Here’s a tasty recipe that’s great for using up refrigerator scraps, takes almost no time to make, and is perfect for customization. Stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan, common ingredients used in this dish are eggs, vegetables, and some kind of seafood or meat. Fried rice can be eaten as a stand-alone dish or as an accompaniment to another dish.
For my recipe, I’m going to be adding chicken soup powder which will bump up the umami profile of the dish, making it taste just like Chinese takeout.
5-minute Fried Rice
Equipment
- skillet
Ingredients
- 1/4 C. cooked protein (ham, chicken, Spam, etc.) cut into ¼” cubes
- 1 medium carrot cut into ¼” cubes
- 1/4 C. frozen peas
- 3 green onions finely chopped green & whites separated
- 3 eggs + a pinch of salt, beaten
Rice
- 3-4 C. cooked rice cold, cooked rice
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1 tsp. chicken powder You can substitute soy sauce.
- 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper You can substitute black pepper.
- 1/2 C. frozen peas
- 1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1-2 tbsp. vegetable oil for frying High-temperature oil like grapeseed or safflower oils.
Instructions
Stir-frying the additions
- In a skillet, over medium heat add 1 teaspoon of oil.
- Add your protein and sauté for 1 minute or until lightly browned.
- Add chopped carrots & cook for another minute.
- Add the white parts of the green onions.
- Stir and transfer to a serving dish.
Scrambling the eggs
- In the same pan, add another 1 teaspoon of oil.
- Pour in the eggs and cook until scrambled.
- Add the eggs to the other ingredients in the serving dish.
Cooking the rice
- In the same pan, add 1 teaspoon of oil.
- Add the cold rice, using your spatula to press it down so that it makes good contact with the pan.
- Let rice cook undisturbed one minute, then stir.
- Now add salt, chicken bouillon powder, and white pepper. Mix well.
- Cook for an additional minute, then add the other cooked ingredients.
- Stir to combine.
- Add the frozen peas. Combine and then cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the green onion tops.
- Finish with sesame oil
- Serve hot with Sriracha.
Notes
Nutrition
So What Does it Taste Like?
Delicious! The ultimate comfort food, especially for winter, but really whenever you have leftover rice. It’s warm and hearty with a nice touch of egg and veg, rounded out with a touch of sesame oil. And if you use SPAM like I did, you’ll also get that saltiness.
Can I Adapt This Recipe?
By all means! Fried rice is the epitome of a recipe that lends itself to adaptation and customization. If you wanna make this vegan, great, skip the eggs and meat, add more veg, and add some kimchi which will boost your probiotic load.
Or, if you don’t have or eat regular rice, you could also make this with cauliflower rice or quinoa, making sure to cook it first in water as you normally would.
Happy cooking, lovelies!
I’ve made this once and it’s amazing! Super easy and delicious! Making it again tonight!
AWESOME! I’m so glad you liked it. It’s a stand-by in our house and perfect for using up scraps.
Rats, I lost the first comment because of the reCaptcha thing. 🙁
I wanted to say this is the definitive fried rice recipe, and it’s so good to know. I’ve been sort of hacking it out and never have been satisfied. Now I know how to do it over and over again.
I use it with RightRice™ which is a rice substitute with a lower glycemic index, and knowing it has to be “old” makes all the difference here. I can make up a batch and shove it in the fridge and use it as I want.
I make the recipe for one, so using one cup of “rice” and adjusting everything else. Since I cook for me only, I get to do what I want.
Thanks, Emmy!
I, too, lost my first review. Note to future reviewers, before typing a response, scroll past the comment section and accept the conditions first.
To my review: this was so easy and SO delicious. Definitely my new go-to. Thank you so much, Emmy!
I sorry about losing the comment but delighted that you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
I’m SO glad you like the recipe and thanks for introducing me to RightRice, I’ve never heard of it before now.
My daughter did not like fried rice at all! She was a plain rice sort of girl (she’s 5). So we watched Emmys video of this one day. Then we decided to make it together and now she says this is her favorite way to have rice! Thank you Emmy for helping my little girl expand her palette.
Awesome! Way to try (and like!) something new.
Not only do I love this recipe, but my parents do, too! Every time we have leftover rice, I make this. Powdered chicken bouillon is now a stable in our spice cabinet, the only thing I do different is use black pepper instead of white. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe because it’s now one of my go-to dishes for lunch!
I’ve made this several times since I first saw Emmy make it and now I’ve printed the recipe so I don’t have to watch the video every time, LOL – I do my own thing with it too – it is delicious!!!
Emmy, my mom made fried rice exactly like this. Spam and all. My parents met in Hawaii during the war and I believe that is where the spam came into play. I love it. My mom passed away years ago and I wasn’t sure how she made it , thank you for making it and showing me how !
I’ve made this recipe several times and it always turns out great! Thanks for a quick, delicous and easy recipe!
Best fried rice recipe I’ve tried. Thanks!
This has become my new comfort food. It just seems perfect on those I don’t want to cook too much days.
Love it
Right!? 😋