Chicken Fried Rice

Hey everyone! Jing is on vacation for the Chinese New Year, visiting her family in Guangxi. She’ll be back after the festival. In the meantime, I wanted to share one of my favorite comfort foods, with kudos to Chef Wang Gang, Chicken Fried Rice. We’ve got many delicious recipes under development, and we will be posting those as soon as Jing can get some time in her kitchen to make photos. So be sure to check back.

Fried rice is made with leftover rice. Freshly cooked rice is too moist. This is a good recipe for cleaning up leftovers in the refrigerator. The vegetables should be fresh, but for the protein I used leftover chicken from the grill.

Frying rice works best with less moisture

When making rice for dinner, make it a little dry. I usually cook rice 1 cup at a time, and this yields about 3 to 4 cups. After dinner there is usually about 2 cups left, unless I have friends over. Most bagged rice calls for 1 cup rice to 2 cups water, but this will be too moist for fried rice. Moist rice makes for a mushy fried rice. So I make my rice with 1 3/4 cups of water.

Suitable proteins for fried rice

Fried rice can be made with just vegetables if you prefer. I like egg in my fried rice, and some meat. This recipe is called Chicken Fried Rice, but you can substitute any meat. You can use any protein you like: shrimp, beef, pork, whatever you like. I love to use Jing’s Guangxi-style Kou Rou with this recipe. Just dice the Kou Rou into bite-sized pieces and steam them using a double boiler or bamboo steamer until they are tender.

This recipe uses leftover roasted chicken. I like to slow roast a whole chicken on my Weber charcoal grill, but any cooked chicken will do. If you need, dice a chicken breast, and simmer it in a little water till it is cooked through and tender.

If you use shrimp, peel and de-vein them first, coat with a light dusting of cornstarch to seal in the moisture, and dry-braise them in a little oil until they change color.

Vegetable options in fried rice

Chinese cooking is simple, and strives for a contrast of textures, and a balance of nutrition. You can add what vegetables you like. Some recipes call for green peas, Chinese radishes, shiitake mushrooms, and I have even seen diced carrots used.

I like red onions and bean sprouts for flavor and texture. I also add sliced water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. When I am in the mood for a little spice, I will add a diced jalapeno or serrano pepper. You can explore many options but strive for a balance of rice and other ingredients.

The amounts given below are approximate. Add more or less according to your taste.

Tips for best results

The most important part is to have rice that is not too moist, and to heat it quickly in a hot pan. Whether you use a skillet or a wok, you want the pan hot when you add the rice, and you need to toss it and stir it quickly to heat it evenly.

The other important factor is to use as little oil as possible. You want the rice light and slightly crispy, not greasy, or mushy. I use just enough oil to keep the rice from sticking to the pan. You can always add a little oil if the rice is sticking but add small amounts.

Season the rice with very little soy sauce. You can always add more.

Chicken Fried Rice

Glenn Emerson

Fried rice is one of my favorite comfort foods, and it's a great way to use up leftovers, including rice left from last night's dinner.

The rice should be on the dry side. Moist rice will turn mushy and sticky. When making white rice, recipes typically call for one cup of rice to two cups of water. I use 1 3/4 cup of water.

You can use any protein you like. One of my favorite's is the Guangxi-style Kou Rou (steamed pork). Shrimp, ham, browned pork belly, or beef also make great fried rice. You can use any vegetables you like. Shiitake mushrooms, green peas, or diced carrots work well. I prefer bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, red onion, and water chestnuts. Sometimes I add in a little diced jalapeno or serrano pepper.

This version uses leftover roasted chicken. The protein is cooked in advance, and added late just to heat evenly with the rice.

