Fried Brown Rice with Pork and Shrimp

Why this recipe works:

In this recipe, using brown rice instead of the more conventional white rice offers several advantages. Because of its bran, brown rice holds up well if cooked aggressively in boiling water, which means it needs just 25 minutes of cooking to turn tender; we opt to cook it for an extra 10 minutes (for a total of 35 minutes) to give it the right soft texture. The bran layer prevents freshly cooked brown rice from clumping, so we could use the rice fresh instead of fussing with the need for leftovers as white rice requires. Additionally, the bran acts as a nonstick coating on each grain, so brown rice requires far less oil in the frying stage. We also found that using short-grain instead of long-grain rice gives our fried rice the right texture. To balance the nuttier flavor of brown rice, we use more ginger, garlic, and soy sauce than we do for white-rice recipes. The addition of a quick version of Chinese barbecue pork, along with shrimp and scrambled eggs, makes this dish hearty enough to serve as a main course.

Fried Brown Rice with Pork and Shrimp

We figured out a single substitution that both eliminates the need for leftover rice and makes the dish less greasy. Watch the Video

Serves 6

Freshly boiling the short-grain rice gives it the proper texture for this dish. Do not use leftover rice, and do not use a rice cooker. The stir-fry portion of this recipe moves quickly, so be sure to have all your ingredients in place before starting. This recipe works best in a nonstick skillet with a slick surface. Serve with a simple steamed vegetable, if desired.

Ingredients

• 2 cups short-grain brown rice
• Salt
• 10 ounces boneless country-style pork ribs, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/8 teaspoon five-spice powder
• Small pinch cayenne pepper
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 8 ounces large shrimp (26 to 30 per pound), peeled, deveined, tails removed, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 6 scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced thin on bias
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 cup frozen peas

Instructions

1. 
   
   1. Bring 3 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add rice and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, about 35 minutes. Drain well and return to pot. Cover and set aside.
   2. While rice cooks, cut pork into 1-inch pieces and slice each piece against grain 1/4 inch thick. Combine pork with hoisin, honey, five-spice powder, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss to coat. Set aside.
   3. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add shrimp in even layer and cook without moving them until bottoms are browned, about 90 seconds. Stir and continue to cook until just cooked through, about 90 seconds longer. Push shrimp to 1 side of skillet. Add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil to cleared side of skillet. Add eggs to clearing and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using rubber spatula, stir eggs gently until set but still wet, about 30 seconds. Stir eggs into shrimp and continue to cook, breaking up large pieces of egg, until eggs are fully cooked, about 30 seconds longer. Transfer shrimp-egg mixture to clean bowl.
   4. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add pork in even layer. Cook pork without moving it until well browned on underside, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip pork and cook without moving it until cooked through and caramelized on second side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with shrimp-egg mixture.
   5. Heat sesame oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add scallion whites and cook, stirring frequently, until well browned, about 1 minute. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and beginning to brown, 30 to 60 seconds. Add soy sauce and half of rice and stir until all ingredients are fully incorporated, making sure to break up clumps of ginger and garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low and add remaining rice, pork mixture, and peas. Stir until all ingredients are evenly incorporated and heated through, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in scallion greens. Transfer to warmed platter and serve.
   
   

Technique

Benefits of the Bran

Unlike refined grains of white rice, brown rice grains are still surrounded by the bran. We found that this is a big advantage when it comes to making fried rice.

No Need for Leftovers

Fresh white rice naturally clumps, so it has to be refrigerated overnight to stale and harden before stir-frying. Brown rice’s bran helps prevent clumping, so it can be used immediately after cooking.

Quick Cooking Method

The bran protects the starch within each grain, so brown rice can be cooked aggressively, and thus quickly, like pasta.

Less Oil Required

Because the bran helps brown rice grains stay separate, you need to use only about half the oil a recipe calling for white rice would require.

Technique

Brown Rice in Less Time

Because the bran is removed from each grain during processing, white rice is mostly unprotected starch. Agitation and jostling during cooking will cause that starch to release and make the rice gummy—which is why it’s best cooked using the gentle absorption method (i.e., simmering the rice in a set amount of liquid). But grains of brown rice still possess their bran, which means they can handle more aggressive cooking. With that in mind, we opt to cook brown rice like pasta, boiling it in plenty of water. The advantage? It cuts down the cooking time, and here’s why.
First, boiling water gets hotter than the water in the absorption method—212 degrees versus around 204 degrees—so cooking is faster. Second, the more water in the pot, the more energy there is to be transferred to the rice. We were able to cut the usual 45 minutes (on the stove) to 60 minutes (in the oven) needed for the absorption method down to 35 minutes.