Okra Shrimp Fried Rice with Sha Cha Sauce (秋葵虾仁沙茶炒饭)

Since I’ve been harvesting quite a few okra pods lately (see image below from our garden), I have been making more dishes using okra. This is another simple and easy fried rice recipe that I came up with using okra, shrimp, and eggs. Chopped okra can become quite “slimy” after being stir fried, but the rice completely negates any slimy texture by absorbing it, which adds a QQ texture to the fried rice.

The icing on the cake is the Sha Cha (沙茶) sauce, which is also known as Chinese barbecue sauce. Sha Cha sauce is actually not similar at all to the barbecue sauce that we are used to here in the United States. The Sha Cha sauce gives the fried rice more intense umami, color, and flavor. For people who are not familiar with Sha Cha sauce, it is quite a unique sauce in Asia that’s made with a combination of flavorful herbs and sea food. It is slowly cooked in soybean oil until the sauce reduces to a reddish brown paste. Sha Cha sauce is most popular in southern China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. If you ever visit a Chinese hot pot place, you will almost certainly find Sha Cha sauce as a main dipping ingredient.

If Okra or Sha Cha sauce are not to your liking, feel free to try my other fried rice recipes, Cabbage Bacon Garlic Fried Rice, and Shrimp Fried Rice With Peas And Eggs. If you like okra, however, I have already shared quite a few recipes that use okra, like Steamed Okra With Garlic and Thai Okra Salad.

Gluten Free

Preparation Time:  10 minutes

Total Time:  30 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients:

• day-old rice (enough for 4 bowls) ¹
• 1/3 lb okra pods
• 1/2 lb shrimp (peeled and de-veined) ²
• 2 large eggs
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup sha cha sauce (aka. Chinese barbecue sauce) ³
• 1/4 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons water

Preparation:

1. Chop the shrimp in to small chunks. Add 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt to the shrimp, mixing thoroughly. Let it marinate on the counter while preparing the other ingredients.

2. Remove the okra stems. Cut the okra pods into small pieces. Peel and mince the garlic cloves. Add the 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt to the 2 large eggs and beat thoroughly.

3. Heat a well seasoned skillet under medium high heat. When the pan is getting hot, add the 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. When the oil is warm, add the beaten eggs. Stir once or twice until the eggs are golden yellow but still quite moist, about 30 seconds. Transfer the eggs out to a bowl.

4. Heat a large nonstick pan or well seasoned large skillet (could be the same pan) under medium high heat and add the other 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. When the oil is warm, add the minced garlic, stirring for a few seconds until fragrant. Add the chopped shrimp. Toss and stir the shrimp until most of the shrimp have changed color from translucent to pinkish white. Transfer the shrimp out to another bowl.

5. Add the okra and a pinch of salt to the same large nonstick pan. Stir and toss until the okra are half cooked. Add 2 tablespoons of water⁴ to the okra and keep tossing for another half a minute. Add the day-old rice. Lower the heat to medium-low. Break any large clumps of rice with the back of the spatula. When most of the clumps are gone, add the 1/4 cup of sha cha sauce, mixing evenly. When the sha cha sauce is well mixed with rice, add the cooked shrimp followed by the cooked eggs and mixwell. Add more salt to taste. Enjoy!

Bon Appétit

Notes:

1. The rice measurement does not need to be exact. It’s roughly about the amount of rice cooked from using 1.5 to 2 rice cups.

2. Here I used previously-frozen shrimp.

3. Shacha (沙茶) sauce can be found in most Asian grocery stores or online. It can be stored for quite a long time.

4. Adding water helps okra to release more “slime,” which gets absorbed by the rice to add more QQ texture to the rice.

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