How to Make Restaurant-Quality Fried Rice

Spread leftover rice on a sheet tray and break up any clumps with your hands. You want every grain separated. Put the tray in the fridge overnight to dry out the surface.

Before cooking, rub a little oil on your hands and work through the rice one more time to separate any remaining clumps. Bring the rice to room temperature. Cold rice will drop the wok temperature and steam instead of fry.

Cut scallions into thin rounds and rinse them. Dice onions small. Beat eggs until the whites and yolks are fully combined. Have your shrimp peeled and deveined.

Keep everything in separate bowls. You will be cooking each ingredient individually and adding them back together at the end. Avoid any watery vegetables that would steam the wok.

Get the wok smoking hot with oil coating the surface. Take it off the heat and pour in the beaten eggs. Stir quickly with the residual heat. The goal is soft, bright yellow scrambled eggs with no browning.

Pull them out before they are fully set. They will finish cooking later when everything comes back together. Set them aside in a bowl.

Get the wok back to high heat with fresh oil. Drop the shrimp in and season with salt. Let them sit on one side without moving until the color starts to change, then flip once.

Pull them when the raw color disappears from the surface. They should be only partially cooked. Less than a minute total. Set aside with the eggs.

This is the critical step. Get the wok as hot as possible. Add onions first for a quick sear, then spread the rice in a thin layer across the entire surface of the wok. You want maximum contact between rice and hot metal.

Listen for popping. That means the moisture is evaporating and the grains are crisping. Push the rice up the sides to use the full surface area. Do not overload the wok or it will steam instead of fry.

Add the eggs and shrimp back into the wok with the rice. Break up the eggs and toss everything together. Season with salt, black pepper, and a splash of soy sauce drizzled on the edge of the wok (not directly on the rice). The heat caramelizes the soy sauce and adds aroma without making the rice too salty.

Toss in the scallions at the very end. They only need residual heat to wilt slightly.