Make a quick weeknight meal of this Easy Chicken Fried Rice recipe, while still enjoying authentic Chinese takeout flavor. Chicken, eggs, and vegetables are sautéed in a healthy oil, then fried up with rice and an Asian sauce until perfectly crispy. Whether serving up a quick one-person lunch or a dinner for the whole family, this is the best dish for that homemade takeaway experience!
Confession time… I make this chicken fried rice recipe AT LEAST every other week.
With all the necessities for it always on hand, and less than an hour of preparation time needed, it’s become one of my go-to healthy dinner recipes!
Even better, it’s incredibly easy to customize it to suit whatever proteins, vegetables, and flavorings you’ve got on hand. The basic ingredients for any fried rice come down to simply that – rice fried in oil in a wok or non-stick skillet, usually flavored with any combination of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame seed oil.
From there, the possibilities are endless. This Chicken Fried Rice stands up as an entrée all on its own, but shines alongside other takeout classics like General Tso’s Chicken, or Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry.
Ingredients
To make this Easy Chicken Fried Rice recipe you need:
- Oil. Traditionally vegetable oil is used to fry rice, but for this recipe either olive oil or avocado oil is recommended. Both are tasty, healthy alternatives, but avocado oil has a higher smoke point, and performs better under high temperatures.
- Vegetables. Basic mixed vegetables like carrots, onions, and peas are typical for fried rice, but any diced vegetables, even frozen, may be used. This recipe also calls for bell peppers, and green onions for garnish.
- Chicken. Boneless, skinless chicken breast is the ideal cut for this dish as a lean, healthy protein, but chicken thighs can also be used as a more flavorful alternative. Fried tofu, tempeh, or seitan can be substituted as a meatless alternative.
- Eggs. Organic or pasture-raised eggs taste the best and are the healthiest for you, but any kind of eggs may be used.
- Rice. Long-grain white rice is recommended as the most common and inexpensive variety, but brown or jasmine rice will work too. Leftover rice made the day before is ideal.
- Soy sauce or Tamari sauce. Either works as the main flavoring agent of the dish, but use a good-quality brand like San-J or Kikkoman. Soy sauce is lighter and saltier, and Tamari sauce is richer and deeper in soy flavor.
- Rice wine vinegar. Use a good, reliable name brand like Marukan. Rice wine vinegar provides an acidic tanginess which contrasts the oily rice, and improves the flavor.
- Toasted sesame seed oil. This ingredient packs a powerful, deep, nutty flavor in every drop. Use it sparingly, because it can quickly become overpowering.
How to Make Easy Chicken Fried Rice
The basic steps for making Chicken Fried Rice are simple to follow:
Cook the Rice
If possible, use leftover Instant Pot White Rice that was made a day ahead.
Fresh rice is very soft and moist, which makes it prone to getting sticky and difficult to stir fry. Leftover rice is more dry, breaks apart easily while frying, and will crisp beautifully when it absorbs the oil in the skillet.
Before cooking the rice, rinse it under cold water in a strainer repeatedly, until the water draining out of it is no longer cloudy. This removes the excess surface starch in the rice, which prevents stickiness after cooking and allows the individual grains to separate easier.
If making rice specifically for frying, then spreading it out, uncovered, in a tray or other shallow container allows the moisture to evaporate more easily. Leave it in the fridge overnight.
If you’re in a hurry, spreading it on a tray and putting it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, or leaving it cooling under a direct fan for at least an hour, can achieve a similar effect.
Sauté Vegetables and Chicken
Finely dice the carrots, onion, and bell pepper, and chicken into ½-inch pieces. Keeping the pieces small and uniform in size allows the vegetables to soften quickly and the chicken to cook evenly.
In a large wok or skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat on the largest stove burner.
Add the carrots, pepper, and onion, and sauté for 3-5 minutes. The vegetables should only be slightly softened at this stage, otherwise they may overcook through the rest of the frying process.
Push the vegetables to one side of the skillet, and drizzle another 1 tablespoon of oil into the empty side to begin heating.
Add the cubed chicken to the empty side of the skillet, and continue cooking over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Separating the chicken from the vegetables allows the chicken to cook evenly on its own.
Mix together the chicken and the vegetables, making sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Scramble the Eggs
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs.
