This prawn and vegetable fried rice dish was inspired from Ching-He Huang’s Chinese Food Made Easy recipe book and in particular her recipe ‘Grandmother’s Chicken Fried Rice’. It’s the flavours of the Chinese 5 spice powder, soy and sesame oil that make it a very moreish dish!
The recipe book accompanies a BBC TV series that was broadcast in 2008 and I think we’ve had this book since it was published in the same year. We’ve made quite a few recipes from the book, but none more than variations of this dish. It’s a great mid-week meal that’s quick and easy to cook once you’ve done the prep. I definitely won’t be able to count on my 2 hands how often it’s been made over the years!
This particular recipe was made with a pack of raw king prawns that we had in the freezer, however, more often than not, we’ve made it with diced chicken breast or thigh meat or strips of pork loin steaks or fillet. We’ve had it purely as a vegetable dish…maybe add a can of drained beansprouts, or a big handful of fresh beansprouts if your supermarket has them to bulk it up. Or make the vegetable fried rice and serve with pan fried fillets of salmon – the choice really is yours!
Tips
- If you don’t have leftover cold cooked rice from the night before, don’t worry, just remember to cook this in advance of prepping the vegetables and whichever protein you’re having and rinse it under plenty of cold water, then set it aside.
- Our preference is white basmati rice, however, feel free to use jasmine rice or brown rice.
- Make sure your wok starts to smoke slightly before you put the oil in, then you’ll know that the ingredients won’t stick.
- You can use any vegetables that you wish, the ingredient list below is purely a suggestion…it’s definitely a dish for making if you want to clear out the veggies in your fridge and to get 5 of your 5 a day!!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1 medium onion (approx. 140g) thickly sliced
- 120g chestnut mushrooms sliced or quartered
- 1 medium carrot (approx. 120g) thinly sliced or cut into batons
- 80g green beans cut in halves
- 1 red pepper sliced (you can use any colour)
- 200g pak choi – separate leaves from stalks and roughly chop so that you have a pile of chopped leaves and a pile of chopped stalks (they are added at different times)
- 80g sugar snap peas sliced in halves diagonally
- 160g raw king prawns rinsed
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry (you can also use rice vinegar or mirin)
- 2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 150g cooked white basmati rice (you can use jasmine or brown rice if you prefer)
- 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ground white pepper
- 2 spring onions finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat a wok or pan over a high heat until it just starts to smoke and then add the groundnut oil. Add the onions, carrots and mushrooms and cook for a minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the green beans and stalks of chopped pak choi and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Then add the peppers and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Add the rice wine followed by the Chinese 5 spice powder and stir through the vegetables for 30 seconds. Then add the prawns and as they start to turn pink, add the dark soy sauce and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Add the leaves of chopped pak choi and sugar snap peanuts and stir round to coat in the sauce, then add the rice, mix well and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Season with the light soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper to taste and stir to mix.
- Finally, stir in the spring onion and serve immediately…enjoy!
Prawn and Vegetable Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1 medium onion approx. 140g thickly sliced
- 120g chestnut mushrooms sliced or quartered
- 1 medium carrot approx. 120g thinly sliced or cut into batons
- 80g green beans cut in halves
- 1 red pepper sliced (you can use any colour)
- 200g pak choi separate leaves from stalks and roughly chop so that you have a pile of chopped leaves and a pile of chopped stalks (they are added at different times)
- 80g sugar snap peas sliced in halves diagonally
- 160g raw king prawns rinsed
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry you can also use rice vinegar or mirin
- 2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 150g cooked white basmati rice you can use jasmine or brown rice if you prefer
- 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ground white pepper
- 2 spring onions finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat a wok or pan over a high heat until it just starts to smoke and then add the groundnut oil. Add the onions, carrots and mushrooms and cook for a minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the green beans and stalks of chopped pak choi and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Then add the peppers and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Add the rice wine followed by the Chinese 5 spice powder and stir through the vegetables for 30 seconds. Then add the prawns and as they start to turn pink, add the dark soy sauce and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Add the leaves of chopped pak choi and sugar snap peanuts and stir round to coat in the sauce, then add the rice, mix well and cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Season with the light soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper to taste and stir to mix.
- Finally, stir in the spring onion and serve immediately…enjoy!
Notes
If you don’t have leftover cold cooked rice from the night before, don’t worry, just remember to cook this in advance of prepping the vegetables and whichever protein you’re having and rinse it under plenty of cold water, then set it aside.
Our preference is white basmati rice, however, feel free to use jasmine rice or brown rice.
Make sure your wok starts to smoke slightly before you put the oil in, then you’ll know that the ingredients won’t stick.
You can use any vegetables that you wish, the ingredient list below is purely a suggestion…it’s definitely a dish for making if you want to clear out the veggies in your fridge and to get 5 of your 5 a day!!
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