This is a basic restaurant style fried rice I like to make whenever I have leftover rice in my fridge. It’s quick and easy and tastes just like the one I order from my favorite takeout spot. Chewy garlicky rice with nutty and savory flavors, it’s the perfect meal to make if you want to spend no more than 20 minutes in the kitchen, and are craving simple Chinese food.
Fried rice is one of those dishes that’s so versatile and fun to make. Since I have been making it for years, I never bother to look up a recipe because I know the basics of what makes a fried rice taste good. It’s not just the flavors but the textures as well and I will explain below why it’s so important not to overcook any ingredients.
I am not using any protein other than an egg for this recipe in order to keep as simple as simple. The essentials are there and I can feel free to add shrimp, chicken, or tofu, later, if I’m in the mood for something more substantial.
Table of contents
Best Rice To Use For This Recipe
There are two types of rice I recommend using when making this recipe:
- If you like Chinese fried rice, use long grain rice such as jasmine rice. Jasmine rice has a delicately sweet and floral taste and contains less starch, which makes the grain dryer and less sticky.
- If you like Japanese fried rice and Korean fried rice, short grain rice is the prefered type. Short grain rice is stickier than long grain rice and has a very chewy texture and a subtle sweetness. My favorite type to use is koshihikari rice. Because it’s high in starch, it has to be rinsed thoroughly before being used. I have a tutorial on cooking Japanese rice if you would like to know more.
Brown rice? Yes, you can use brown rice even if it’s not a popular choice for fried rice. I’ve made fried rice several times with brown rice for a healthier meal and it came out great!
Ingredients
- Oil: Choose a neutral oil that has a high smoke point such as grapeseed oil or vegetable oil.
- Onion: You can choose any type of onion, even use shallots if you want. Onions are best in a fried rice when they are finely chopped and you can’t really taste them individually.
- Garlic: Just like onions, garlic tastes best when it’s finely chopped into fried rice because they impart more flavor on the overall dish.
- Carrot: I’m using a medium size carrot but you can supersize here and go bigger if you love the natural sweetness of carrots.
- Mushrooms: I picked button mushrooms because they are the easiest to find. However, you can use other types of mushrooms such as fresh shiitake mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, and king oyster mushrooms.
- Green peas: Use fresh or frozen green peas to add a little sweetness and grassiness to the fried rice. If you are using frozen green peas, make sure that they are fully thawed and drained before adding them to the wok.
- Leftover rice: It’s very important to use leftover rice that’s been refrigerated at least overnight because you want the rice to be hard. It’s a textural thing that cannot be achieved with freshly made rice, which is tender and chewy.
- Eggs: One egg per cup of rice is the ratio I like to use. However, feel free to add an extra one if you want a more filling meal.
- Soy sauce: There is nothing fancy about stir fry sauce! A little soy sauce and a couple of extra ingredients is all you need to flavor the rice. The soy sauce gives it some umami and saltiness.
- Toasted sesame oil: Toasted sesame oil adds a nutty and earthy taste to the dish. Unlike regular sesame oil, toasted sesame oil doesn’t have a high smoke point and can quickly turn rancid if it cooks for too long. That’s why it must be added at the end of the cooking process.
- Salt and pepper: When you are done stir frying, do a taste test and season accordingly with salt and pepper (preferably ground white pepper).
- Scallions: The scallions are added in the end to preserve their nice crunch and a burst of freshness.
Variations
- Add a protein such as shrimp, pork, chicken, or tofu. This will make the dish more filling and give it extra flavor. Make sure to cook the protein thoroughly and in a separate pan before adding it to the rice.
- Make it spicy. Use chili oil instead of toasted sesame oil to infuse the dish with some heat.
- Add a pickled vegetable. Pickled vegetables add a lovely tanginess and crunch to fried rice, marrying beautifully with its savory flavors. Some of the most popular ones are kimchi, mustard greens, and pickled radish. For this recipe, I recommend starting with 1/4 cup and finely chopping the pickles so they don’t overpower every bite.
How to Make This Fried Rice Recipe
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe.
- Start by frying the garlic and onion in a wok or deep skillet.
- Add the vegetables and stir fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add the rice and mix it with the vegetables.
- Push the rice to one side of the wok and add the whisked eggs to the other side.
- Scramble the eggs and mix it with the fried rice
- Season with soy sauce and toasted sesame oil and continue stir frying to evenly coat the rice.
- Turn the heat off, season with salt and pepper and move the rice onto a serving plate.
