Fried Rice

Fried Rice is so much better at home than it is from takeout. Once you get the hang of the technique, you’ll be making fried rice often. There’s probably as many recipes for fried rice as there are grains of rice in the world, but this is the one I make our family when we’re craving it. The best part of fried rice is you can add or subtract however many goodies you want. And the method is simple, just be sure you prepare your ingredients first, because fried rice cooks quickly. Follow the steps and you can make an amazing homemade version tonight! Don’t be afraid to change the protein from Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork, the pink/red stuff!), beef, spam, or you can use chicken marinated the way I did in my Orange Chicken recipe. Make it vegan and gluten-free by using Tamari and omitting the protein and eggs – the possibilities are endless!

A note about rice

The key to fried rice is cooked dry rice. If you’re like me and forget to cook it the night before, you can cook in the morning and spread it out on a sheet pan to dry out all day. If you opt for the day-old rice, be sure to keep it in the refrigerator uncovered overnight so it can dry out. Otherwise, it traps the moisture in, and it won’t be dry. The reason we want dry cooked rice is nobody likes mushy fried rice!

Cooking the Rice

Wash your rice until the water runs clean. For pretty much any rice besides wild and brown rice, use a 1 to 1 ratio of water to rice, and make sure you use the same measuring cup. Pop it in a rice cooker and when it clicks over to warm, fluff it and remove to a sheet pan to cool and dry out. It comes out almost perfect every time. You can also cook your rice in an Instant Pot. For that, I use a 1 to 1.25 ratio. So, 1 cup rice, 1.25 cups water. For this recipe, you’d use 2 cups rice and 2.5 cups water.

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Fried Rice

Fried rice better than takeout! The best part of this recipe is being able to customize it to your tastes. You can make a simple egg fried rice or add as many goodies as you want! Fried rice cooks quickly, so prepare your ingredients first!

• Prep Time15 min
• Cook Time20 min
• Total Time35 min
• Yield6-8
• Serving SizeServings

• Cuisine
  • Chinese
• Course
  • Main Course
• Suitable for Diet
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
• Tags
  • Chinese
  • Fried Rice
  • Pork
  • Rice

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Char Siu Pork, Cooked Chicken, or Beef, 1/4” dice
• 2 Cups Rice, (day-old or left out to dry)
• 1 Medium Onion, 1/4” julienne
• 2 stalks celery, 1/4” slice
• 2 Medium Carrots, 1/4” Dice
• 1 Cup Frozen Peas
• 4-8 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Green Onions or Chives, 2” chop
• 1/4-1/2 Head Green Cabbage, 1/2” strips
• 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
• 1/2 tsp. White Pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp. Shao Xing Wine, or Dry Sherry
• 2-3 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
• 3-4 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

Method

1

Prep all ingredients before cooking. Mix together soy sauce, white pepper, Shaoxing wine, and sesame oil.

2

Heat wok or pan over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Add vegetable oil around the sides.

3

Add whole eggs and break yolks. Don’t stir too much, allow them to almost soufflé before turning. Remove eggs and set aside.

4

Add onions and carrots, along with the whites from the green onions. Stir fry until onions begin to char slightly.

5

Add celery and peas. Keep stir frying until celery begins to soften.

6

Add diced meat and stir until warmed through.

7

Add cabbage, let cook down.

8

Add rice, stir fry well to ensure rice clumps are broken up. Add cooked eggs.

9

Add soy sauce mixture over the back of your spoon. Stir well to coat.

10

Add green onion tops and stir together, immediately remove from heat and serve.