Easy Chicken Fried Rice

Make a quick weeknight meal of this Easy Chicken Fried Rice recipe, while still enjoying authentic Chinese takeout flavor. Chicken, eggs, and vegetables are sautéed in a healthy oil, then fried up with rice and an Asian sauce until perfectly crispy. Whether serving up a quick one-person lunch or a dinner for the whole family, this is the best dish for that homemade takeaway experience!

Confession time… I make this chicken fried rice recipe AT LEAST every other week.

With all the necessities for it always on hand, and less than an hour of preparation time needed, it’s become one of my go-to healthy dinner recipes!

Even better, it’s incredibly easy to customize it to suit whatever proteins, vegetables, and flavorings you’ve got on hand. The basic ingredients for any fried rice come down to simply that – rice fried in oil in a wok or non-stick skillet, usually flavored with any combination of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame seed oil. 

From there, the possibilities are endless. This Chicken Fried Rice stands up as an entrée all on its own, but shines alongside other takeout classics like General Tso’s Chicken, or Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry.

Ingredients

To make this Easy Chicken Fried Rice recipe you need:

• Oil. Traditionally vegetable oil is used to fry rice, but for this recipe either olive oil or avocado oil is recommended. Both are tasty, healthy alternatives, but avocado oil has a higher smoke point, and performs better under high temperatures. 
• Vegetables. Basic mixed vegetables like carrots, onions, and peas are typical for fried rice, but any diced vegetables, even frozen, may be used. This recipe also calls for bell peppers, and green onions for garnish. 
• Chicken. Boneless, skinless chicken breast is the ideal cut for this dish as a lean, healthy protein, but chicken thighs can also be used as a more flavorful alternative. Fried tofu, tempeh, or seitan can be substituted as a meatless alternative.
• Eggs. Organic or pasture-raised eggs taste the best and are the healthiest for you, but any kind of eggs may be used.
• Rice. Long-grain white rice is recommended as the most common and inexpensive variety, but brown or jasmine rice will work too. Leftover rice made the day before is ideal.
• Soy sauce or Tamari sauce. Either works as the main flavoring agent of the dish, but use a good-quality brand like San-J or Kikkoman. Soy sauce is lighter and saltier, and Tamari sauce is richer and deeper in soy flavor.
• Rice wine vinegar. Use a good, reliable name brand like Marukan. Rice wine vinegar provides an acidic tanginess which contrasts the oily rice, and improves the flavor.
• Toasted sesame seed oil. This ingredient packs a powerful, deep, nutty flavor in every drop. Use it sparingly, because it can quickly become overpowering. 

How to Make Easy Chicken Fried Rice

The basic steps for making Chicken Fried Rice are simple to follow:

Cook the Rice

If possible, use leftover Instant Pot White Rice that was made a day ahead.

Fresh rice is very soft and moist, which makes it prone to getting sticky and difficult to stir fry. Leftover rice is more dry, breaks apart easily while frying, and will crisp beautifully when it absorbs the oil in the skillet.

Before cooking the rice, rinse it under cold water in a strainer repeatedly, until the water draining out of it is no longer cloudy. This removes the excess surface starch in the rice, which prevents stickiness after cooking and allows the individual grains to separate easier.

If making rice specifically for frying, then spreading it out, uncovered, in a tray or other shallow container allows the moisture to evaporate more easily. Leave it in the fridge overnight.

If you’re in a hurry, spreading it on a tray and putting it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, or leaving it cooling under a direct fan for at least an hour, can achieve a similar effect.

Sauté Vegetables and Chicken

Finely dice the carrots, onion, and bell pepper, and chicken into ½-inch pieces. Keeping the pieces small and uniform in size allows the vegetables to soften quickly and the chicken to cook evenly.

In a large wok or skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat on the largest stove burner. 

Add the carrots, pepper, and onion, and sauté for 3-5 minutes. The vegetables should only be slightly softened at this stage, otherwise they may overcook through the rest of the frying process.

Push the vegetables to one side of the skillet, and drizzle another 1 tablespoon of oil into the empty side to begin heating.

Add the cubed chicken to the empty side of the skillet, and continue cooking over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Separating the chicken from the vegetables allows the chicken to cook evenly on its own.

