Vietnamese fried rice is made with fluffy day-old rice, juicy shrimp, savory Chinese sausage, and a colorful medley of vegetables. This restaurant-style fried rice is quick and can be prepared in just 20 minutes.
Jump to:
Vietnamese fried rice is slightly different from Chinese fried rice. Both fried rice dishes have rich, umami flavors, and the seasoning used varies slightly. Fish sauce is mainly used in Vietnamese-style fried rice, whereas Chinese fried rice leans more towards soy sauce.
This fried rice is very similar to shrimp fried rice, with slightly different seasonings.
Why you’ll love it
- Robust flavors – pantry staples go into making Vietnam’s fried rice.
- Quick to make – cooks in just 20 minutes.
- Easy to customize – Use whatever ingredients you have on hand.
- Family favorite – an instant hit that will easily appear on the weekly menu list.
Finding Chinese sausage (lap cheong)
You can find it in any Asian store, and in some parts of the world, it’s available on Amazon.
There are 2 types of Chinese sausage, and they are often made using pork and pork fat.
One is from the Canton region, a sweet and savory sausage with a hint of smokiness to it. This type of sausage often uses soy sauce, salt, and sugar.
The second variety is from the Sichuan region; it’s a spicy variety that’s made from chilies.
Ingredients
- Day-old cooked rice – the secret to successful fried rice is to use day-old rice chilled in the refrigerator. Long-grain or short-grain white rice may be used. Pro tip: If you don’t have leftover day-old chilled rice, use this perfectly steamed rice recipe to cook rice and spread it on a tray, and pop it in the freezer for 45 minutes. Then break down the rice with gentle hands.
- Shrimp – Medium or Jumbo-sized prawns/shrimps are best. Peel and devein the tail of the shrimp before use.
- Eggs – use large eggs; if you love eggs, add more. I find fried rice with lots of eggs tastier.
- Aromats – garlic, shallots.
- Vegetables – I used carrots, green beans, and frozen corn.
- Chicken stock powder/chicken boullion powder/chicken powder – optional, amps up the flavor.
- Sauce – there’s more than just soy sauce used in this recipe. Fish sauce and Oyster sauce (I skipped), along with sesame oil, white pepper, add flavor to the rice.
Ingredients additions & substitutions
- Add anything that is your favorite. Diced carrots, shredded cabbage, chopped broccoli, snow peas, bok choy, diced mushrooms, and frozen peas.
- Shrimp can be substituted with beef, chicken, or other seafood like scallops or crab.
- Use butter instead of oil to give it a rich taste.
- To make it vegetarian, skip Chinese sausage or lap cheong, and substitute shrimp with tofu and use mushroom powder instead of chicken powder.
Step-by-step Instructions
Step 1: Heat oil in a wok. Cook shrimp with a pinch of pepper and salt for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Step 2: Remove from the wok and side aside.
Step 3: Add a teaspoon more oil to the wok. Sauté shallots until translucent.
Step 4: Add sliced Chinese sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through.
Step 5: Saute garlic along with Chinese sausage and shallots.
Step 6: Cook frozen or fresh vegetables. Do not overcook vegetables.
Step 7: Add soy sauce, chicken powder, sugar, and white pepper, and sauté well.
Step 8: Toss refrigerated day-old cooked rice until combined.
Step 9: Scrape rice mix to one side of the wok, add another teaspoon of oil. Add eggs and keep stirring.
Step 10: Stir and cook until almost cooked through and scrambled. Mix everything. Toss well until combined.
Step 11: Add back cooked prawns, fish sauce, sesame oil, and green onion.
Step 12: Toss.
Serve hot.
Best Tips
- Day-old rice is best because the grains are dry and crumbly. Freshly cooked rice will be wet and have surface moisture, which will make it too sticky and might turn fried rice into mush.
