Easy Fried Rice Recipe

Look, fried rice seems easy but there’s actually a lot going on. You’ve got the rice, the proteins, the vegetables, and somehow you gotta make it all work together without turning it into a mushy mess. Get it right though and you’re gonna be making this all the time because it tastes better than takeout and costs way less.

The thing about fried rice is it’s all about technique. Cold rice is crucial. High heat is crucial. Knowing when to stir and when to let it sit is crucial. Mess any of that up and you get clumpy rice that tastes steamed instead of fried. Do it right and each grain gets coated with flavor and stays separate.

This is honestly one of the best dishes to learn because the skills apply to way more than just rice. You learn about temperature control, about building flavors, about how to prep ingredients so everything cooks evenly. Once you get this down, you’ll be way better at cooking in general.

What’s Actually Different About Good Fried Rice

Most people think fried rice is just rice with stuff mixed in. It’s not. There’s a reason restaurant fried rice tastes different than what people make at home. It’s because restaurants understand a few basic things that most home cooks don’t.

First thing is cold rice. You cannot make good fried rice with hot rice. The moisture content is all wrong. It steams instead of fries. Second thing is heat. You need high heat. The wok or pan needs to be screaming hot. Third thing is not constantly stirring. You gotta let the rice sit and fry instead of moving it around the whole time.

When you get these things right, what happens is each grain of rice gets coated with oil and seasonings. The proteins get some color and char. The vegetables stay kinda firm instead of turning into mush. Everything tastes like it was made with care, not just thrown together in a few minutes.

Related Recipes You Might Like

If you’re into fried rice, you’d probably also like making egg fried rice which is basically the same technique but with just eggs instead of other proteins. There’s also chicken fried rice which is what this recipe is, then shrimp fried rice which cooks super fast. Vegetable fried rice is great if you wanna skip the meat. Some people make fried rice with pineapple in it which sounds weird but actually tastes really good. Brown rice fried rice is a thing too if you want something a bit healthier. Cauliflower fried rice is the low-carb version. And if you wanna get fancy there’s like garlic fried rice and scallop fried rice which are more restaurant style.

What You Actually Need

Let me break down what goes into this because honestly it’s not complicated.

The rice part needs 3 cups of cooked rice that’s cold. This is the most important thing. Day-old rice from your fridge is literally perfect. If you’re making rice fresh, cook it and let it get cold before you use it. If you don’t do this your fried rice will be bad.

For protein get about 300 grams of chicken. You can use breast or thigh meat. Cut it into small pieces. If you don’t want chicken, shrimp works, pork works, tofu works, basically anything works. Just cut it small so it cooks fast and spreads through the rice evenly.

For vegetables grab about a cup of mixed stuff. Peas are good. Carrots are good. Corn works. Bell peppers work. Onions work. Basically whatever vegetables you’ve got around, just make sure to dice them small. Frozen mixed vegetables work great and honestly are easier than fresh.

The flavor stuff is 3 cloves of garlic minced up, 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger minced, 2 green onions sliced, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper, and salt to taste.

For cooking you need 3 tablespoons of oil. Use vegetable oil or peanut oil. They handle high heat without burning. Don’t use olive oil because it’ll burn.

To finish you need 2 beaten eggs, some cilantro or green onions for on top, and maybe extra sesame oil if you want.

Actually Making This Thing

Get Everything Ready First

This is important. Seriously. Cut your chicken into small pieces. Cut your vegetables small. Mince your garlic and ginger. Slice your green onions. Beat your eggs in a bowl. Have your soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil all measured out and ready. Get your rice out of the fridge and break it up so there aren’t big clumps.

Fried rice cooks fast. Like really fast. If you’re stopping to chop things while you’re cooking, you’re gonna mess it up. Everything needs to be ready to go.

Cook Your Chicken First

Get your wok or big skillet really hot. Like seriously hot. Put it over high heat for about a minute. You want it hot hot.

Put in 1 tablespoon of oil. Once it’s hot and shimmering, dump in your chicken pieces. Let them sit for about 1 minute without stirring. You want them to get some color on the bottom.