Push the chicken and vegetables to one side of the skillet, leaving an empty space, or transfer them to a separate plate temporarily.
Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of oil into the skillet, and add the eggs, salt, and pepper. Scramble them in that spot for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through.
Once the eggs are finished cooking, break them into smaller pieces and mix back in with the chicken and vegetables. By waiting until after the egg is cooked to mix them together, whole bite-sized pieces of egg have the chance to form.
Fry the Rice
Add the cooked rice to the mix, and season it with the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir everything well to ensure even distribution of all those flavors, and adjust to taste if needed.
Continue frying the rice over medium heat for 10 minutes, breaking up any clumps that are sticking together. You want the grains of rice to separate into a loose texture, so the ingredients can mix and crisp evenly.
Let the rice cook to your desired level of crispness, and stir in the frozen peas during the final 2 minutes, to avoid overcooking.
Finally, serve it up in a bowl and enjoy! Sliced green onions can be added after plating, as a garnish.
Meal Prep and Storage
- To Prep-Ahead: It is highly recommended to cook the rice between 1-2 days ahead, as that makes the texture better for frying. The chicken and vegetables can also be cut into pieces ahead of time. The vegetables will keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days, and the chicken can be cubed up to 1 day ahead.
- To Store: With or without chicken, this dish can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- To Freeze: Fried rice can be frozen in an airtight container or sealed Ziploc freezer bag for up to 3-4 months. Individual servings can also be portioned out to make reheating easier.
- To Reheat: It is recommended to reheat fried rice in a skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through, but reheating in the microwave will suffice as well.
Dietary Modifications
The recipe you’ll find below is already dairy-free as written. Here are some adjustments and substitutions you can make to help it fit your other dietary requirements:
- Gluten-Free: Use Tamari sauce or another gluten-free soy sauce.
- Vegetarian: Omit the chicken, and/or use a meat-free protein like tofu, tempeh, or seitan.
- Vegan: Omit the chicken and eggs, and/or use non-animal products as alternatives. Scrambled tofu can replace the eggs. Cubed tofu, tempeh, or seitan can replace the chicken.
- Low-Carb/Keto: Substitute the rice for cauliflower rice.
- Low Sodium: Decrease the amount of salt added alongside the eggs, and use a low-sodium soy sauce.
- Extra Nutrition: Add more vegetables, and consider additional varieties like cabbage, snow peas, or broccoli. Substitute white rice for brown rice or cauliflower rice.
FAQs
Why does restaurant fried rice taste better?
Chinese restaurants often utilize very big, professional-grade woks and stove burners which fry rice at a very high temperature that browns and crisps it in a way most home cooks cannot replicate. Additionally, many Chinese restaurants still add monosodium glutamate (MSG) to fried rice, giving it a greater depth of flavor.
How is Japanese fried rice different from Chinese fried rice?
The only distinct difference between Japanese and Chinese fried rice is the type of rice that is used.
Chinese fried rice generally uses long-grain rice, such as Basmati or Jasmine rice, which create a more dry texture. Japanese fried rice favors short-grain rice, like sushi rice, which yields a more sticky, chewy texture.
What kind of oil do Chinese restaurants use for fried rice?
In Chinese restaurants vegetable oil and soybean oil are the most commonly used, because they are inexpensive, widely available in bulk, have a neutral flavor, and function very well at the high temperatures required for frying.
Where did fried rice originate?
Fried rice presumably first originated in the Sui Dynasty (589-618 A.D.) in the city of Yangzhou, in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu. Yangzhou-style rice – or “Yangchow” fried rice – usually featured roast pork, prawns, scallions, and peas, and served as the basis for the version we know today.
It’s believed to have originated as a way to make use of leftover food even back then, which is why the use of leftover rice is so critical to getting the right taste and texture.
What pan is best for fried rice?
A very large wok or skillet – at least 12 inches – should be used, to give plenty of space to sauté the ingredients and lots of hot surface area for the rice to crisp on. Any material will do, so use what best suits your budget and lifestyle.
Stainless steel is cheap and widely available, but food can stick to it easily. Cast iron provides a good non-stick surface, but its weight makes maneuvering difficult. Teflon-coated non-stick pans are effective, but can put off harmful fumes. Ceramic – my personal recommendation – is pricey, but is lighter than cast iron, more non-stick than steel, and healthier than Teflon.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Invest in the good stuff. For ingredients like soy sauce, Tamari sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame seed oil, the good-quality name brands taste infinitely better than the store brands.
