Home-style Chinese in just minutes

I love getting takeout from some of my favorite Chinese restaurants, I just don't like the wait. So, instead of waiting minutes for a small box of food that will be gone in a few minutes once I open it, I decided to make my own at home. In this installment of "Andre Taylor's Tasty Tidbits," I'll show you how to make shrimp fried rice right in your own kitchen! Here's what you will need:

• 2 cups of steamed rice (white or brown)
• 2 pounds of peeled and deveined shrimp
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
• ½ a cup of sweet peas
• ½ pound of bean sprouts
• ½ cup of melted butter
• 2 eggs (optional)

For this recipe, you will definitely need a wok. Here's how you make the fried rice:

Dice the small onion on a chopping board and place them in a small bowl. Once you have the onion diced, pour the 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the wok and turn the burner under the wok to a medium temperature. Once the wok is heated, dump the diced onion and shrimp into the wok, constantly working the two items around with a wooden spoon. Once the shrimp begin to turn pink, turn the burner off and dump the onion and shrimp into a small bowl and clean the wok for the next step.

Once the wok is cleaned, place it on the stovetop and turn the burner to a medium temperature. Pour the melted butter into the wok and add the rice once the wok is warm enough. With the 2 cups of steamed rice in the wok, you can now add the sautéed shrimp and onion, bean sprouts and sweet peas, constantly working the around in the wok with a wooden spoon. After 3 to 4 minutes of mixing everything in the wok, you can add the 4 tablespoons of soy sauce. (NOTE: If you want egg in the fried rice, scramble them in a separate pan and add them here while adding the vegetables.)

After working the rice in the wok for about eight minutes, you will have yourself some fried rice for lunch or dinner with leftovers! This recipe feeds about four to six people.

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out. You can reach me by e-mail at andre.taylor@patch.com.

Until next time, keep on burnin'!