After that minute, start moving them around and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until they look mostly cooked through. Don’t stress if they’re not completely done—they’ll keep cooking. Put them on a plate.

Cook Your Vegetables

Add another tablespoon of oil. Once it’s hot, throw in your vegetables. Cook them for about 6 to 7 minutes, stirring every once in a while.

You want them to still have some crunch, not be totally soft. Take them off and put them on the plate with the chicken.

Do Your Garlic and Ginger

Add the last tablespoon of oil. Once it’s hot, add your minced garlic and ginger. Cook it for like 2 MINUTES. That’s it. You want it to smell amazing but not brown. Burnt garlic tastes horrible.

Add Your Rice

Now throw in your cold rice. Break it up as you add it. Spread it out in the wok and don’t touch it for like 1 minute. Just let it sit there and fry. This helps every grain get some heat and start separating.

After that minute, start stirring and moving it around. Keep the heat high. You’re trying to coat every grain with oil and heat it through. Takes about 2 to 3 minutes. The rice should start looking a bit dry and the grains should be separating instead of clumped.

Add Your Eggs

Push the rice to the sides of the wok so there’s a well in the middle. Pour your beaten eggs into that well and let them cook for like 30 seconds. Then start mixing them into the rice. They’ll scramble and spread through. Total time is about 1 minute.

Mix Everything Back Together

Put your chicken and vegetables back in. Add your soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, and salt. Toss it all together for about 1 minute so the seasonings get everywhere. Drizzle some sesame oil on top at the end and mix that through.

Taste it. Does it need more soy sauce? Add it. Need more salt? Add it. Make it taste how you want it to taste.

Serve It Up

Put it on plates or in bowls. Top it with cilantro or green onions. Eat it hot.

Stuff That Matters

Cold rice is not optional. Hot rice makes everything mushy. Use day-old rice from the fridge or cook rice fresh and let it get cold first.

Heat is everything. You need high heat. If the pan isn’t hot enough, the rice steams instead of fries. That’s the difference between good fried rice and bad fried rice.

Break up your rice before it goes in. Don’t dump in chunks. Separate all the grains so they’re individual pieces.

Cut everything small. Small pieces cook faster and spread through the rice better. This means better texture and more even cooking.

Don’t overcrowd your pan. If you’re making a ton of rice, do it in batches. Too much rice in the pan at once lowers the temperature and you get steaming instead of frying.

Let the rice sit for a minute before you start stirring. This helps it fry instead of just getting moved around.

Don’t cook the garlic and ginger too long. 30 seconds is all you need. If it starts looking brown, you went too far. Burnt garlic and ginger ruin everything.

Push other stuff to the side when you’re cooking eggs. Give them space to scramble instead of just mixing into everything.

Easy Fried Rice Recipe

How to make fried rice at home. Learn cold rice technique, high heat cooking, egg fried rice, shrimp variations, plus complete recipe and tips.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine asian

Servings 4 people

Calories 352 kcal

Equipment

• 1 large wok or big skillet (12-14 inches)
• 1 cutting board
• 1 sharp knife
• Measuring cups and spoons
• 1 bowl for beating eggs
• 1 small bowl for mixing sauces
• Wooden spoon or wok spatula
• Serving bowls or plates
• Paper towels

Ingredients

  

• 3 cups cold cooked rice day-old from fridge is perfect
• 300 g chicken breast or whatever protein you want diced small
• 1 cup mixed vegetables peas, carrots, corn, peppers, or frozen mixed
• 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger minced
• 2 green onions or scallions sliced
• 3 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
• 2 eggs beaten
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp white pepper
• Salt to taste
• Fresh cilantro or green onions for topping
• Extra sesame oil if you want to drizzle

