Is there anyone who doesn’t love a good bowl of fried rice? It’s quite possibly one of the most popular dishes when you place a take-out order for Chinese food from your favorite restaurant. But what I’m here to tell you today is that you can make 15 minute fried rice at home with the ingredients that you’ve got in your pantry, fridge, and freezer. As a child, I was lucky enough to have a stay at home mom that made us almost anything we asked for from scratch. Don’t get me wrong, the list of food items really wasn’t that long. I certainly did not have a refined palate at age 5, so macaroni and cheese and fried rice were probably numbers 1 and 2 on my list, respectively. So I can tell you this much. I’ve watched my mom make homemade vegetable fried rice hundreds and hundreds of times. Last week I made a batch of 15 minute fried rice over on Instagram, and though I did post the recipe right away, I received quite a few DMs asking for a full recipe post on the blog. So here we are!
Full disclosure: If you happen to see this recipe over on Instagram, you’ll find there is a tiny discrepancy between the recipe here and the one there. That’s because I’ve been testing the recipe to get it to that perfect sweet spot, and I think it’s finally, finally there. I did use an additional egg (needed a bit more protein) in the version I’m sharing today, but I think my 15 minute fried rice recipe is exactly where I wanted it to be now.
What do you need to make 15 minute fried rice?
Butter + cooking oil Eggs Chopped onions + carrots frozen peas Minced or pressed garlic Cooked rice Soy sauce (or tamari) + oyster sauce Toasted sesame oil white pepper + red pepper flakes (optional) Chopped green onions
Fresh rice or leftover rice for this easy fried rice recipe?
Day-old rice works best. Preparing the rice a day ahead of time and cooling it in the refrigerator allow it to dry out. It also helps to hold its shape a lot better when we fry it in a pan with the vegetables. But if you didn’t have a chance to plan ahead, here’s what you can do: cook the rice and spread it out on a large baking sheet in a flat layer and allow the rice to cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, uncovered. If you’re in no rush to make this, you could also let the rice sit out at room temperature for several hours. My mom did this all the time when I was growing up, so it is tried and true.
Do you think I could make this fried rice recipe with brown rice?
Yes, this recipe would work equally well with brown rice! I suggest preparing the brown rice ahead of time, the same way you would the white rice and then proceeding with the recipe.
How much uncooked rice would I need to make enough for this recipe?
It’s difficult to say precisely, but if you’re using a medium to long-grain white rice, typically, using 1 cup dry rice and preparing it with 2 cups of water makes 3 cups of rice. For this recipe, I prepared 1 ½ cups of long grain rice, which yielded 4 ½ cups.
How to make 15 minute fried rice:
Can I add protein to this 15 minute fried rice recipe?
Yes, this homemade fried rice recipe is totally customizable. You could add other chopped veggies to make this a more filling vegetable fried rice recipe. And if you decide to add any type of protein, you can actually prepare it in the same pan! I would start by marinating, shrimp, chicken, beef, or even small bite-sized pieces of firm tofu in a little soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic powder. Sauté your protein of choice in a bit of oil until it cooks through and remove it to a bowl. Then, pick up the recipe where we start by scrambling the eggs.
Tips for making the best fried rice recipe:
What can I serve with this fried rice recipe?
Garlic lovers pepper steak stir fry Black Pepper Tofu Stir Fry General Tso’s Chicken Meatballs Easy Thai Cashew Chicken Lighter Orange Chicken Spicy Peanut Tofu Stir Fry Mongolian Beef Meatballs Mushroom Broccoli Beef Ramen Black Pepper Chicken Stir Fry Garlic Lovers Thai Basil Chicken 10 Minute Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry Best Easy Broccoli Beef Stir Fry Sesame Ginger Tofu Stir Fry
oyster sauce| oyster mushroom sauce | soy sauce | toasted sesame oil | cast iron pan
Old rice works best for this recipeUse less soy sauce if you salted the rice extra generously Oyster sauce can be replaced with oyster mushroom sauce
