Prawn Fried Rice with Egg

Delicious prawn fried rice, bursting with flavour and ready to eat in just 20 minutes. Filled with juicy prawns, peas and egg, all tossed through a rich savoury sauce, it is quick and easy to make and customisable with any of your favourite add-ins.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Quick and easy – just toss the cooked rice with prawns, eggs and veggies. Season with an easy savoury sauce and you have a speedy dinner, ready in 20 minutes.
• A great way to use up leftover rice – or use packet rice if you’re in a hurry!
• One pan recipe – everything comes together in one wok for minimal clean up!
• Easy to customise – swap out the meats or veggies for what you prefer/have on hand. Or add some chilli for a little heat.
• Meal prep friendly – all of the elements can be prepped ahead, ready to throw into a hot wok in 5 minutes.
• Serve it with prawn gyoza, pork spring rolls or any of your favourite Chinese inspired foods.

Ingredients you will need

** This post contains tips and instructions to achieve the best possible results. The photo above is a great guide for when you are in the supermarket, but for full ingredient quantities and methods, please scroll down to the detailed recipe card below!

• Prawns – I use raw, green prawns that are deveined and peeled. You can use king or tiger prawns, or even swap for some chicken thighs or other meat, if preferred.

• Vegetables – keep it simple by using some frozen peas, bean sprouts and spring onion.  Or use whatever you have in your fridge and pantry! Baby corn, frozen corn, carrots or cabbage all make tasty additions.

• Rice – use day-old rice that is cooked the day before and kept covered in the fridge. The best rice to use for fried rice is Jasmine or long grain white rice. Alternatively, pre-cooked packet rice can be used.

• Chinese cooking wine – Shaoxing is a Chinese cooking wine. You can substitute it for mirin or dry sherry. Or keep it out, if preferred.

• Soy sauce – use light soy sauce rather than dark. I use regular light soy, but you can add salt-reduced if preferred. I use 4 tablespoons, but you can add more, or less, to taste and adjust at the end, if necessary.

• Sesame oil – adds a lovely, aromatic flavour to the rice. It can be found in the international section of the supermarket shelves.

• Fish sauce – is used to add a salty, umami flavour to the rice. Oyster sauce can be used instead.

• BBQ pork – use pre-cooked Char siu (Chinese BBQ) pork, if you can source it, as it adds an amazing flavour to the rice. In Australia, it can be found in the deli at Woolworths and some other supermarkets. You can also make your own or use leftover pork, if preferred. Being pre-cooked, it is perfect for chopping up and throwing into the wok. Alternatively, you can use equal quantities of bacon or 175g of Chinese sausage.

• Eggs – add great flavour as well as protein. Use free-range eggs where possible.

• Peanut oil – I use peanut oil to fry the rice ingredients, as it has a high smoke point that makes it perfect for stir frying. You can also use vegetable oil, or any neutral flavoured oil.

Step by step guide

1 – Make the sauce;

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a jug and set aside.

Prepare all of the fried rice ingredients before starting; beat the eggs, chop the vegetables and pork and set them aside in bowls, ready to add to the wok. If you have shelled prawns, peel them and set them aside.

2 – Sauté;

Heat the oil over high heat in a hot wok and stir fry the onion and ginger until soft and fragrant.

Add the pork and peas and stir fry for 1-2 minutes before adding the prawns.

3 – Stir fry rice;

Stir fry over high heat until combined and heated through. Make a well in the middle and add the beaten eggs. Stir until the egg is cooked through and in small pieces. *Alternatively, the egg can be cooked in a smaller pan and added to the rice at the end.

4 – Add the sauce;

Add the sauce and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, until you notice the rice and vegetables starting to brown slightly. Add the bean shoots and stir.

Expert tips

1. Wash your rice before cooking. Make sure you rinse it in a sieve under a cold tap to get rid of as much starch as possible. Starch will cause the rice to stick together in clumps (which we don’t want!).
2. Cooking the rice ahead of time in a rice cooker is a great method for controlling the amount of moisture in the rice. I add a little less water, which keeps the grains firm and on the drier side, perfect for fried rice.
3. Use cold rice. For best results, plan ahead and use cooked and chilled rice. Freshly cooked rice will become soggy and clumpy when stir fried. Leftover, refrigerated rice is best as it will dry out overnight.
4. Store the cooked rice in the fridge. Cool the rice at room temperature before covering and placing it in the fridge. Day-old rice is best for fried rice, as it will dry out and be less likely to clump together.
5. Have all of your ingredients ready to go. As everything cooks together very quickly, you won’t have time to prepare ingredients while cooking. So, it’s easiest to have all of your sauces and ingredients chopped and ready to go.
6. Customise the ingredient list below to suit your taste/what you have available in the fridge. This recipe suits most fresh and frozen vegetables and types of protein.
7. Keep things hot! For best results, use a large wok. Woks will generate more heat than a frying pan, ensuring that the rice is fried and not steamed. Make sure the wok is smoking hot before adding your ingredients. If using a smaller pan, you may need to cook in batches to keep the heat in.
8. Adjust the seasoning; different soy sauce brands can contain different levels of sodium and everyone’s salt tolerance is different. Start with a small amount of soy sauce and then taste and adjust at the end, if necessary.
9. Add a little heat by adding some chilli flakes or chilli oil.
10. Meal prep – the rice should be day-old, so make sure it is cooked and cooled, then kept in the fridge overnight. The vegetables can all be chopped ahead of time and the sauce can be made and stored in the fridge, ready to add to the wok.
11. Storage; this rice will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

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Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in March 2019, but was re-published with new information, helpful tips and photos in June 2022.