Shrimp Fried RiceWok Hei · The Breath of the Wok

Cold rice, a screaming hot griddle, and everything in small batches so it fries instead of steams. Shrimp, egg, broccoli, carrots, peas.
Serves 3~25 minBlackstoneDay-old rice
What Goes In

The ingredients.

Wok hei is the smoky, slightly charred flavor you get from restaurant fried rice. On a Blackstone you get it the same way: high heat, cold dry rice, and never crowding the steel.

The Fried Rice

4 cupscooked white rice, coldhave it
1 lbraw shrimp, peeled and deveinedhave it
2 cupsbroccoli, small floretshave it
2carrotshave it
1 cupfrozen peas, straight from frozenhave it
3eggs
4scallions
3 clovesgarlic
1 tspfresh ginger, optional

The Sauce

3 tbspsoy sauce
1 tbspoyster sauce
1 tsptoasted sesame oil
½ tspsugar
¼ tspwhite pepper, or black

The Fat and the rest

3 tbspneutral oil, high smoke point
2 tbspbutter
½ tspkosher salt
2 tbspwater, for steaming the broccoli
 sriracha or chili crisp, for the table
Step One · The Rice

Cold, dry, and broken up.

This is the step that makes or breaks fried rice. Warm or wet rice clumps and goes mushy on the griddle. Cold rice has dried out on the surface, so the grains fry separately.

A · Break It Up
Dump the 4 cups of cooked rice into a big bowl. Wet your hands and crumble every clump with your fingers until the grains are separate. Do this now. Once it hits the griddle, clumps stay clumps.
B · If It's Not Cold
If the rice is fresh or still warm, spread it thin on a sheet pan and put it in the freezer, uncovered, while you prep everything else.
♪ Press playRing of Fire · Johnny Cash
HeatNone yet
The Rice
Break upwet hands, no clumps
Chill if warm
Cold and loosethat's the whole trick
Step Two · Sauce and Knife Work

Everything ready before the fire.

The cook takes about 10 minutes and doesn't stop once it starts. Line up every bowl next to the griddle in the order it goes on.

A · Sauce
Whisk in a small bowl:
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp white pepper
B · Carrots
Peel and cut into a ¼ inch dice, about the size of the peas. Small and even so they cook as fast as everything else.
C · Broccoli
Cut the florets into ½ inch pieces, small enough to fit on a spoon with the rice. Peel the stem with a knife and dice it like the carrots. It's sweet and tender inside.
D · Aromatics
  • Garlic: mince 3 cloves
  • Ginger: grate 1 tsp if you have it
  • Scallions: slice thin, whites and greens in separate piles
E · Eggs
Crack 3 eggs into a bowl with a pinch of salt and beat until there are no streaks of white.
F · Griddle On
Light the Blackstone on high across every burner. Ten minutes gets the steel properly hot.
G · Shrimp
Last thing. Pat the shrimp completely dry with paper towels. If they're big, cut them in half crosswise so every bite gets one. Toss with ¼ tsp salt and a pinch of pepper right before they go on.
♪ Cook toBurning Down the House · Talking Heads
HeatHigh, all burners
Prep
Griddle preheat
Line upshrimp, eggs, veg, rice, sauce
Readynothing left to cut
Frozen Shrimp

If they started frozen, thaw them in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, then dry them really well. Wet shrimp steam and turn rubbery.

Step Three · Shrimp, Then Eggs

Cook them first, then get them off.

Shrimp take two minutes and go rubbery fast, so they come all the way off the griddle and go back in at the very end. Same with the eggs.

A · Shrimp, First Side
Spread 1 tbsp oil on the hottest zone. Lay the shrimp down flat in a single layer, not touching. Don't move them.
B · Flip
Flip each one. They're done when they curl into a loose C shape and turn pink all the way through. A tight O means they're overcooked. Pull them onto a plate.
C · Eggs
Drop 1 tbsp butter on the same spot. As soon as it foams, pour in the eggs and let them set for a few seconds, then push them around in big soft curds. Pull them while they're still a little wet. They finish later.
D · Chop the Eggs
Put the eggs on the plate with the shrimp and chop them into small pieces with the edge of your spatula.
♪ Cook toLight My Fire · The Doors
● PourAsahi Super Dry · crack one now, the hard part starts
HeatHigh
Shrimp · Eggs
Shrimp side one
Shrimp side two
Eggs
Off the griddleboth on one plate
Step Four · The Vegetables

Char, steam, then garlic.