INSTRUCTIONS

• Get all your ingredients prepped before you start cooking. Dice chicken and veggies small. Mince garlic and ginger. Have cold rice broken into separate grains.
• Heat your wok or skillet over high heat for 1 minute until it’s really hot. Add 1 tbsp oil. Once it’s shimmering, add diced chicken. Let it sit for 1 minute to get color, then stir and cook 2-3 minutes until mostly cooked. Put on a plate.
• Add 1 tbsp oil to wok. Add vegetables and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring once in a while. They should still have some crunch. Move to plate with chicken.
• Add remaining 1 tbsp oil. Add minced garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds until it smells good (don’t let it brown).
• Add your cold rice, breaking up clumps. Spread it out and let it sit for 1 minute without stirring. This helps it fry and the grains separate.
• Start stirring and tossing the rice for 2-3 minutes on high heat. Rice should look drier and grains should be separating from each other.
• Push rice to sides of wok making a well in the middle. Pour beaten eggs into the well. Cook 30 seconds then mix into rice. Scramble for about 1 minute total.
• Add chicken, vegetables, soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, and salt back to wok. Toss everything together for 1 minute so seasonings coat everything.
• Drizzle sesame oil at the end. Taste and add more soy sauce or salt if you need it. Serve hot topped with cilantro or green onions.

Keyword asian fried rice, chicken fried rice, easy fried rice recipe, fried rice, homemade fried rice, how to make fried rice, vegetable fried rice

Have everything prepped before you start cooking. You’re moving fast once you get going.

Taste it and fix it at the end. Everyone likes different amounts of salt and soy sauce. Make it yours.

Use the right oil. Vegetable oil or peanut oil are the ones. They don’t burn at high temperatures. Olive oil will burn.

Ways to Switch It Up

Fried rice is super flexible. That’s honestly part of why it’s so good.

You can use different proteins. Shrimp cooks super fast, just 1 to 2 minutes. Pork works great. Beef works. Tofu works if you’re vegetarian. Ham or bacon make it salty and rich. You could skip protein entirely and just do vegetables.

Different vegetables work too. Whatever you’ve got in the fridge basically works. Broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, snap peas. Dice it small and cook it first.

Add cashews or peanuts if you want crunch. Toast them first if they’re raw. Add them at the end so they stay crispy.

Fresh herbs change things up. Cilantro is traditional but basil works. Green onions are classic. Even mint is good if you’re going for something different.

Different sauces make different flavors. Soy sauce is standard. Add sriracha for heat. Put in some rice vinegar for tang. Use tamari if you need gluten-free.

Pineapple fried rice is a Thai thing and it’s actually really good. Cut it small and add it at the end. Make it spicy with chili flakes or fresh chilis. Add it while you’re cooking the garlic and ginger.

Use brown rice instead of white. Takes a bit longer to cook initially but works the same in fried rice. Cauliflower rice version is lower carb. The technique is different because it releases moisture, but same idea.

Parmesan cheese works surprisingly well with Asian flavors if you wanna go that route. Garlic fried rice is when you use way more garlic. Restaurant guys make this all the time. Egg fried rice is basically just eggs instead of other proteins. Super simple and really good. Shrimp fried rice is popular because shrimp cooks so fast.

Vegetable fried rice is great if you skip the meat entirely. Bacon fried rice makes it salty and rich. Cook bacon first, chop it up, add it in.

Brown rice fried rice is healthier but takes a bit longer initially to cook the rice. Scallop fried rice is more fancy and tastes restaurant style. Add peas and corn for classic combo. Both work great and add sweetness. Mushroom fried rice if you add sliced mushrooms. Cook them first till they’re golden. Bok choy fried rice which is more Asian style. Chop it small and cook it quick. Cashew fried rice for crunch. Toast them first then add at the end. Coconut milk in the sauce makes it creamy Thai style. Ginger heavy fried rice has extra ginger for warmth and flavor.

Why You Should Make This

Fried rice teaches you real cooking stuff. You learn about heat, about timing, about prepping ingredients so they cook evenly. These skills apply to way more than just fried rice.

Making it properly is honestly a good feeling. You realize you can make restaurant-quality food at home in like 20 minutes. That’s a win.

It’s flexible so you can use whatever proteins and vegetables you’ve got. It’s fast. It tastes way better than takeout. Once you understand the technique, you’ll make it all the time.

This is the kind of dish where you actually feel confident in the kitchen. You’re doing something right and the results prove it.