Shrimp Fried Rice and Grilled Romaine with Creamy Soy Dressing

"I don't eat snails, I prefer fast food,"

Using some left over white rice and what few ingredients I had to in my refrigerated I was able to create an improvised version of a "traditional" fried rice. What I had to work with was white rice, eggs, white onion, chili oil (instead of sesame oil), and garlic. Using these few items... Dinner Was Served! Note, I added extra egg and red pepper flakes for spice. 

The grilled romaine is something I make quite often. Quickly grilling the head of romaine give such flavor to some thing so simple. Nothing else is needed but a grill, romaine, and your favorite dressing. 

All together this dinner took about thirty minutes, I used what I had in the fridge, nothing was wasted, and no money was spent. Enjoy!

Shrimp Fried Rice

Serves 4

8 ounces small uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt (or 1/2 tsp kosher salt)
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil (divided)
3 eggs, beaten in a small bowl
2 stalks scallion or green onion, minced
4 cups previously cooked leftover rice, grains separated well
3/4 cup frozen carrots and peas, defrosted
1 tablespoon soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if you are making a gluten-free version)
1 teaspoon sesame oil

In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the salt and pepper. Let the shrimp marinate for 10 minutes at room temperature. Heat a wok or large sauté pan on high heat. When the pan is hot enough for a bead of water to instantly sizzle and evaporate, add only 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat pan.

Now add the shrimp, quickly spreading out around the pan so that they are not overlapping. Let the shrimp fry, untouched for 30 seconds. Flip over and let the other side fry for 30 seconds, or until about 80% cooked through. Remove the shrimp from the pan onto a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

Turn the heat to medium and let the pan heat up again. Pour in the eggs, stirring in a quick motion to break up and scramble the eggs. When the eggs are almost cooked through (they should still be slightly runny in the middle), dish out of the frying pan onto the same plate as the cooked shrimp.

Use a paper towel to wipe the same wok or sauté pan clean (no need to wash) and return to high heat with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, swirling to coat. When the oil is very hot, add the green onions and stir fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add in the rice and stir well to mix in the green onions throughout. Spread the rice all around the wok surface area and let the rice heat up, untouched until you hear the bottoms of the grains sizzle, about 1-2 minutes. Use the spatula to toss the rice, again spreading the rice out over the surface of wok or pan

Drizzle the soy sauce all around the rice and toss. Add the peas and carrots, the cooked eggs, shrimp and sesame oil, tossing to mix the rice evenly with all of the ingredients. Let everything heat back up again, until the rice grains are so hot they practically dance! Taste and add an additional 1 teaspoon of soy sauce if needed.


Grilled Romaine with Creamy Soy Dressing
Serves 2
Grill (I use a counter top one)
Head of Romaine

Directions
Cut head of romaine in half lengthwise, making two halves.

When grill is hot, spray with nonstick spray, lay romaine halves open face down.

Grill for 2 minutes, remove and serve face up.

Dressing Ingredients
Makes about 3 1/2 cups

3 cups mayonnaise
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp sesame seed oil
*I added about 1 tsp. of white wine vinegar and a dash of red pepper flakes

Directions
Add all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk using a wire whisk until smooth and creamy. If the sauce is too thick, add 1/2 tsp of water at a time and stir, until you get the desired consistency.

Drizzle over grilled romaine, serve immediately.