Everybody loves the smoky Chicken Fried Rice from their favourite Chinese restaurant. Now you can easily make it at home with my easy, fool-proof, authentic, restaurant-style recipe. Ready in just 20 minutes, absolutely delicious and the perfect weeknight dinner for the whole family!
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🍚 Why make my Chicken Fried Rice?
We love a bowl of good fried rice. And this Chicken Fried Rice is a house favourite. It is great on its own or the perfect accompaniment to so many quick Asian dishes. Here is why you should make this fried rice,
- Easy one-wok recipe. Minimal clean-up and fuss.
- It is a meal prepper's dream. Cook the rice and store it in the fridge (Did you know that cooking and cooling rice increases its resistant starch which is very beneficial for your health?). Prep veggies and mix the stir-fry sauce. When you are ready to cook the rice, it will take 10-15 minutes tops!
- It travels well in lunch boxes and makes a satisfying school or work lunch.
- It is packed with veggies and protein.
- The recipe can be easily doubled.
- Freezes well.
📝 Ingredients & Substitutions
To make a batch of the most delicious Chicken Fried Rice you will need some everyday, easily available pantry and fresh ingredients. Here is what you need,
- Chicken - Boneless chicken thigh is the best cut for this chicken fried rice. It cooks quickly and turns out juicy and succulent. You can use boneless chicken breast (the meat will be drier) or chicken tenderloins (this is a great substitute for chicken thigh).
- Rice - Traditionally, a Chinese fried rice recipe would use short-grain rice. I love using basmati rice because it gives a beautiful consistency to the fried rice with each grain separate and fluffy without being stodgy or using too much oil. Cook the rice up to a day in advance and always use cold and cooked rice to make fried rice.
- Vegetables - I use onion, carrot, red bell pepper (capsicum), green peas, shiitake mushroom and lettuce in this recipe.
- Aromatics - Garlic and spring onion add a lovely flavour.
- Vinegar - Use white vinegar for this recipe. Can be substituted with rice wine vinegar,
- Soy sauce - I use a combination of light soy sauce and dark soy sauce for saltiness and colour. Make sure your dark soy sauce is the non-sweetened version (either plain or mushroom flavoured). Do not use kecap manis which is the sweetened dark soy sauce.
- Shaoxing wine - This is Chinese cooking wine and is key to that wonderful fried rice flavour. Do not skip it.
- White pepper - You only need a little but adds a hit of complex flavour. Can be substituted with black pepper.
- Eggs - Use fresh, medium eggs (each weighing approximately 65g whole)
- Cornflour - This is known as cornstarch outside of Australia and is the silky, fine, white powder used to thicken sauces.
- Garlic and red chilli powder - I use garlic and red chilli powder to marinate the chicken so that it remains reasonably dry and smooth. You can substitute garlic powder with freshly minced garlic (2 cloves) and red chilli powder with Gochugaru or sweet paprika.
🔥 How to make Chicken Fried Rice?
- Wash and rinse white rice in water.
- Wash until water runs clean and drain completely.
3. Add fresh water to the washed rice.
4. Cook on high heat for a couple of minutes and bring to a boil
5. Reduce heat to low and cover with a lid.
6. Cook for 10-12 minutes until rice is done.
7. Fluff up the cooked rice with a fork to cool it. Alternatively, store in the fridge overnight and use cold rice for the fried rice.
8. Marinate chicken in a bowl with salt, garlic powder, red chilli powder and cornflour.
9. Stir-fry chicken in oil in a hot wok until golden.
10. Remove and set aside.
11. Stir fry onion until translucent.
12. Add carrot and stir-fry for a few minutes.
13. Add garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds until fragrant.
14. Add mushroom, red bell pepper and green peas. Stir fry briefly.
15. Add cold, cooked rice. Stir and move everything to one side of the wok.
16. Add whisked egg in the gap.
17. Allow to cook for a few seconds and then stir and toss through the rice.
18. Add the stir-fry sauce and cooked chicken. Stir-fry on high until mixed through and hot.
19. Add lettuce and spring onions.
20. Mix well and remove from heat.
Serve on a plate with extra spring onions and chilli oil.
🥢 Serving Suggestions
Serve this Chicken Fried Rice as part of an Asian banquet with the following dishes
- Chinese Cashew Chicken
- Vegan Mushroom Ma Po Tofu
- Asian Smacked Cucumber Salad
- Tomato Egg Drop Soup
- Vegan Chinese Chilli Eggplant
🥡 More Fried Rice Recipes
Recipe
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Ingredients
for the stir-fry sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons flaky salt
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
for the chicken
- 500 g boneless chicken thigh, cut into 2cm pieces.
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon flaky salt
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon oil
for the stir-fry
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ cup (65 g) finely diced brown onion
- ½ cup (60 g) diced carrot
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ cup (70 g) green peas, fresh or frozen
- ½ cup (40 g) diced mushroom
- ½ cup (45 g) diced red capsicum
- 5 cups cooked rice, basmati or short grain
- 3 eggs, whisked
- ½ cup spring onion
- 1 cup chopped lettuce
Instructions
- Stir-Fry Sauce - Make the stir fry sauce by mixing light and dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, vinegar, Shaoxing wine and white pepper in a bowl.
- Chicken - Add chicken, garlic powder, chilli powder. Salt and corn starch to a bowl. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes. Heat oil in a large wok on high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry on high for approximately 6 minutes until just cooked. Remove and set aside.
- Heat another tablespoon oil in the wok on high. Add onion and carrot and stir fry for 30 seconds until glazed and starting to caramelize. Add garlic and stir fry for a few seconds until fragrant. Add peas, mushroom and capsicum. Toss and stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Add rice and mix well. Push rice to the side of the wok and add the whisked egg in the gap. Cook for a few seconds, then push and toss the egg with a wooden/metal turner, slowly mixing it into the rice until the rice takes on a yellow hue.
- Drain all the liquid from the chicken. Add the cooked chicken and sauce to the rice and mix well. Tossing constantly, stir fry for a minute until everything is heated through.
- Add spring onion and lettuce. Toss to mix well and stir fry for a further 30 seconds until greens are just glazed.
- Remove from heat. Rest for a couple of minutes and serve hot.
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