Chicken Fried rice is one of the first Chinese dishes I learned to make. It is incredibly simple and is a great way to use up leftovers in your fridge. For this recipe, I'm using chicken, eggs, and frozen mixed vegetables. But assuming you have leftovers, you can put pretty much anything into this.
Looking for an even easier fried rice recipe? Try my Egg Fried Rice next!
Fried rice is so easy to make that I used to make it as an unsupervised 12-year-old. When my parents went to work, I would make fried rice for my brother and me for dinner. I remember one time, one of my friends came over and I made fried rice for him too. His mom was super impressed.
It's widely agreed that day-old rice is the best rice to use for fried rice. The reason is because day-old rice is easier to fry without sticking and absorbs the sauce better. But to be completely honest, I much prefer the taste of freshly steamed rice. It's much more soft and fluffy, and for lack of a better word, fresh tasting.
You can choose to use either fresh or day-old rice when you make it. I've noticed that fresh rice tends to break into small pieces when stir-frying because it's so soft. This isn't a problem per se, at least not in terms of flavor, but if you care about how the dish looks visually, then you might want to go with day-old rice.
Key Ingredients
Isn't this picture of ingredients so satisfying to look at? I love it because you can see exactly what goes into the fried rice. Just a few wholesome ingredients and nothing unhealthy.
For the chicken, I decided to use chicken breasts to be healthier, but if you don't care about that, chicken thighs will work too. Heck, you can put any type of meat in it: spam, ham, bacon, the list goes on..
The 3 liquids are just vegetable oil, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil.
Instructions
STEP 1: Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until fully cooked through. Remove and set aside.
Note: The best way to check the doneness is to poke a piece with an instant read thermometer. We're looking for a temperature higher than 150F.
STEP 2: Add some more oil and quickly scramble the eggs. To do this, I shake the pan vigorously while stirring and scraping with a spatula. The eggs usually come together within 1 minute. Remove and set aside.
STEP 3: Add a little more oil and stir-fry the veggies for 2 minutes until warm.
STEP 4: Add the rice and stir fry until warm. You can check the warmness by hovering the back of your hand over the rice. If it feels hot, it's ready.
STEP 5: Add back the chicken and eggs, and mix everything together.
STEP 6: Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions. Toss until the rice is thoroughly coated. Enjoy!
Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil (divided)
- 1 large chicken breast (cut into ½-inch pieces)
- 4 large eggs (beaten)
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 4 cups cooked white rice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and fry until fully cooked, about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Add another 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the eggs and quickly scramble them with a spatula. When the eggs are no longer runny, remove to the same plate as the chicken.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the frozen mixed vegetables and cook until warm, 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and cook until it's warm, 1 minute.
- Add back the chicken and eggs. Drizzle the soy sauce, sesame oil, and scallions, and toss until the rice is evenly coated. Enjoy!
Mary
I'm making chicken fried rice right now and it's absolutely delicious it happens to be my most favourite food 😋
Grumpy
So happy you like it, Mary. Thanks for trying the recipe!