- Top with fresh scallions and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Don’t overcook the ingredients. The secret to a good fried rice not only relies on the perfect balance of flavors, but on the texture of the ingredients being used. In this case, it’s important to quickly pan fry all the ingredients so they are tender but not mushy. Make sure the wok is hot before adding anything to it so the ingredients cook at a high temperature.
- The less moisture the better. When it comes to making the perfect fried rice, using ingredients that hold little moisture is best. This means cold, day old rice, is better than using freshly cooked rice because it contains less moisture. Fresh vegetables are better than frozen ones because they didn’t absorb additional moisture from the freezing process. And for seasoning, using a little soy sauce is better than a lot, to keep the rice from getting soggy.
Storage
- Fridge: Transfer the leftovers to a storage container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Place the rice in an airtight storage container or heavy duty freezer bag. Freeze for up to 4-6 months.
To reheat this fried rice, you can either microwave it or warm it up in a skillet.
- Microwave: Put the rice in a microwave safe container and and open the lid slightly (or open the breathing vent if the lid has one). Microwave for 2 minutes and take the rice out of the microwave. Toss is around, put the lid back on, slightly ajar, and microwave for a further minute or 2.
- In a skillet: You can also use a wok for this. Pour a little oil in the pan and turn the heat to medium. Add the cold rice and break up the big clumps, while stirring constantly. Your fried rice is ready to eat when the grains are soft and the temperature is piping hot.
What To Serve With This Fried Rice
Now that you know all there is to know about making a basic Chinese fried rice, here are some delicious sides you can serve it with. This way you can have a better-than-takeout Chinese dinner at home!
- Baked general Tso chicken
- Dan dan noodles
- Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce
- Dry fried green beans
- Stir fried napa cabbage
- Chicken egg foo young
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes if you work at a restaurant and have access to a commercial stove top. Those big flames that wrap around the wok in Chinese restaurants? That’s how much power you need to cook vegetables quickly and evenly – something you just can’t achieve at home. The biggest advantages in using a wok at home are that the heat is distributed more evenly and that you can toss the food around without having to worry about it landing on your stove. Personally, I prefer a deep skillet because it’s less heavy and uses less oil. My food also cooks pretty evenly and the sides are tall enough to air flip my ingredients if I feel like it.
Yes, you can! If you have a gluten intolerance, use gluten-free soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos. If you are looking to lower the amount of sodium, adding spices such as grated ginger and extra garlic, or a few sprinkles of msg, will enhance the flavor.
Did you like this recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
Print
Basic Fried Rice (Restaurant Style)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Rice
- Method: Stir frying
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Fried rice is the perfect meal to make if you want to spend no more than 20 minutes in the kitchen, and are craving simple Chinese food.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or peanut oil
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium carrot, finely diced
- 6 button mushrooms, chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
- 2 1/2 cup cooked day old rice – use long grain jasmine rice for a Chinese style fried rice, or short grain Japanese rice for a Japanese style fried rice (brown rice also works as a healthier option)
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Salt and ground white pepper
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat up the wok. Place a wok or a deep skillet over high heat. When the wok is hot, add the oil and swirl it around to coat the surface
- Saute the vegetables. Add onion and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the carrots, mushrooms, and green peas, and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the rice. Break up the rice if it’s clumped, using a rice paddle or a spatula. Keep breaking it up until the grains a mostly separated and stir fry with the vegetables until it’s warmed up.
- Add the egg. Push the fried rice to one side of the wok and pour the egg on the empty side.
- Scramble the egg. Slowly scramble it until it’s almost fully cooked and fold it into the fried rice.
- Season the fried rice. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and stir well. Season with a little salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve it. Transfer the fried rice to a plate and top with scallions.
Notes
Refrigerate the leftover fried rice in an airtight storage container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 239
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 778.8mg
- Fat: 8.2g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 33.8g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 7.2g
- Cholesterol: 74.4mg
I will try frying rice recipe it’s sounds so good Thanks for providing the recipe
Followed everything except the oil…I replaced it with clarified butter aka ghee it has a high heat cooking up to 450 degrees. The rest was followed and it was DELISH!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this! We love Asian food but throughout our 17 year marriage all my fried rice attempts have been a disaster. I used plain store brand cheap rice and it turned out perfect! I had no onions or garlic on hand so I used 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1 tbsp onion powder, and substituted 1/2 cup canned sweet corn for peas/carrots, with low sodium soy sauce. It made a great lazy Sunday meal.
Thanks for the basic fried rice.
i have made this recipe taste for loving it . me my family thank you for sharing this recipe
Wonderful Mehndi, thank you so much! 🙂