My go-to for any meal is fried rice. When I get it to-go at my Chinese-inspired restaurant, Duck Duck Goat in Chicago, I eat an entire serving while driving home. This rice is actually more Thai-inspired in flavor. Plump shrimp, shrimpy butter and a fun crunch from spiced cereal – it’s all that you crave with fried rice. The fun part is using the leftovers inside of an omelet! I like to make a French-style thin omelet on the griddle with fried rice and cheese inside and a little mayo and pickles on top. Instead of eggs inside the rice…put rice inside the eggs! Why not?!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Active: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 2 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Japanese-style mayonnaise, such as Kewpie
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Thai shrimp paste
- Unsalted butter, for the griddle
- Neutral oil, for the griddle
- 5 large eggs, whisked until fully homogenized
- Splash fish sauce
- 1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar or other cheese (it’s fun to mix with Chihuahua cheese)
- 1 cup leftover Shrimp Fried Rice, recipe follows
- Pickled peppers or crunchy fried garlic or shallots, for topping, optional
- Chopped fresh mint or cilantro, for topping
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons Thai shrimp paste
- 2 cups rice and wheat flake cereal, such as Special K
- Kosher salt
- Neutral oil, for the pan
- 8 ounces large shrimp, cleaned and tails removed, butterflied
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1/2 cup cut green beans (1-inch lengths)
- 1/4 red onion, julienned
- 2 green Thai chiles, minced
- One 9.9-ounce tray microwave rice, such as VeeTee, or about 2 cups day-old cooked jasmine rice
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- Juice of 1/2 lime, or to taste
- Fresh herbs, such as mint, basil and cilantro, for serving
Instructions
- For the mayo: Mix the mayonnaise, fish sauce, lime juice and shrimp paste in a small bowl. Set aside for serving.
- For the omelet: Heat some butter and oil on a griddle set over medium-high heat. Mix the whisked eggs with a splash of fish sauce in a medium bowl. Pour the egg mixture onto the griddle, trying to form it into a long, rounded rectangle. Once the eggs start to set, after about 45 seconds, add the cheese from top to bottom in the middle of the eggs and then add the leftover Shrimp Fried Rice. Fold to make a fun, big, long omelet.
- Drizzle the omelet with some of the mayo mixture and top with pickled peppers or crunchy fried garlic or shallots and chopped fresh herbs such as mint or cilantro.
- Mix together the butter and shrimp paste in a bowl until smooth to make a compound shrimp butter. Set aside.
- Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt 3 tablespoons of the compound shrimp butter. Add the cereal and sauté, tossing to evenly coat it with the butter, until toasted and starting to brown lightly, about 1 minute. Season with a little salt. Transfer the crunchy topping to a plate or tray.
- Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over high heat and add a splash of oil and 1 tablespoon of the compound shrimp butter. Add the shrimp and sauté until almost cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Add another splash of oil to the pan, then add the carrots, green beans, red onion and chiles. Add a pinch of salt and cook until the vegetables begin to soften and have some color, 3 to 4 minutes. Add another splash of oil and the rice (make sure it’s broken up). Spread the rice across the pan to get some color, then add 2 tablespoons of the compound shrimp butter and stir-fry until a little browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shrimp back to the pan and sauté to combine, about 2 minutes. Add the fish sauce and lime juice to taste.
- To serve: Top with some of the crunchy topping and fresh herbs (I prefer mint/basil/cilantro… but whatever you have is great!).
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 2 servings |
| Calories | 1787 |
| Total Fat | 144 g |
| Saturated Fat | 50 g |
| Carbohydrates | 72 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Sugar | 11 g |
| Protein | 55 g |
| Cholesterol | 851 mg |
| Sodium | 1976 mg |