- Break it up. Before adding your leftover rice to the pan, break up the clumps – this will ensure that all of the rice mixes evenly into the other ingredients and fries at the same rate.
- Bring in the butter. If calories aren’t a concern, do as the hibachi chefs do and add a tablespoon or two of butter in the last several minutes of cooking – the rice may turn out less crispy, but it adds lots of extra flavor.
- Turn up the heat. For extra crispy rice, crank up the heat to medium-high at the end and let the rice sit and rest a bit between stirs to really let it brown on the bottom – just be careful not to let it burn!
- Mix it up. Fried rice is the perfect simple dish with which to try out frequently underappreciated Asian ingredients like oyster sauce, bok choy, water chestnuts, kimchi, and so much more.
Make it a Meal
While this Easy Chicken Fried Rice can serve as a meal all in itself, for the full Chinese takeout experience it’s worth trying some of these other classic accompaniments:
Whip up a light appetizer with some Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls or P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
Or use this fried rice recipe as a side dish for heavier proteins like General Tso’s Chicken, Gluten Free Chinese Orange Chicken, or Mongolian Beef.
More Asian Stir Fry Recipes
Get the most out of your skillet or wok by trying out some of these other amazing stir-fried recipes:
- Japchae – Korean Glass Noodles
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Sesame Noodles
- Pad Thai
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Easy Pad See Ew with Chicken
- Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry
- Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
Tap stars to rate!
5 from 4 votes
Yield 5 servings
Prep 15 minutes mins
Cook 30 minutes mins
Total 45 minutes mins
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Ingredients
- ½ cup carrots finely diced
- 1 cup bell pepper cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 cup sweet onion cut into ½-inch pieces
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil, divided
- 1 lb. chicken thighs or breasts, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 4 eggs whisked
- ½ tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. salt to taste
- 4 cups cooked rice*
- 4 Tbsp. soy sauce gluten-free, or Tamari
- 2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. toasted sesame seed oil
- ½ cup frozen peas
- Green onions optional
- See this recipe in Meal Plan #10
Instructions
In a large wok, or large skillet, combine 2 tablespoons oil with bell peppers, onions, and carrots. Sauté for 3-5 minutes over medium heat.
Push vegetables to the side and drizzle 1 tablespoon oil into the skillet and place chicken in oil. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Mix with vegetables.
Whisk eggs together in a small bowl.Either push all vegetables and chicken to one side, or remove and place on a separate plate.
Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons oil in the spot you have cleared and add in eggs, salt, and pepper. Scramble in that spot for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked. Once cooked, you can combine the eggs with the rest of the vegetable mixture.
Add in cooked rice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.
If you like extra crispy fried rice, let rice sit over medium to medium-high heat for a full minute before mixing again. Rice likes to stick to the bottom of the pan, so be sure to scrape all of the crispy goodness off of it! Repeat this process until it reaches your desired crispiness.
Mix in frozen peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
Top fried rice with green onions to serve and enjoy! See this recipe in Meal Plan #10.
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!
Tap stars to rate!
5 from 4 votes
Notes
- It is best to use leftover white rice instead of freshly cooked white rice. Freshly cooked rice tends to clump together and does not crisp up as easily.
Meal Prep and Storage
- To Prep-Ahead: It is highly recommended to cook the rice between 1-2 days ahead, as that makes the texture better for frying. The chicken and vegetables can also be cut into pieces ahead of time. The vegetables will keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days, and the chicken can be cubed up to 1 day ahead.
- To Store: With or without chicken, this dish can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- To Freeze: Fried rice can be frozen in an airtight container or sealed Ziploc freezer bag for up to 3-4 months. Individual servings can also be portioned out to make reheating easier.
- To Reheat: It is recommended to reheat fried rice in a skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through, but reheating in the microwave will suffice as well.
Nutrition
Calories: 476kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 189mg, Sodium: 1020mg, Potassium: 628mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 2575IU, Vitamin C: 34mg, Calcium: 60mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Categorized as:
Chicken, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Lunch, Main Dishes, Nut-Free, Poultry, Red Meat & Pork, Recipes, Refined Sugar-Free, Side Dishes
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