Chicken Fried Rice

Want to learn how to make chicken fried rice in the simplest terms? Here’s a basic template: Take some leftover rice and throw in some leftover chicken, a bag of frozen peas and carrots, some aromatic scallions, garlic and ginger, a drizzle of soy sauce and sesame oil, and voila! You have a quick, filling and budget-friendly weeknight dish. It’s that easy!

There are some basic rules to follow when making fried rice at home. First, use a sizzling-hot pan. It’s best to cook stir-fried dishes quickly over a hot flame to get a good sear on proteins and ensure that the vegetables stay crisp-tender. Second, don’t overload your fried rice with too much “stuff.” Be judicious and let the rice shine. Finally, avoid using vegetables that will leach liquid as they sit (like leafy greens), since they’ll make the fried rice soggy. You’ll notice that the vegetables you see most often—carrots and peas—don’t exude much moisture.

Chicken fried rice is the ultimate one-pan meal, but you can’t go wrong serving it alongside crispy egg rolls and leafy bok choy.

Ingredients for Chicken Fried Rice

• Oil: Canola oil’s neutral flavor and high smoke point make it ideal for stir-frying.
• Eggs: While often regarded as a filler in fried rice, fluffy scrambled eggs bring color and another source of protein.
• Vegetables: Use a bag of frozen peas and carrots. They make fried rice quick, easy and colorful, and no thawing is necessary. Sometimes I just use frozen petite peas and mix them in at the very end, allowing the heat of the fried rice to warm them up.
• Onion: Onions add a subtle sweetness to the dish. Cooking them until crisp-tender provides texture.
• Aromatics: Green onions, ginger and garlic are essential aromatics in many Chinese dishes. Green onions add a fresh oniony flavor and color. (Small, slender green onions are sweeter and more delicate than larger ones.) Ginger and minced garlic add another layer of fragrance and flavor. We use ground ginger here as a quick substitute for gingerroot. If you prefer to use the latter, be sure to store fresh ginger in a cool, dark place.
• Chicken: You can’t have chicken fried rice without the chicken! We like to use chicken breast for this recipe, but any cut of chicken will do. If using leftover chicken, steer clear of any chicken with competing flavors (like sticky barbecue chicken).
• Sesame oil: Toasted or roasted sesame oil provides a rich, nutty flavor and fragrance.
• Rice: Long-grain rice (like aromatic jasmine rice) is less sticky than short- or medium-grain rice, and will make fluffier fried rice.
• Soy sauce: Soy sauce adds umami and complexity to the rice. We like to use reduced-sodium soy sauce to keep the salt content in check.
• Salt and pepper: These two seasonings add more flavor. Ground white pepper has an earthier and sharper flavor than its black counterpart, but you can use either.

Directions

Step 1: Scramble the eggs

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In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Adds the beaten eggs, and cook and stir them until they’re thickened and no liquid egg remains. Remove the eggs from the pan and set them aside.

Editor’s Tip: Cook the eggs until they’re just set to prevent them from becoming dense and rubbery. If using a skillet, choose a nonstick one, since both rice and eggs are notorious for sticking to stainless steel pans. Using the largest skillet available will provide the most surface area to allow moisture to escape, resulting in a fluffier fried rice.

Step 2: Stir-fry the vegetables

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To the same skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the onion and frozen peas and carrots and cook until they’re tender, four to five minutes.

Step 3: Add the chicken and garlic

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Stir in the chicken and garlic, and cook for two to three minutes longer. Remove the mixture from the pan and set it aside.

Step 4: Stir-fry the rice

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Add sesame oil and rice to the skillet, and cook until the rice begins to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Break up any clumps of rice with damp hands before adding it to the pan. If you like bits of crispy rice for more texture, gently press the rice into a layer in the pan, let it cook undisturbed until the bottom gets a little crispy, then break it up so the crispy bits are mixed in with the softer rice.

Step 5: Finish the fried rice

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Stir in the eggs, the chicken and vegetable mixture, the soy sauce, salt, pepper and ginger. Cook until everything is heated through, two to three minutes. Serve chicken fried rice in bowls with chopped green onion.

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Chicken Fried Rice Variations

• Make it golden: Golden fried rice is, as the name suggests, a golden-colored fried rice with a more pronounced eggy flavor. You get the golden color by mixing the rice with egg yolks before stir-frying, so that the yolk covers each grain. (Beat and cook the egg whites separately.) You’ll want to bump up the number of eggs, maybe even double it. I like to use pasture-raised eggs, which have deeper-colored yolks and will give you a richer flavor.
• Make curry fried rice: Ever have Singapore mei fun, the curry-spiced stir-fried rice vermicelli? Borrow the curry-flavoring idea and use it to season rice instead of noodles. Use a yellow-tinged turmeric-based curry powder (not a finishing seasoning like garam masala). To make a curry, bloom the spices in oil before adding the rice to the pan.
• Add more vegetables: Add sweet red, orange or yellow peppers, sugar snap and snow peas, and even firm asparagus and broccoli stems. If adding broccoli stems, trim off the woody bottoms, peel or cut the tough outer layer, and chop them into pea-size pieces.
• Skip the soy sauce: Many restaurant-style chicken fried rice dishes use soy sauce, but it’s fine to skip it. (You’ll need to adjust the amount of salt.) The end result is a less intense, cleaner-tasting fried rice that just happens to be gluten-free.

How to Store Chicken Fried Rice

Leftover rice doesn’t last long in the fridge and must be stored properly. Rice should not sit at room temperature for more than one hour before being eaten or refrigerated. Transfer the cooled fried rice to a zip-top bag or an airtight container and refrigerate it.

How long does chicken fried rice last?

You can store chicken fried rice in the fridge for up to four days and in the freezer for up to three months.

Can you freeze chicken fried rice?

Yes, chicken fried rice freezes well. Store the cooled rice in zip-top bags, pressing out as much air as possible. Press the bag flat so you can stack it in the freezer (a flat bag will also thaw faster). Pack smaller bags of rice if you’re serving only one or two portions at a time.

How do you reheat chicken fried rice?

You can reheat chicken fried rice in multiple ways. To reheat it on the stovetop, heat a little oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Spread the fried rice in the pan and sprinkle it with some water. Stir the rice occasionally, breaking up clumps. For the oven, put the fried rice into an oven-safe baking dish and sprinkle it with water. Cover and bake the rice, stirring occasionally (this method is best for reheating a large amount of fried rice). It’s best to reheat chicken fried rice to an internal temperature of at least 165° before eating. If you reheat frozen fried rice, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.

Chicken Fried Rice Tips

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What’s the best way to cook rice for fried rice?

I find using a rice cooker to be hands down the most foolproof and consistent method of cooking rice. But you can also make fluffy rice on the stove.

Should you use hot or cold rice for fried rice?

Most fried rice recipes call for cold, cooked rice. Because it has dried out a bit, it’s less likely to clump together when stir-fried. If you don’t have any on hand, make fresh rice and spread it on sheet pans to let it cool before stir-frying it.

What can you serve with chicken fried rice?

This easy chicken fried rice recipe can be a complete meal on its own. If you’d like to pair it with another dish, we recommend picking a soup like egg drop soup or hot and sour soup or a quick stir-fry of broccoli or leafy greens like bok choy or spinach. It’s also a great time to pull out those batches of Asian dumplings, crab rangoons or pork dumplings you stashed away in the freezer.