Seafood Fried Rice

I first made this Seafood Fried Rice here in the US when I had direct access to bottled taba ng talangka. Having it on hand gave me a chance to experiment with crab fat in different dishes, and fried rice was one of the results. Cold leftover rice already works well for my fried rice recipe, so I used the same approach here.

The rice should have plenty of aligue flavor while the seafood stays tender. The shrimp and mussels only need about a minute, and the squid gets just 30 seconds. I take all three out before frying the rice so the shrimp does not overcook and the squid still has a nice bite when everything reaches the plate.

The liquid from the seafood goes into the bowl too. Keep it because that is going back into the rice near the end, after the butter and aligue have already coated the grains. I turn the heat up when it goes back in, then taste before adding more salt. Bottled aligue can be salty enough on its own, and that changes from one brand to another.

What is Seafood Fried Rice?

The aligue is what changes this from regular fried rice. It coats the cold rice, turns it orange, and gives it most of its seasoning. I do not use soy sauce or oyster sauce here because I still want the crab flavor to come through.

I also keep the shrimp, mussels, and squid out of the rice while it fries. That is different from my shrimp fried rice and yang chow fried rice, where the shrimp ends up mixed through the rice. Here, the seafood goes on top at the end, so you can still taste each one.

Why This Seafood Fried Rice Recipe Works

• Take the seafood out early. One minute for the shrimp and mussels, then 30 seconds with the squid. That is enough. They do not need to sit in the pan while the rice fries.
• Keep the liquid. Whatever comes out of the seafood goes back into the rice near the end. Turn the heat up and let the extra moisture cook off.
• Taste after the aligue goes in. Some bottled aligue is already very salty. Mix it through first, then decide if the rice still needs salt.

Seafood Fried Rice Ingredients

• Leftover rice – Use cold rice from the refrigerator. Rice from the night before separates much better in the pan.
• Taba ng talangka – This is the main flavor of the rice. I use ¼ cup for 5 cups of rice.
• Shrimp – Peeled and deveined. Keep them whole.
• Mussels – Use the meat only, without the shells.
• Squid – Cleaned and sliced. Have this ready before you start cooking because it only gets 30 seconds in the pan.
• Butter – This goes into both the seafood and the rice.
• Lemon – A quarter lemon is enough. I am not trying to make the rice taste lemony.
• Garlic – Crush it instead of mincing it. Larger pieces are easier to keep from burning.
• Onion – Minced.
• Cooking oil – Two tablespoons for the seafood and the rest for the rice.
• Salt and ground black pepper – Season the seafood first, then adjust the rice after the aligue goes in.

A Closer Look at Taba ng Talangka

Taba ng talangka is commonly translated as crab fat. The bottled paste is made from the roe and reddish-orange tomalley of talangka rather than plain body fat. I still call it crab fat here because that is how it is commonly labeled in Filipino groceries.

You can find bottled aligue in Filipino and many Asian grocery stores. Check the label because the ingredients vary from brand to brand, and some jars contain starch or other extenders. Keep it refrigerated after opening and use it within about 2 weeks. Bottled aligue also works very well in my seafood aligue pasta.

1. Heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil in a pan. Add the shrimp and mussels. Cook for 1 minute.
2. Add 1 ½ tablespoons butter and let it melt. Add the squid and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
4. Transfer the seafood along with the liquid from the pan to a bowl. Set aside.

1. Heat the remaining cooking oil in the same pan. Sauté the garlic until it starts to brown.
2. Add the onion and continue sautéing until it softens.

Use the same pan so whatever is left from cooking the seafood goes into the rice too.

1. Add the remaining butter. Once it melts, add the rice. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, breaking up any clumps as you cook.
2. Add the taba ng talangka. Stir and fold the rice until the crab fat is evenly distributed.

1. Squeeze the lemon over the rice.
2. Pour in the liquid from the cooked seafood. Increase the heat to high and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Season with salt and ground black pepper as needed.
4. Transfer the seafood fried rice to a serving plate and top with the cooked seafood. Share and enjoy!

What to Serve with Seafood Fried Rice

• Lechon Kawali works when you want a bigger meal. The crisp pork gives you a very different texture beside the soft seafood and rich rice.
• Chicken Barbecue gives you something smoky and slightly sweet next to the aligue.
• Atchara is probably the easiest contrast to put on the plate. You only need a small amount of the pickled papaya beside a rich spoonful of rice.
• Ensaladang Mangga works for the same reason. The green mango, tomato, onion, and bagoong give the meal something fresh and sharp without adding another cooked dish.

Storage

• Refrigerator: Keep the rice and seafood in separate covered containers for up to 3 days. This is worth doing because the rice needs more reheating than the shrimp and squid. Heat the rice first, then add the seafood near the end.
• Freezer: Freeze the rice without the seafood for up to 2 months. Shrimp and squid lose too much texture after freezing, thawing, and reheating. Make fresh seafood when you serve the frozen rice.
• Reheating: Heat the rice in a pan with a little oil over medium heat for about 4 minutes, breaking apart the grains as they warm. Add the seafood during the last minute, just long enough to heat it through.

More Fried Rice Recipes

• Shrimp and Vegetable Fried Rice has broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots along with shrimp, so it works well as a complete meal.
• Tinapa Fried Rice combines garlic rice with smoked fish, salted duck egg, and tomato.
• Danggit Fried Rice uses chopped dried rabbitfish for a salty, crisp bite throughout the rice.
• Tuyo Fried Rice takes the same idea in another direction with fried salted dried fish flaked into garlic rice.
• Pork Chao Fan uses ground pork, egg, and hoisin sauce for a meatier fried rice.

• Taba ng talangka: Crab roe is the closest substitute, but the flavor will be milder and the rice will not have quite the same color. If you cannot get either one, I would not try to imitate aligue by pouring in more soy sauce. Make a good garlic butter fried rice instead and call it what it is.
• Squid: Scallops can go in at the same point. Cut large scallops in half and keep the cooking time short.
• Mussels: Clam meat works. You can also leave mussels out and divide the seafood between shrimp and squid.
• Lemon: Calamansi works very well here. Use about 1 tablespoon juice in place of the quarter lemon.
• Butter: Margarine can work, although the flavor is not quite as rich. I would not simply replace the butter with more oil because you lose some of the richness that works so well with the crab fat.

Serve the rice while it is still hot and put the seafood on top just before it goes to the table. Keeping them whole means you can get a piece of seafood with the aligue rice in the same spoonful. The rice should be rich from the crab fat and butter, but that small squeeze of lemon keeps it from feeling too heavy.

This started as one of the dishes I experimented with when I had direct access to bottled taba ng talangka here in the US. Aligue works well with fried rice because it coats the grains and provides so much of the flavor without needing a long list of seasonings. You should taste the aligue in every grain and still get the texture of the shrimp, mussels, and squid on top.