Easy and Delicious Fried Rice

This recipe for Fried Rice needs a little bit of pre-planning, but it only calls for a handful of ingredients and takes just a few minutes to throw together.  It’s also endlessly adaptable and completely delicious!

Jump To Recipe

I got this fried rice recipe from my mom over a decade ago.  I have no idea where she got it, but I’ve been tweaking it for years now until it became the perfect recipe. 

I don’t know about you, but I could pretty much eat my body weight in fried rice if given half the opportunity.  The worst part of going to a Chinese restaurant for me is to get there and find out that they have disappointing fried rice.  Luckily, that fear is now a thing of the past for you as well as me, because this recipe is here to save the day.

Perks of Easy and Delicious Homemade Fried Rice:

• It’s easy to make

• It’s a great use for leftover rice

• It’s delicious

• It’s adaptable

• It’s a great side OR main dish

Ingredients of Easy and Delicious Homemade Fried Rice

Rice: the key ingredient of the dish.  Using previously cooked and cooled rice is crucial to perfect fried rice.  Rice dries out a it sits, and that dryness is what you need to achieve the perfect fried rice texture. This is where the planning ahead that I mentioned previously comes into play.  I like to make rice a day or two ahead of time so that I have cold rice ready to go.  Before adding the cold rice to the pan, break apart any large clumps with your hands.  You also want a long grain rice for this dish, as it’s less sicky than a short grain rice.

Eggs: scramble two eggs together and then add to the pan to cook them quickly.  Since you’ll be adding the eggs back into the dish later on in the cooking process, it’s best to undercook the eggs just a bit during this part so as not to overcook them later.

Vegetables:  you could spend 20 minutes thinly chopping cabbage for this dish, or you could use my shortcut which is to just buy a bag of cole-slaw veggies and add that.  

Seasonings: you’re only adding a few ingredients to this dish, so it’s important to use the best quality ingredients you can afford.  Hit up your local Asian grocery store and ask them which soy sauce they recommend.  I use a local company called CinSoy Foods for my soy sauce and the difference between that and the store brands is pretty phenomenal.  You’ll also add Oyster sauce and a dab of sesame oil  Both of these are powerful flavors so start small and add as you go. 

To Make Easy and Delicious Homemade Fried Rice

• Start with a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of neutral oil to the pan.  Add in your beaten eggs, and let them cook for just a minute or two until they’re set.  Remove the eggs from the pan in one piece (as best as you can) and cut into strips.  Set aside.

• Add more oil to the pan and then add the coleslaw veggies.  It will seem like a lot of vegetables, but they cook down pretty much, so it’s not nearly as much as it seems to be.  Once cooked, remove from the skillet and set aside with the eggs.

• Add more oil to the pan, and then add the rice, making sure to crumble any clumps in your hands as you add it to the pan.  Press the rice down into the pan, and then let it sit for 3-4 minutes.  Stir, and then repeat that process.

• Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil, stir to mix it all together, and then press the rice into the pan again, and let it sit for 3-4 more minutes.

• Remove from the heat, add in the eggs and vegetables and serve.

Serving and Storing Easy and Delicious Homemade Fried Rice

I almost always make this as a side dish, but you could add cooked and cubed up chicken or pork, shrimp or tofu and make this a main dish very easily.

Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.  To reheat frozen rice, either let it cook in a frying pan or in the microwave with a tiny bit of chicken broth to loosen it up.

Yield

4

Author

Sara Rauckhorst

Prep time

5 Min

Cook time

20 Min

Inactive time

2 Hour

Total time

2 H & 25 M

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Easy and Delicious Fried Rice

This recipe for Fried Rice needs a little bit of pre-planning, but it only calls for a handful of ingredients and takes just a few minutes to throw together. It’s also endlessly adaptable and completely delicious!

Ingredients

Easy and Delicious Fried Rice

• 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon neutral oil (vegetable or canola), divided
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon water
• 3 cups of bagged, pre-shredded cole slaw mix
• 4 cups of cooked and cooled long grain white rice
• 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• ¼ teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

To Make Easy and Delicious Fried Rice

1. In a small bowl, beat two eggs together with a teaspoon of water.
2. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of oil. 
3.  Once the oil is hot, add the eggs, and let them spread over the bottom of the pan.  Trying to keep the eggs all in one piece as much as possible, remove the eggs to a plate and set cut it into strips.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the same pan, and add the cole-slaw veggies.  Let them cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until they've cooked down to half their original size.  Remove them to the same plate as the eggs.
5. Add the last tablespoon of oil to the same skillet, and then add the rice, crumbling any large clumps of rice in your hands as you add it.  Spread the rice out in the skillet, and let it sit for 3-4 minutes, then toss it and let it sit for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, the oyster sauce and the sesame oil.  Taste, and add the other tablespoon of soy sauce if you feel like it needs it.
7. Spread the rice out again, and let it cook for another 4-5 minutes, or until it starts to crisp up on the bottom layer. 
8. Add the eggs and cole-slaw veggies to the rice and stir to combine.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sarastinykitchn on instagram and hashtag it #sarastinykitchen

Created using The Recipes Generator