- Useful hack. No leftover rice? Need some for an emergency to make fried rice? Cook rice, spread it on a large tray and cool it, and then pop it in the freezer so it’s dry. Note that rice triples in volume when cooked. 1 cup of medium or long-grain rice will yield 3-4 cups when cooked.
- Mise en place. The most important step in any stir-fried dish you get all the ingredients chopped, measured, and ready near the stove to be thrown into the pan and tossed.
- Large pan. Use a wok or a big, wide skillet. The surface area should be big so you can toss rice around so it can stir-fry and not steam in the pan.
- High heat. Cook everything on high heat, moving it quickly and frequently.
- Keep tossing. Do not let the ingredients sit for long while cooking. Do not let veggies sit in a wok to steam cook.
- Best quality sauce. Use the best quality fish sauce, soy sauce. Choose low-sodium soy sauce; it’s less salty and better for health.
Servings Suggestions
Here are some of the serving suggestions-
Serve with Chinese egg drop soup
With garlic bok choy or Mongolian chicken
Storage
To refrigerate: Any leftover shrimp fried rice can be stored in an airtight container and placed in the refrigerator. It will keep for 3-4 days.
To freeze: You can also make a large batch of shrimp fried rice and store it in the freezer. Transfer to a freezer-friendly dish and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat: toss it in a wok until heated and serve.
Recipe FAQs
You can use any white rice variety: short, medium, or long-grain rice. Any cooked cold rice will be fine, white, and brown.
No, I don’t recommend it. Using freshly cooked rice will result in a mushy and soggy texture.
The rice needs to be cold, so every grain is dry, and it’s perfect when you stir-fry. Freshly cooked rice is warm, and it will be soft. When you stir-fry freshly cooked rice, it will turn gluey.
📋Vietnamese Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Shrimp (cơm chiên)
Ingredients
- 3 teaspoons canola oil divided
- ½- pound medium-sized shrimp peeled and deveined
- ¼ cup shallots diced
- 3 Chinese sausages la cheong
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ cups mixed vegetables fresh or frozen
- ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 cups day-old cooked rice
- 4 large eggs
- ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ cup green onion
Instructions
- Heat oil in a wok. Cook shrimp with a pinch of pepper and salt for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from the wok and side aside.
- Add another teaspoon more oil to the wok. Sauté shallots until translucent.
- Add sliced Chinese sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through.
- Saute garlic along with Chinese sausage and shallots.
- Cook frozen or fresh vegetables. Do not overcook vegetables.
- Add soy sauce, chicken powder, sugar, and white pepper, and sauté well.
- Toss refrigerated day-old cooked rice until combined.
- Scrape rice mix to one side of the wok, add another teaspoon of oil. Cook eggs until almost cooked through and scrambled.
- Now mix everything. Toss well until combined.
- Add back cooked prawns, fish sauce, sesame oil, and green onion.
- Toss.
- Serve it hot.
Notes
- Day-old rice is best because the grains are dry and crumbly. Freshly cooked rice will be wet and have surface moisture, which will make it too sticky and might turn fried rice into mush.
- Useful hack. No leftover rice? Need some for an emergency to make fried rice? Cook rice, spread it on a large tray and cool it, and then pop it in the freezer so it’s dry. Note that rice triples in volume when cooked. 1 cup of medium or long-grain rice will yield 3-4 cups when cooked.
- Mise en place. The most important step in any stir-fried dish you get all the ingredients chopped, measured, and ready near the stove to be thrown into the pan and tossed.
- Large pan. Use a wok or a big, wide skillet. The surface area should be big so you can toss rice around so it can stir-fry and not steam in the pan.
- High heat. Cook everything on high heat, moving it quickly and frequently.
- Keep tossing. Do not let the ingredients sit for long while cooking. Do not let veggies sit in a wok to steam cook.
- Best quality sauce. Use the best quality fish sauce, soy sauce. Choose low-sodium soy sauce; it’s less salty and better for health.
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you for stopping by.
I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
Leave A Reply!