The amounts listed below are approximate. It depends on how much rice you have left over. I try to limit the rice to no more than 2 cups, due to the size of my pan. I adjust the other ingredients accordingly, to get a good balance of textures in the rice. Use more or less depending on your tastes.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American-Chinese

Servings 4 servings

Calories 231 kcal

Equipment

• 1 wok or large skillet with deep sides
• 1 sharp kitchen knife
• 2 bowls for egg white and egg yolk

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked white rice (cooled overnight in the refrigerator)
• ¾ cup chicken (cooked and diced)

Accessory ingredients:

• ½ red onion, medium
• 3 scallions
• ½ cup fresh bean sprouts optional
• ¼ cup water chestnuts optional
• ¼ cup sliced bamboo shoots optional
• 3 eggs separated
• 1 tbsp peanut oil, soybean oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or lard
• 1 tsp corn starch

Seasoning:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

 

Preparation:

• Add the cold rice to a bowl, sprinkle with a little corn starch and salt, about 1/2 to 1 tsp of each. Mix with your hand to break up any clumps in the rice. The corn starch helps soak up any moisture in the rice. Do not use very much.
  2 cups cooked white rice, 1 tsp corn starch, ½ tsp salt
  
• Dice the chicken.
  ¾ cup chicken
  
• Rinse the bean sprouts, scallions, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots.
  
• Chop the scallions. Slice the water chestnuts to the thickness of two coins. Dice the red onion and bamboo shoots.
  ½ red onion, medium, 3 scallions, ½ cup fresh bean sprouts, ¼ cup water chestnuts, ¼ cup sliced bamboo shoots
  
• Separate the eggs.
  3 eggs

Cooking:

• Heat a small amount of oil, just enough to lubricate the surface, in your work or pan. Fry the egg white, remove from the pan, and set aside.
  3 eggs, 1 tbsp peanut oil, soybean oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or lard
  
• Fry the egg yolk.
  3 eggs
  
• Add the vegetables and sauté until you smell the aroma. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  ½ red onion, medium, ½ cup fresh bean sprouts, ¼ cup water chestnuts, ¼ cup sliced bamboo shoots
  
• Heat the pan on high heat and add a small amount of oil.
  1 tbsp peanut oil, soybean oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or lard
• Add the rice, and stir quickly to heat evenly.
  2 cups cooked white rice
• When the rice begins to pop, add the light soy sauce and continue to stir-fry.
  1 tsp light soy sauce
  
• Add the egg yolk and sauteed vegetables and continue to stir fry to heat evenly and mix with the rice.
  
• Add the egg white and diced, cooked chicken.
  
• Add the scallions and stir-fry to finish.
  3 scallions
  

Video

Notes

• The amounts for red onion, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots are approximate. Add more or less to your taste. Try for a balance of ingredients.
• Use a small amount of soy sauce. If the rice needs a little more, you can add a little more.
• If the rice is sticking to the pan add a little bit of oil. Do not make the rice oily and greasy. Use just enough to keep it from sticking.
• Cook the rice the night before and refrigerate. Make the rice dry. Most white rice is made with 1 cup dry rice and 2 cups water. I use 1 3/4 cups water when making the rice. Damp, moist rice will turn out mushy and sticky.
• Use just a bit of corn starch to soak up any moisture in the rice. Use the corn starch sparingly. Less is better in this case. If the rice feels moist when you mix in the corn starch, you can add a little more starch.
• You can substitute cooked pork belly, Kou Rou, ham chunks, shrimp, or any other protein you want. If you use shrimp, peel and devein them, sprinkle with a little corn starch to seal in the moisture, and dry-braise them in a little oil until they change color, and set aside. Add them to the rice when you add the egg white.

Nutrition

Calories: 231kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 9gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 130mgSodium: 434mgPotassium: 193mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 286IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 41mgIron: 1mg

Keyword bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, egg white, egg yolk, red onion, Rice Recipes, scallions, soy sauce, light, water chestnuts

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Do you enjoy My Chinese Home Kitchen?

We enjoy sharing these authentic home recipes with you. To learn more about My Chinese Home Kitchen, please visit our About page.

Please leave a comment, or SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter.

For more of our original videos, visit My Chinese Home Kitchen on YouTube and Rumble.