Mix together the chicken and the vegetables, making sure to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Scramble the Eggs

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs. 

Push the chicken and vegetables to one side of the skillet, leaving an empty space, or transfer them to a separate plate temporarily.

Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of oil into the skillet, and add the eggs, salt, and pepper. Scramble them in that spot for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked through.

Once the eggs are finished cooking, break them into smaller pieces and mix back in with the chicken and vegetables. By waiting until after the egg is cooked to mix them together, whole bite-sized pieces of egg have the chance to form.

Fry the Rice

Add the cooked rice to the mix, and season it with the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir everything well to ensure even distribution of all those flavors, and adjust to taste if needed.

Continue frying the rice over medium heat for 10 minutes, breaking up any clumps that are sticking together. You want the grains of rice to separate into a loose texture, so the ingredients can mix and crisp evenly.

Let the rice cook to your desired level of crispness, and stir in the frozen peas during the final 2 minutes, to avoid overcooking. 

Finally, serve it up in a bowl and enjoy! Sliced green onions can be added after plating, as a garnish.

Meal Prep and Storage

• To Prep-Ahead: It is highly recommended to cook the rice between 1-2 days ahead, as that makes the texture better for frying. The chicken and vegetables can also be cut into pieces ahead of time. The vegetables will keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days, and the chicken can be cubed up to 1 day ahead.
• To Store: With or without chicken, this dish can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
• To Freeze: Fried rice can be frozen in an airtight container or sealed Ziploc freezer bag for up to 3-4 months. Individual servings can also be portioned out to make reheating easier.
• To Reheat: It is recommended to reheat fried rice in a skillet over medium-low heat until warmed through, but reheating in the microwave will suffice as well.

Dietary Modifications

The recipe you’ll find below is already dairy-free as written. Here are some adjustments and substitutions you can make to help it fit your other dietary requirements:

• Gluten-Free: Use Tamari sauce or another gluten-free soy sauce.
• Vegetarian: Omit the chicken, and/or use a meat-free protein like tofu, tempeh, or seitan.
• Vegan: Omit the chicken and eggs, and/or use non-animal products as alternatives. Scrambled tofu can replace the eggs. Cubed tofu, tempeh, or seitan can replace the chicken.
• Low-Carb/Keto: Substitute the rice for cauliflower rice.
• Low Sodium: Decrease the amount of salt added alongside the eggs, and use a low-sodium soy sauce.
• Extra Nutrition: Add more vegetables, and consider additional varieties like cabbage, snow peas, or broccoli. Substitute white rice for brown rice or cauliflower rice.

FAQs

Expert Tips and Tricks

• Invest in the good stuff. For ingredients like soy sauce, Tamari sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame seed oil, the good-quality name brands taste infinitely better than the store brands.
• Break it up. Before adding your leftover rice to the pan, break up the clumps – this will ensure that all of the rice mixes evenly into the other ingredients and fries at the same rate.
• Bring in the butter. If calories aren’t a concern, do as the hibachi chefs do and add a tablespoon or two of butter in the last several minutes of cooking – the rice may turn out less crispy, but it adds lots of extra flavor.
• Turn up the heat. For extra crispy rice, crank up the heat to medium-high at the end and let the rice sit and rest a bit between stirs to really let it brown on the bottom – just be careful not to let it burn!
• Mix it up. Fried rice is the perfect simple dish with which to try out frequently underappreciated Asian ingredients like oyster sauce, bok choy, water chestnuts, kimchi, and so much more.

Make it a Meal

While this Easy Chicken Fried Rice can serve as a meal all in itself, for the full Chinese takeout experience it’s worth trying some of these other classic accompaniments:

Whip up a light appetizer with some Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls or P.F. Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

Or use this fried rice recipe as a side dish for heavier proteins like General Tso’s Chicken, Gluten Free Chinese Orange Chicken, or Mongolian Beef.

More Asian Stir Fry Recipes

Get the most out of your skillet or wok by trying out some of these other amazing stir-fried recipes:

• Japchae – Korean Glass Noodles
• Shrimp Fried Rice
• Sesame Noodles
• Pad Thai
• Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
• Easy Pad See Ew with Chicken
• Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry
• Cashew Chicken Stir Fry