10-Minute Korean Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe: Saewoo Bokkeumbap

This 10-Minute Korean Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe (Saewoo Bokkeumbap) is the ultimate busy day solution. Forget complicated dishes! I’m bringing the speed and umami flavor of a Korean bunsikjip (school food spot) right into your kitchen.

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why doesn’t my fried rice taste like the restaurant’s?” Today, you will unlock all the secrets to that amazing restaurant-style umami flavor! Plus, I’ll teach you the simple trick to achieve that gorgeous dome shape plating. It’s pretty, delicious, and simple. Let’s get started your quick shrimp fried rice is just 10 minutes away!

Why This Shrimp Fried Rice is Special

Why This Recipe is Your New K-Food Favorite

• The 10-Minute Solution: Who wants to spend ages cooking on a busy weekday? If you’re craving a delicious, protein-packed, and healthy homemade meal that you can finish in just 10 minutes, this Korean Fried Rice is exactly what you need.

• Simple Ingredients: You don’t need any special ingredients! If you have shrimp in your freezer and eggs always stocked in your kitchen, you can easily make this. This Korean Shrimp Fried Rice is truly a meal you can cook without even needing to go grocery shopping.

The Secret to Umami

• Scallion Oil (Pa-Gireum): This fried rice recipe starts by sautéing green onions in oil to extract their fragrant aroma. This scallion oil provides a depth of flavor that elevates the entire dish.
• MSG: If you want the incredible umami flavor you get from restaurant-quality fried rice, MSG is essential.
• Oyster Sauce: This is an absolute must-have sauce for fried rice. It delivers an extreme level of umami that soy sauce simply cannot provide.

When to Eat Saewoo Bokkeumbap (Shrimp Fried Rice)

• A Quick & Easy Lunch: Since Korean shrimp fried rice is as easy to eat as it is to make, it’s often consumed during lunchtime due to its speed and convenience.

• A Classic School Food (Bunsik) Item: You can often find this dish at bunsikjip (Korean snack bars). Students frequently visit these spots after school with friends to order foods like Tteokbokki, Gimbap, and Ramyeon, and they sometimes order this shrimp fried rice as well.

• The Korean Chinese Restaurant Staple: In Korean Chinese restaurants, where you can find well-known dishes like Jjajangmyeon and Tangsuyuk, fried rice is always on the menu. Shrimp fried rice is typically the most representative fried rice dish available. When you order shrimp fried rice at a Korean Chinese restaurant, it always comes with a side of Jjajang sauce (black bean sauce). People either dip the fried rice into the Jjajang sauce or pour the sauce directly over the rice and mix it in.

Ingredients and Preparation

Ingredients of Korean Fried Rice with Shrimp

• 6 shrimp: If your shrimp are small, use twice the amount I am using. This ensures you get that delicious, bouncy, and satisfying texture in your fried rice.
• 1 large bowl rice
• 2 eggs
• 2 pinches of salt (for scrambling the eggs)
• 1/2 stalk green onion
• 1 pinch MSG: This is an essential seasoning for creating that restaurant-quality umami flavor in your fried rice.
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce: This is an absolute must-have umami ingredient for fried rice. I cannot imagine my kitchen without oyster sauce! It creates a deep, rich savory flavor that soy sauce simply cannot replicate.
• 3 tbsp cooking oil

Substitutions: What if You Don’t Have It?

• Oyster Sauce: If you don’t have oyster sauce, you can use soy sauce with a little sugar added. However, the umami flavor is truly different, so I highly recommend purchasing oyster sauce this time! It’s used in so many different Korean dishes, like Dak-bokkeum-tang (Spicy Chicken Stew) and Dak-galbi (Spicy Stir-fried Chicken), not just fried rice.
• MSG: If you don’t have MSG, using chicken stock (or chicken bouillon powder/concentrate) is also a delicious option.

The 10-Minute Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe

Prepare the Shrimp

• Thaw the frozen shrimp in water.
• Once the shrimp are thawed, peel them. Leave 3 shrimp whole and finely chop the other 3.

Prepare the Scrambled Eggs

• Crack the eggs into a bowl, add 2 pinches of salt, and whisk well.

Make the Scallion Oil (Pa-Gireum)

• Finely chop the green onion.
• Heat the oil in a pan over low heat and sauté the green onion to make fragrant scallion oil.

Cook the Shrimp and Eggs

• Add the shrimp and cook. Pour the whisked eggs to one side of the pan and scramble them.

Sauté for Umami and Flavor

• Once the shrimp are cooked, remove the 3 whole shrimp and set them aside.
• Add the rice, oyster sauce, and MSG. Stir-fry until everything is well combined. Cook over high heat while continuously stir-frying to evaporate excess moisture and prevent sogginess.

How to Plate the Dome-Shaped Fried Rice

• Place the 3 whole shrimp at the bottom of a rice bowl. Add the fried rice on top and press it down firmly. Flip the bowl onto a plate and gently lift it off to create a neat dome-shaped shrimp fried rice.
• You can sprinkle green onion garnish on top to make the plating even prettier.

Sauces to Serve with Korean Fried Rice with Shrimp

Here are authentic Korean dipping and topping ideas that perfectly complement this Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe.

• Jjajang Sauce (Black Bean Sauce): At Korean-Chinese restaurants, when you order Shrimp Fried Rice, Jjajang sauce is always served on the side. Dipping your fried rice into the Jajang sauce or mixing the sauce slightly into the rice creates a new, incredibly delicious Korean-Chinese style Shrimp Fried Rice dish.
• Ketchup: Many Korean children love to drizzle ketchup over their fried rice. The savory flavor of the eggs in the Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe pairs surprisingly well with the sweet and sour taste of ketchup.
• Buldak Sauce (Spicy Chicken Sauce): Many Koreans keep Buldak sauce (a viral spicy chicken sauce) on hand. Adding this sauce on top of your Shrimp Fried Rice gives it an intense heat and umami boost, making it a very stimulating and addictive spicy fried rice.

Other Korean Fried Rice Recipes

Beyond this classic Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe, here are two Korean fried rice trends you should know about.

Cream Kimchi Fried Rice

This Kimchi fried rice is currently viral in Korea. It’s a dish where a creamy sauce, made by melting cream and cheese, is eaten alongside the spicy Kimchi fried rice. Dipping the spicy rice into the savory cream sauce creates a version of Kimchi fried rice that is both soft and intensely satisfying.

Cup Ramen Fried Rice

This is neither Ramyeon nor just rice. It’s literally Ramyeon Korean fried rice. The noodles are crushed into small pieces and sautéed with rice and the Ramen seasoning packet. Thanks to the strong umami from the Ramyun seasoning, a perfectly delicious fried rice is completed without needing any other seasonings. In Korea, this is often eaten as anju (a drink snack) to share with friends while drinking.

FAQ about Shrimp Fried Rice Recipe