Fried rice is definitely one of our family favorites. My husband and son absolutely love Asian food, and I always make fried rice to accompany any of my homemade Asian dishes. There aren’t many other foods that my toddler gobbles up as quickly as he does fried rice!
Even when I’m not making another Asian dish, fried rice can become a complete meal in and of itself, especially if you add in some form of meat, like chicken or shrimp.
Many a night I find myself not knowing what to make, and end up whipping up a batch of fried rice using whatever I happen to have sitting around. Having a few hens at home, I almost always have plenty of eggs on hand for these sorts of recipes.
It’s the perfect way to use up any leftover plain rice, or any other meats and vegetables that you may have sitting in your fridge.
There are a few things to keep in mind when making fried rice.
It is easier to make it using rice that has been cooked earlier and stored in the fridge. If you decide to make it at the last minute, though, it is possible to make it using recently cooked rice; it will just be a little trickier to keep it from sticking together.
The best way to make the fried rice is to use a very high heat, and to move quickly. It is important to preheat the pan before you begin!
For the veggies, most people use peas and carrots, and you can even use frozen mixes of cubed veggies. Both my son and I hate peas, so I tend to use green onions and carrots. I also occasionally add in chopped red peppers or cabbage. I like to shred my carrots so that they cook very quickly, but that is just my preference. You can roughly chop them, or cut them into little cubes.
As you can tell, this recipe is highly customizable, and you can change anything from the sauces, to the oils used, to the vegetables, etc., to suit the tastes of your family, or to make the recipe work for whatever you have on hand.
So, with that in mind, use this as a guide, and have fun with it!
The Best Fried Rice Recipe | How to Make Fried Rice
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice (long grain rice works best)
3 eggs beaten
2-3 Tbsp. soy sauce (or oyster sauce or fish sauce)
2-3 Tbsp. sesame oil
½ -1 cup veggies (most people use carrots and peas)
½ onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup of shredded or cubed cooked chicken or other meat (optional)
Salt
Procedure:
Step 1
Preheat your wok or skillet.
Step 2
Sauteé the chopped onion and minced garlic in the sesame oil for about a minute, and then add in the other vegetables, cooking until tender.
Step 3
Either move the vegetables to one side of the wok or pan, or remove them from the pan and set them aside until later.
Step 4
Fry the eggs until they start to cook into a thin sheet. Use your spatula to break the egg up into small pieces.
Step 5
Add in any cooked meat, if your are using it, and warm it in the pan. Stir everything together.
Step 6
Finally add in your rice, breaking up any clumps that it may have. Add more oil if necessary. Also add the vegetables back in if you removed them before.
Step 7
Add your sauces to taste, and keep moving everything until it is all covered with the sauce and oil, and it is heated through.
Step 8
Taste you rice, and make any adjustments as needed. If you prefer to use less sauce, for example, you will likely need to add a little bit of salt to taste. If you use more soy sauce or fish sauce, you probably won’t need to add any salt.
Step 9
Serve immediately!
And that's it! You can pretty much add anything to this easy fried rice recipe. Now that you know how to cook fried rice, get your skillet or wok out and start with this easy fried rice. Enjoy!