Broccoli won't cook through on dry steel alone. A quick char for color, then a splash of water under a dome steams it tender.

A · Sear
Spread 1 tbsp oil and add the carrots and broccoli in one layer. Let them sit for a minute to char, then toss every 30 seconds or so.
B · Steam
Pile them together, squirt 2 tbsp water over them, and cover with the melting dome or an upside-down sheet pan. The broccoli should be bright green and tender when you poke it, with a little bite.
C · Aromatics
Push the vegetables aside, drop the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites onto the bare steel, and stir until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown. Then mix it all together.
♪ Cook toDisco Inferno · The Trammps
HeatMedium-high
Vegetables
Sear
Steam
Aromatics
To the sidepark them cool
Step Five · The Rice

Spread it thin and let it crackle.

This is where the wok hei comes from. Rice pressed flat onto hot steel and left alone forms crispy, toasty bits. Keep the heat all the way up.

A · Fat
Back to high. Spread the last 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter across a wide area of the hot zone.
B · Press and Wait
Spread the rice out in a thin, even layer and press it down with your spatulas. Leave it alone. You'll hear it crackle.
C · Peas and Toss
Scatter the frozen peas right over the rice, still frozen. Flip and toss the rice in sections, then spread it flat again and let it sit one more minute.
♪ Cook toFire · The Jimi Hendrix Experience
HeatHigh
The Rice
Press and wait
Peas and toss
Crispy bitson the bottom of every pile
Step Six · Bring It Together

Sauce around the edge, then everything in.

Pour the sauce onto the hot steel next to the rice, not on top of it. It sizzles and caramelizes for a second before you toss it through, which adds more of that toasty flavor.

A · Sauce
Drizzle the sauce along the edges of the rice where it meets bare steel. Let it bubble for a few seconds, then toss everything until the rice is evenly colored.
B · Everything In
Fold in the vegetables, then the shrimp and chopped eggs from the plate. Toss until it's all hot and sizzling again.
C · Taste
A bite with a shrimp in it. More soy if it needs salt, a pinch more white pepper if it tastes flat. Kill the heat and scatter the scallion greens over the top.
D · Plate
Pile it high. Sriracha or chili crisp on the table.
● PourGewürztraminer · or another Asahi, ice cold
HeatHigh
The Finish
Sauceon the steel, then toss
Everything in
Topscallion greens
Serves 3eat it hot
Two Plates

Same griddle, two ways.

Full Plate

The Takeout Portion
  • A third of the pile
  • About 1⅓ cups of rice in it
  • Chili crisp over the top
  • Asahi on the side

Light on Rice

More Shrimp and Broccoli
  • Pick out extra shrimp and vegetables
  • About ¾ cup of rice
  • A squeeze of lime if you have one
  • Gewürztraminer on the side
Leftovers

Fried rice is even better the next day because the rice dries out more in the fridge. Reheat it on a hot griddle with a little oil and let it crisp again.

The Soundtrack · Fire

Five songs about fire.

01Ring of FireJohnny Cash
02Burning Down the HouseTalking Heads
03Light My FireThe Doors
04Disco InfernoThe Trammps
05FireThe Jimi Hendrix Experience

The griddle is on high the whole time, so the playlist is too. Cash while you break up the rice, the Doors when the shrimp hit, and Hendrix for the part where it all crackles.

The Pour

What to drink.

The Pick

Asahi Super Dry

Crisp, dry, and clean enough to cut through the butter and oyster sauce. Imports section. Ice cold.

If You Want Wine

Gewürztraminer

Lychee, ginger, and a little sweetness that loves shrimp and white pepper. France section, Alsace shelf. Trimbach or Hugel are easy to find.

No Booze

Iced Jasmine Tea

Brew strong, pour over a full glass of ice. It's what a lot of Chinese restaurants pour with fried rice anyway.

For the Tracker

Macros.

Full Plate

One third of the recipe
Cal
~760
Protein
45g
Carbs
75g
Fat
28g

Light on Rice

¾ cup rice, extra shrimp and veg
Cal
~650
Protein
44g
Carbs
52g
Fat
28g
Ballpark Numbers

Most of the fat is the oil and butter it takes to fry rice properly. Rice is where nearly all the carbs are, so the portion of rice is the lever. Drinks and chili crisp not counted.

The breath of the wok.
Shrimp Fried Rice · Blackstone · High Heat