Chicken & Shrimp Fried Rice

One of my favorite things in life is Asian food.  Can't get enough of it! Sushi, Chinese, Vietnamese, whatever... It's all amazing.  I don't know why it took me so long, but last year I finally made it a point to learn how to make delicious fried rice at home.  GENIUS! The best part is, you can substitute a lot of the ingredients, add, or take away some of them based on what you have around the house or what sounds good to you. I apologize in advance for the lack of process/conclusion pictures... this is my first recipe blog! Anyway, I made chicken & shrimp fried rice the other day and here's how it was done:

What you'll need:
1/2 to 1lb Chicken (boneless/skinless breast or thigh) cubed into bite sized bits
1/2 lb Shrimp - rinsed/peeled/de-veined
1 cup rice (brown or white - I used brown)
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas/carrots mix, defrosted
2 eggs
1 stalk green onion, chopped
soy sauce
fish sauce (optional)

What to do:

1. Cook your rice! To be honest, the best fried rice is going to be made with day old plain steamed rice.  You can use a rice cooker, but I usually do your typical 2:1 ratio of water:rice on the stove top.  Deets - 2 cups water and 1 cup rice in a sauce pot, stir. Bring to boil, stir, immediately turn heat to LOW and COVER. Cook for 18-20 minutes (until the water is all absorbed.) Leave the lid on the pot until it is DONE! (Glass lids are helpful so you can see.)

2. Cook your meats! Using a separate pan, heat a little oil and minced garlic cloves.  Once heated, throw in your chopped up chicken.  As it is cooking sprinkle a little soy sauce on it for flavor.  When your chicken is about half done, toss in your shrimp. They should be done at about the same time! Set aside in a bowl

3. Cook your eggs!  I usually do this while the meat is cooking. In a little bowl, mix up 2 egg with a tiny splash of milk (optional) and soy sauce. (I like to add sesame seeds too)  In a large sauce pan (big enough to mix EVERYTHING in the end) heat a little oil and scramble the egg mixture. Mix the eggs the entire time they are cooking so it's all crumbly in the end. When that is done cooking, you can toss it in the bowl with the cooked chicken and shrimp and keep it on the side.

4. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in the large pan. Add your chopped yellow onion.  When the onions begin to become translucent, add the peas and carrots. Stir frequently as you cook for about 5 minutes. Throw in your cooked rice and stir until all the oil is absorbed and the rice is slightly fried (about 5 minutes.)

5.  Now you can add whatever you want in! Toss in your bowl of chicken, shrimp and eggs.  Stir continuously.  At this point, you should drizzle soy sauce and a little fish sauce all over the mixture to your taste. Once everything is mixed and heated through, you're done cooking! Turn off the heat, stir in your green onions, and serve! Voila! 

Like I said, you can change up the stuff you mix in any way you like! For example, you could do more onions, no peas/carrots, add pineapple, shrimp, ham (fried spam?)... or whatever your sweet little heart desires!

Hope you enjoy! Please add comments if you've got any for me!