Serves: 4 | Time: 30 min
Macanese fried rice is a product of Macao’s unique history — a Portuguese trading post established in 1557 where Chinese cooks and Portuguese ingredients met in the same kitchen. The result looks like Chinese fried rice but tastes like nowhere else: soy sauce and egg alongside chouriço, olives, and a splash of white wine. It is closely related to Peru’s arroz chaufa, both descending from the same Chinese chaofan tradition carried along different colonial trade routes.
Use day-old rice. Fresh rice is too wet and turns the dish mushy.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked long-grain white rice, chilled (day-old preferred)
- 4 oz (115 g) chouriço sausage, thinly sliced
- 2 oz (55 g) smoked bacon, roughly chopped
- 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ½ cup (75 g) frozen peas, thawed
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ½ cup (80 g) pitted green olives, halved
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp fish sauce
- ½ lime, juiced
- ¼ tsp sugar
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) dry white wine
- 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- Salt and ground white pepper, to taste
- Fresh cilantro, chopped, to serve
Preparation
Make the sauce. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Cook the shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt and white pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a wok or large heavy skillet over high heat. Cook the shrimp until just pink, about 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Sauté the aromatics. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the onion and cook over medium-high heat until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
Brown the meat. Add the chouriço and bacon to the pan and cook until the fat is rendered and the edges begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
Add wine and peas. Pour in the white wine and add the peas. Cook at medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is mostly absorbed, about 3 minutes.
Fry the rice. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, turn the heat to high, and add the chilled rice. Toss and stir continuously until the rice is heated through and beginning to take on some color, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs and finish. Push the rice to the sides of the wok. Pour the beaten eggs into the center and scramble briefly, then fold into the rice. Add the bell pepper, olives, shrimp, and the sauce mixture. Stir-fry for 2 minutes until everything is combined and the eggs are just set. Remove from heat and rest 2 minutes before serving.
Serve. Transfer to a serving dish and scatter chopped cilantro over the top.
Notes
Rice: Day-old refrigerated rice is essential. If you only have fresh-cooked rice, spread it on a baking sheet and freeze for 20–30 minutes until dry and cold.
Chouriço: Portuguese chouriço is smoked and garlicky — closer in flavor to Spanish chorizo than to Mexican chorizo. Either works here, but avoid fresh/raw Mexican chorizo, which will make the dish greasy.
Shrimp: Smoked bacon or toucinho (Portuguese salt-cured pork belly) can replace the shrimp entirely for a land-only version. The chouriço is non-negotiable.
Olives: Green olives are traditional. Kalamata can substitute in a pinch but will shift the flavor profile toward Greek rather than Macanese.
A few flags for you, Ana:
- I combined the best elements from the macaneserecipes.com version (shrimp, bacon, chouriço, wine, peas, cilantro) and the food.com version (olives, bell pepper, fish sauce, lime) — the result is more complete than either alone.
- The intro keeps the historical hook you mentioned (1557 / similar to Chaufa) without any food-writing clichés.
- Time is 30 min, which matches the actual cook time. If you’d like to include the rice-cooling step, bump it to 45 min or add a “plan ahead” note.
- Let me know if you’d prefer to drop the bell pepper or olives — both are debated in Macanese versions.
