Chicken fried rice
Fried rice is one of my absolute favorite meals to make at home. I used to order fried rice as a take-out meal, until I realized just how easy it is to make right at home and how budget-friendly it is! Chicken fried rice is a classic fried rice recipe that be it’s own meal or you can pair it with some of my other favorite take-out inspired recipes like Slow Cooker Orange Chicken and Air Fryer Egg Rolls!
chicken fried rice ingredients
Butter: Butter is the secret ingredient to a restaurant-style fried rice that is to die for! If you’ve ever seen them make fried rice at a hibachi restaurant they use butter instead of oil! That’s what makes it so good! Eggs: Scrambled eggs are usually added to fried rice and I love the addition of extra protein. You can definitely omit the eggs if you prefer! Veggies: Carrots, onion, garlic and peas are added for loads of textures and flavors! You can add more veggies if you have them on hand. Try adding broccoli, bell peppers, corn or edamame! White Rice: The key to a perfect fried rice that isn’t mushy is to use cold white rice. So you have to plan ahead a little bit here and make the rice, then chill it so it is cold when you make your chicken fried rice! Or, if you have leftover white rice on hand that will do the trick. Cold rice will stay in individual grains of rice. If you add fresh, hot rice, then this will turn out mushy! Chicken: You can shred up a rotisserie chicken or make some chicken beforehand and add it in. My Instant Pot Shredded Chicken would work great in this! Soy Sauce: I used low sodium soy sauce to decrease the sodium a little bit but any kind of soy sauce will work well. You can also use coconut aminos! Oyster Sauce: Adds the perfect amount of umami flavor that makes this fried rice super savory. Sesame Oil: Adds a slightly nutty flavor that pairs well with all of the flavors here.
how to make this recipe
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title: “Chicken Fried Rice” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-11” author: “Donald Crosby”
If fried rice is a must-have item when you order Chinese food, you better read on! It’s fun to order Asian takeout once in a while but it can be heavy on the stomach and the budget! Thankfully fried rice is one of the dishes that could be easily replicated at home with minimal ingredients and no special seasoning. It’s cheap, tasty and better yet, it’s super fast. Let me show you exactly how I make it. Don’t forget to serve yours with a bit of Chinese chilli oil. What a treat!
Ingredients
While the ingredients may vary from one recipe to another, there are some staples that everyone loves to use in their fried rice. Feel free to adjust to your own taste. After all, fried rice was invented in order to use up leftover rice and veg, so add whatever you have on hand. Day old long grain rice is a given. I will explain later in the post why old rice is better than freshly made. Scrambled eggs and a veg mix. I love using peas and carrots with some green onions. However, one of the secret ingredients is water chestnuts. They add unexpected and lovely texture. Try them, I am sure you will love them as much we do. Finally, I am using chicken breast in this recipe but shrimp or pork will also work. Needless to say, you can omit chicken altogether and keep this recipe vegetarian.
The Seasoning
What seasoning to use in fried rice is a hotly debated question. Many purists believe there shouldn’t be any but I love to add a smidge. Not too much to overpower the rice but just enough to give it more flavour. Light soy sauce is pretty much it. Once in a while I also sprinkle a bit of sesame oil at the end. Your choice!
Serving suggestions
This is a one pot meal so there is no need to serve this dish with anything else. But sometimes you want to add a bit something extra to make the meal a little more special. In that case, I like to serve this delicious rice with our 10 Minute Honey Garlic Shrimp or Salt and Pepper Shrimp as an appetizer. Or explore our Asian recipe collection for more great ideas. One thing that is important is to serve the fried rice hot. Letting it cool won’t do it any favours!
More Fried Rice Recipes
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title: “Chicken Fried Rice” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-26” author: “Paul Salvietti”
What you need to make this recipe
Chicken – I use diced chicken breast to give the dish an authentic taste and feel but you can absolutely use chicken thighs instead or any leftover shredded chicken you might have. Rice – Make sure your rice is pre-cooked and cold. If you use hot freshly cooked rice it’ll have too much moisture in it and it’ll turn mushy instead of crispy. I recommend cooking the rice the day before or use a package pre-cooked ice! Soy sauce – Soy sauce gives the dish color, flavor, and seasoning! Taste the rice at the end and add more to taste. Sesame oil – You don’t need a lot of sesame oil it’s strong but it adds so much flavor giving the rice a bold and authentic taste!
How to make Chicken Fried Rice
Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet and scramble the eggs then remove and set aside.
Next, add the chicken and fry until cooked through, set aside.
Add the sesame oil, onion, and carrots and cook for around 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and frozen peas and heat through.
Move the vegetables to one side of the skillet and add the rice, chicken, soy sauce, egg, and fry for a few minutes.
Season with more soy sauce and garnish with green onions, serve.
Pro tips for making this recipe
Traditionally chicken fried rice is made in a wok but a deep-sided skillet will work just as well! If you haven’t prepared the rice in advance you can use packaged pre-cooked rice instead. Make sure to not overcook the egg at the first sage as it will be added for further cooking at the end (egg can overcook and dry out fast). For best results, I recommend using free range and organic chicken and eggs. Make sure your skillet is always nice and hot especially before adding the rice so it gets nice and crispy. Looking for variations? You can use turkey or ham instead of chicken and if you’re looking for a low carb version of this why not use cauliflower rice instead of regular rice!
What’s the best rice to use?
Make sure to use long grain rice such as basmati or jasmine rice and make sure it is cold, pre-cooked rice. Don’t use hot or warm rice because it’ll contain too much moisture.
How can I make this healthier?
This chicken fried rice is so much healthier than any take-out you can order but to make it even healthier make sure to use low sodium soy sauce to control the amount of salt that goes into the dish. You only need a little oil to fry the chicken and veggies so make sure to stick to the amount stated in the recipe and don’t overdo it. If you want to go a step further you could also use brown or wholegrain rice instead of white.
What can I serve this with?
I have so many delicious Chinese and Asian inspired dinner recipes that would be perfect alongside this fried rice. Check out my Kung Pao Chicken or Sweet and Sour Chicken!
What can I do with leftovers?
Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be eaten hot or cold. If re-heating the rice make sure it is piping hot throughout before serving. If you’ve tried this Chicken Fried Rice then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
