconds and then stir into the rice.
- Add the defrosted prawns and the frozen peas plus the soy sauce and sesame oil and stir everything together. Cook for 5 more minutes until the prawns are pink and slightly curled. They should be fully cooked and piping hot.
- Serve just as it is or with other Chinese-style dishes. Put more soy sauce and sesame oil on the table for people to help themselves to extra.
Notes
- This recipe works well with white, brown or basmati rice. Follow packet instructions for exact rice cooking times.
- You can also use pre-cooked / leftover rice. (Do take care to follow correct food safety advice when cooling and reheating rice.) You will need 600g cooked rice to make this recipe. If you use cooked rice this recipe only takes 10 minutes!
- Always make sure you use cold rice in this recipe!
- Not suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says
Egg Fried Rice (with whatever we had to hand) was my ‘go to’ student dish. It still holds a fond place in my heart and my kitchen. Good to see it’s popular with others too.
Thanks for sharing #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
It’s such a great quick and easy standby dish, isn’t it? Eb 🙂
Simon says
So easy and sooo tasty…. Really quick as well. Love it.
Eb Gargano says
Yay – I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review… and especially for the 5* rating! Eb 🙂
Iuliana says
My children love it, I use brown rice instead of white. Easy to make and so delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Eb Gargano says
Aw – yay, that’s so great to hear! Thank you for this lovely review 😀