Mexican Shrimp Fried Rice: latin american style home-cooked staple

I am Mia Rodriguez, who lives in Los Angeles, California, USA. I have been a blogger of home-cooked food for four years. I am warm and hearty. I mainly focus on the combination of Latin American flavor and American fast food. I prefer staple food that is delicious and easy to eat in one pot. My pet phrase is "one pot can handle one meal, and only when there is fragrance and material can I live a life". I was influenced by the diet of my Mexican family since I was a child, and I was obsessed with all kinds of spicy, fresh and cool Latin American seasonings. This Mexican shrimp fried rice is a regular customer of my family's daily dinner and weekend meals. It is also an explosive recipe that fans urge more and more-fresh shrimp with fresh teeth, seasoned with Mexican characteristic sweet pepper, cumin and chili. The rice grains are clearly filled with fresh juice, which is sweet seafood and mellow and spicy flavor of Latin American flavor, not greasy, not light, can be out of the pot in more than ten minutes, perfectly suitable for the fast-paced daily life of American families, kitchen novice can also make it with zero mistakes.

This fried rice is a typical blend of American and Mexican flavors. It does not have the complicated processes of authentic Mexican cuisine and is improved to be more suitable for daily home operations. The ingredients are the basic ones that can be bought readily in local supermarkets. It can also make authentic flavors without special sauces. Different from the warmth of Chinese fried rice, it has a bit more fresh and spicy flavor of Latin American cuisine. It is matched with crisp and tender vegetables and has a neutral taste. After the rice is dried in advance, the fried rice is loose and does not adhere, and the fresh shrimp is fresh and tender. Each bite is rich in layers. Whether it is a single dinner, a lunch with rice, or a simple meal for the whole family, it is still delicious when cooled and heated. It is a practical staple food.

Food preparation (2-3 person)

main ingredients: 200g of long-grain fragrant rice/Mexican long rice (cooked in advance and cooled, the best rice left overnight, with clear grains), 180g of fresh large shrimps (with shrimp lines removed and back opened, it is easier to taste in small sections)
sides: half colored pepper (red and yellow), half onion, 3 cloves garlic and 50g frozen corn kernels (drain after thawing)
mexican flavor: 1 tablespoon of Mexican chili powder, less than half a tablespoon of cumin powder, proper amount of salt, a little of freshly ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (to enhance color and flavor), 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and half a tablespoon of lime juice (to enhance flavor and finish, optional)
garnish (optional): chopped parsley, a pinch of cheese crumble

detailed manufacturing steps

step 1: Pretreat the ingredients and prepare the base of fried rice.

Spread the cooked rice to dry in advance, or put it in the refrigerator for half an hour, break up the rice grains as much as possible to avoid caking; wash and drain the shrimps, add a little salt and black pepper, grab and marinate for 5 minutes to remove fishy smell; color pepper, onion cut into small cubes, garlic cut into pieces for later use, corn kernels drain thoroughly to prevent fried rice from becoming sticky.

Step 2: Pan-fried shrimp, lock in the flavor

pour olive oil into the hot pan, add garlic powder to stir-fry after the oil is heated, then add the pickled shrimps, stir-fry over medium heat until the shrimps are discolored, curled and 80% ripe, and serve for later use. Do not stir-fry for too long, so as to prevent the shrimps from becoming old and keep fresh and tender taste.

Step 3: Stir-fry the side dishes and boil out the flavor base sauce.

Leave the bottom oil in the pan, add diced onion and stir-fry until transparent, add diced colored pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute until slightly soft, add tomato paste, Mexican chili powder and cumin powder, stir-fry evenly over a small fire, stir-fry the fragrance of spices, and let the side dishes be fully seasoned. This step is the key to making authentic Mexican flavor.

Step 4: Add rice and stir-fry the grains over high fire.

Turn to the big fire, put in the refrigerated rice, stir-fry and break up the lumpy rice grains with a shovel, stir-fry quickly in the whole process, wrap each grain of rice with seasoning sauce, and stir-fry until the rice is slightly dry and bright. This process takes about 3-4 minutes, and the big fire can ensure that the rice is not sticky.

Step 5: Mix ingredients, finish

add corn kernels and fried shrimps before, continue to stir-fry evenly over high fire, add raw soy sauce, appropriate amount of salt and black pepper to season, stir-fry for 1 minute to blend the flavors of all ingredients, pour half a spoon of lime juice before coming out of the pan, and mix well. If you like milk flavor, you can sprinkle a little cheese and melt it, making the taste richer.

Flavor Tips

be sure to refrigerate rice overnight. The boiled rice has a large amount of water and is easy to stick into lumps, affecting the taste;
don't put too much Mexican chili powder. The main flavor is Tixiang, which is not choking and spicy. If you don't eat spicy, you can reduce or replace it with sweet pepper powder;
the whole process of stir-frying is the core, which can not only make the rice grains clear, but also retain the crisp and tender ingredients and fresh shrimp;
if there is no lime, a little white vinegar can be used instead, mainly to neutralize spicy taste, relieve greasy and improve freshness.