Shrimp fried rice is a classic Asian dish that combines tender shrimp fluffy rice eggs, and veggies all stir-fried together in a wok. The marrying of flavors and textures makes shrimp fried rice a beloved one-wok meal. Its popularity has even spawned some funny shrimp fried rice jokes and puns that poke fun at the iconic ingredients.
In this article, we’ll share some of the best jokes about shrimp fried rice that are sure to make you laugh and groan (in the best way). We’ll also provide some background on shrimp fried rice, explain the jokes, and give tips for telling them. Let’s get cracking!
The Humorous “Don’t Wok Away From Me!” Shrimp Joke
One of the most popular shrimp fried rice jokes goes:
What did the fried rice say to the shrimp? Don’t wok away from me!
This shrimp pun pokes fun at how shrimp fried rice is cooked in a wok, replacing “walk” with “wok.” It’s corny, cute, and sure to elicit chuckles from fellow food lovers. The mental image of fried rice begging the shrimp not to leave the wok is pretty hilarious.
You can make the joke even funnier by saying it in your best fried rice voice, whatever you imagine that to sound like! Adding dramatic pauses or accents brings the anthropomorphic fried rice and shrimp to life. Kids especially love hearing this joke told with silly voices.
This simple one-liner is a winner because it’s accessible, family-friendly, and celebrating a beloved food. It also highlights the significance of the wok in making shrimp fried rice.
Why The Wok Is Integral To Shrimp Fried Rice
So why is the wok so important to this dish? Several factors make the rounded wok uniquely suited for achieving the perfect shrimp fried rice:
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High Heat: A wok’s thin, curved walls allow it to get screeching hot and sear ingredients. This adds flavor.
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Tossing: The wok shape makes tossing and stirring ingredients easy, preventing burning.
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Control: A wok cooks more uniformly than a flat skillet or pan.
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Flavor: The seasoned wok absorbs oil and adds wok hei, a smoky, charred flavor.
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Moisture: Covering the wok steams and tenderizes ingredients.
As you can see, the wok really is vital for getting that classically delicious shrimp fried rice texture and taste. So it makes sense as the star of this joke!
Variations On The Shrimp Fried Rice Joke
While the “don’t wok away” joke is a crowd favorite, there are lots of variations on shrimp fried rice humor:
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Why couldn’t the shrimp fried rice compete in the marathon? It couldn’t make it past the wok!
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What do you call a shrimp that’s an escape artist? Houdini in a wok-ini!
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Why did the shrimp get kicked out of the fried rice? For egg-cessive partying!
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What do you call a shrimp that works as a cook? A wok star!
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Why was the shrimp fried rice asked to leave the restaurant? It raised too much of a wok-us!
As you can see, switching up the puns and punchlines allows for endless jokes about everyone’s favorite takeout food. Feel free to get creative and come up with your own shrimp and wok humor!
How To Tell Shrimp Fried Rice Jokes
To get the most laughs when serving up these shrimp fried rice jokes, follow these tips:
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Use funny voices and accents for the shrimp, rice, and wok. Kids love this!
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Try adding dramatic hand gestures or pantomiming cooking for visual comedy.
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Pull the old “bait and switch” by starting with a serious cooking question before hitting them with the pun.
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Follow the joke with, “Get it? Wok, not walk!” to really drive the pun home.
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Let your personality shine through! Tell it with enthusiasm and confidence.
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Know your audience. Food puns do best with fellow food lovers.
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Make it multi-sensory by saying it over a sizzling wok of shrimp fried rice.
With the right delivery, even the corniest food pun can kill.
The Origins Of Shrimp Fried Rice
Before we serve up another helping of jokes, let’s learn about the origins of this punny dish:
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Shrimp fried rice likely originated in Southern China.
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Street food carts served fried rice dishes made from leftovers.
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Using cold, cooked rice avoids mushiness. Fresh rice doesn’t work as well.
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Frying fluffs up the rice grains and infuses flavor into them.
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Shrimp, egg, scallions, soy sauce, and veggies are classic ingredients.
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Regional variations exist across Asia based on ingredients available.
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The dish spread through Southeast Asia and proliferated with Chinese immigrants.
Today, shrimp fried rice is beloved around the world as a tasty one-pan meal and takeout favorite. Its popularity makes it the perfect food for some humor!
Hilarious Shrimp Fried Rice Memes
Speaking of humor, shrimp fried rice has spawned some pretty hilarious memes online. Here are a few of the best:
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A shrimp fried rice container asking, “Why don’t you want me anymore?”
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A bowl of fried rice labeled “me” watching someone choose protein options.
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Willy Wonka saying, “Tell me more about that shrimp fried rice.”
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Drake disapproving of steak and broccoli, approving of shrimp fried rice.
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A girl ignoring her date for shrimp fried rice labeled “true love.”
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Spongebob images captioned “When the shrimp fried rice hits.”
Memes are a great way to joke about the addictive powers of takeout shrimp fried rice!
How To Make Restaurant-Quality Shrimp Fried Rice
If all these jokes have you craving shrimp fried rice, here are some tips for making it at home:
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Use leftover, chilled rice. Freshly cooked rice turns mushy.
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Fry aromatics like ginger, garlic, and scallions first.
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Cook shrimp separately, then combine.
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Stir egg into rice to coat before adding shrimp.
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Toss everything in the hot wok just until heated through.
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Finish with soy sauce, sesame oil, and garnishes like sliced scallions.
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Use a wok if possible, or a large non-stick pan.
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Make sure your wok or pan is piping hot before adding ingredients.
With the right technique, you can create restaurant-quality shrimp fried rice without even needing to order takeout!
Let The Shrimp Fried Rice Puns Roll
Shrimp fried rice is clearly serious business – but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun with it! Whether you’re whipping up a batch at home or grabbing takeout after a long day, incorporating some corny food jokes and puns makes the experience even better.
So go ahead and belt out your best, “Don’t wok away from me!” or any of the other jokes we covered whenever shrimp fried rice is on the menu. Your fellow foodie friends and family are sure to dig these funny, yet heartwarming puns celebrating everyone’s favorite pan-fried dish. Just be prepared for a few dramatic groans to go along with the laughs!
So, You’re Telling Me A Shrimp Fried This Rice?
What does fried rice with shrimp mean?
I suspect that’s an artifact of translation: The word order for “fried rice with shrimp” in Chinese is typically “shrimp fried rice.” The earliest record of fried rice comes from the Sui Dynasty, roughly 1500 years ago. Historians believe that fried rice was a way to incorporate leftovers into the day’s cooking.
Is shrimp for fried rice boiled before cooking?
For the record, when cooking large volumes of shrimp fried rice in restaurants, shrimp are usually pre-boiled (like they do for shrimp cocktail). At home, however, searing the shrimp makes for better flavor. Wok cooks then grab handfuls of the precooked shrimp for each order, which makes the process go quickly and smoothly.
Should you eat shrimp fried rice?
Fluffy, smoke-tinged grains of rice, tender bites of perfectly cooked shrimp, and those little accents of vegetables, neither too much nor too little. Take the shrimp fried rice from your local Chinese place, for example (for me, that’s Dumpling House in Cambridge, MA): In the best cases, you don’t care what you’re eating—and that’s a great thing.
What does You’re Telling Me a chicken fried this rice mean?
You’re Telling Me a Chicken Fried This Rice? is a snowclone in which a person intentionally misinterprets a phrase, such as ‘chicken-fried rice,’ and asks a question about it in the format ‘You’re telling me a (x) fried this (y)?’. Though it originated in the early 2010s, the format grew popular in the latter half of 2019.