You can make fluffy, flavorful Egg Fried Rice that tastes just as good (or better!) than your favorite Chinese takeout in under 25 minutes. The secret to success? Using cold, day-old rice! This simple recipe walks you through stir-frying the perfect combination of eggs, carrots, peas, and savory seasonings. Make it a main dish by adding your favorite protein!
One of my favorite foods is rice. And one of my favorite rice dishes is Egg Fried Rice, one of the star dishes of Chinese cuisine!
If you love Egg Fried Rice and would like to make a version as good as Chinese restaurants and perhaps healthier than your local Chinese takeout, you have come to the right place!
Making Egg Fried Rice is SUPER SIMPLE! You really just need to know one key thing about making this perfect side dish successfully.
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The Key to Making a Successful Egg Fried Rice
Making a stellar Egg Fried Rice requires one simple thing...you need to use day old or two days old cooked rice, so this is a great way to use up leftover rice. This way the rice grains do not stick together and you can easily stir fry them!
Once you know this, you can knock your fried rice out of the park!!
🥘 Ingredients
So here are the simple ingredients that you will need for this recipe:
- Day old (or 2 day old) cooked cold rice - use long grain rice or jasmine rice
- Carrots
- Peas
- Onion (you can use red or white)
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Egg
- Soy Sauce
- Sesame oil (could also use vegetable oil or peanut oil)
- Spring onions - optional garnish
🔪 Instructions
The most time consuming part is prepping your veggies, and garlic and ginger. Prepping the garlic and ginger is made much easier if you have a small food processor.
After prepping, the stir frying part is super quick so be ready!
Heat up your oil in your skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Then add the garlic and ginger to the hot oil and stir fry until fragrant (about 1 min). Lower the heat a bit if it starts to burn, but be sure to stir fry constantly.
Then add your veggies and stir fry until tender (approximately 3-4 min).
Add your egg, and stir continuously, incorporating the egg into the veggies until cooked.
Now add your rice and stir to incorporate. Then add your soy sauce and stir.
Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more soy sauce and/or a little bit of extra sesame oil for extra flavor!!
Add some chopped green onions as an optional garnish if you like, and then tuck in!
A Few Items To Note
In addition to using day old or two day old rice, it is highly recommended to use a well seasoned cast iron skillet, well seasoned wok, or nonstick skillet for best results.
Also, I elect to use sesame oil to fry the ingredients adding more sesame oil at the end for extra oomph. However, you could also sub peanut or vegetable oil for sesame oil at the beginning which will give you a much more neutral flavor.
Last but not least, you could also try cooking the egg at the end instead of prior to adding the rice.
Suggestions For Serving
Voila! You have your perfect fried rice, better than your local take out!
This classic Chinese food dish is perfect alongside Chinese 5 Spice Roast Chicken or some Shrimp With Black Bean Sauce.
If you want to add some protein and enjoy this as a main dish, you can throw in some cooked chicken, shrimp, etc. at the end and stir until heated through.
I hope you will cook some Egg Fried Rice up soon!!
FAQ
Store any leftover egg fried rice in an airtight container in your refrigerator, and enjoy within 3 days.
For best results, use cold day-old rice to make this egg fried rice recipe. It's not advised to use hot rice!
Some Other Recipes You Will Enjoy
Here are some other great recipes that you will enjoy:
- Super Easy Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken Rice
- Korean Zucchini Side Dish
- Chinese Braised Pork Belly Recipe
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Cheers!
Grace
Delicious and Easy Chinese Egg Fried Rice Recipe
Equipment
- well seasoned cast iron skillet could also use a wok or a nonstick skillet
Ingredients
- 1 egg beaten lightly
- 3 cups white rice USE DAY OLD OR TWO DAY OLD COOKED WHITE LONG GRAIN RICE OR JASMINE RICE
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- ½ onion diced (can use red or white)
- 1 cup frozen peas defrosted
- 3 tablespoon sesame oil for stir frying (can sub vegetable oil or peanut oil); plus additional to taste added at the end of cooking
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 inch ginger peeled and minced
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce I used Kikkoman; plus additional to taste
Optional Garnish
- spring onions throw some chopped spring onions over your rice for an extra special garnish
Instructions
- Heat up your oil in your skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Once hot add the garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant (about 1 min). Lower the heat a bit if it starts to burn, but be sure to stir fry constantly.
- Then add your veggies and stir fry constantly until tender (approximately 3-4 min).
- Add your egg, and stir continuously, incorporating the egg into the veggies until cooked.
- Add your rice and stir to incorporate. Then add your soy sauce and stir.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more soy sauce and/or a splash or two of sesame oil for enhanced flavor!! Oh, and don't forget some chopped green onions as an optional garnish!
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