Dad’s simple, easy and quick Chinese egg fried rice recipe that’s fluffy and coats each grain of rice with egg for maximum deliciousness.
An unfortunate series of events has happened this summer – one of them being one of my pups, Wilbur was hospitalized for a week with severe Pancreatitis and nearly losing his life. In short, I was not in the mood to cook so I needed something quick and easy, so I threw together a huge batch of dad’s Chinese egg fried rice and I was set for the week.
This Chinese egg fried rice recipe is meant to be quick and easy to make and a foundation to the fancier fried rice you see in restaurants. You can make this egg fried rice as a simple side or tweak it by adding in ground meats, shrimp, frozen veggies etc and it becomes fried rice with a bit more substance which can be eaten as a meal itself.
INGREDIENTS
For this Chinese egg fried rice recipe, all ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.
For fried rice, I like to use long grain or jasmine rice.
Always try to use cold day old refrigerated rice. It is a lot drier and produces a less mushy fried rice.
If you are pressed for time and don’t have any cold day old rice, you can make a fresh batch of rice and let it sit uncovered in room temperature to let dry out, and once cooled set it the fridge for an hour or so if possible.
I added my own twist to dad’s Chinese egg fried rice by adding toasted sesame seeds. It adds a nutty flavor to the rice and gives it a bit of extra texture as well. This is completely optional.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Preparation is Key! π
If you are using day old rice, your rice will most likely be in chunks. Break up the rice with your hands before you start cooking. It makes the process quicker and easier to mix.
For the eggs, add the oil and salt to the eggs and pre-scramble your eggs so that when you need it, you don’t need to fumble with it.
Growing up, my dad always made these awesome scrambled eggs – his secret was he added a bit of oil to it! Odd but it works, so if you’re wondering why there’s oils in the eggs? It was always something he did that I never questioned. π
Just a few things to look out for while you are making this Chinese egg fried rice, I turned down the heat to low after the rice has toasted, right before I put in the egg. The reason for that is I don’t want it to instantly cook the egg on a high temperature. We want the egg to cook, very slightly which will give you a bit of time to shift the rice on top of the egg. This will coat every single one of your rice grains with a bit of egg.
While you are doing this, don’t be grossed out that it might look like a giant goopy scrambled egg mixed with rice. This is normal, and once you turn your heat back up to medium and dry it up again – it will be easier to re-break up the rice and it will no longer resemble “the blob” monster.
Give all your furry pets a hug for us please!

Egg Fried Rice
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
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Cook Time: 10 minutes
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Total Time: 15 minutes
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Yield: 3 Servings
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Category: Main, Side, Asian
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Cuisine: Chinese
Description
Dad’s simple, easy and quick egg fried rice recipe that’s fluffy and coats each grain of rice with egg for maximum deliciousness.
Ingredients
- 3 cups rice (preferably cold, day old rice)
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1-2 stalks green onions (finely chopped, added at the end)
- toasted sesame seeds (optional, added at the end)
Egg Mix
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon oil (for the eggs)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preparation
- If yourΒ day-oldΒ rice is in big clumps, using your hands, break up the cold rice into smaller bits
- Finely chop up the green onions
- In a small bowl, add in the eggs, oil, and salt and beat it
Putting it Together
- Set the stove to medium heat and add the oil to a frying pan or wok
- When the oil is hot, add in the rice and toast it. Use your utensil to break up the rice while it is hot. Cook for about 4-6 minutes
- Reduce the heat to low heat
- Push the rice aside in the pan and add in the egg mix to the pan. Let it sit for about 1-2 seconds and then use your utensil to give it a gentle mix a few times.
- Push the rice on top of the scrambled eggs and gently mix it until each grain is coated (Don’t worry if it looks like a scrambled blob monster, the egg will cook and dry out in the next steps)
- Set the stove back to medium heat
- Continue to toss and mix the rice until the egg is cooked and evenly distributedΒ with the rice. The fried rice should look dry and not goopy and mushy. Cook for approximately 5 minutes. If the rice still looks mushy, continue to cook it until the heat dries out the eggs.
- Add in the soy sauce and mix well to evenly distribute it
- Add in the green onions and mix it for a few seconds and voila!
- Enjoy! π
Notes
- Add some additional ingredients like ground meat, shrimp or veggies to tweak the fried rice to your liking!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 421 kcal
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 1334 mg
- Fat: 21 g
- Carbohydrates: 48 g
- Protein: 11 g
Keywords: Chinese, egg fried rice, egg fried rice
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14 comments
so glad wilbur is up and running again! (: this fried rice sounds like the kind of thing i’d want right before plopping on the couch with reruns on a rainy day π
Same here, it was quite the scare π Yes! I guess you don’t have snowy winters in Cali eh? haha I hibernate during our Canadian winters with comfort foods haha
Although this egg fried rice dish is easy to cook, as suggested to top up some roasted sesame seeds and green onions, it will bring out food nice texture. I like it. Thank you.
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I think so too! π I always like putting toppings on my dishes – adds a bit of contrast and flavour!
I love fried rice,thanks for sharing
Happy to share!
Such a classic comfort recipe, this looks lovely
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Thanks Amy, it totally is! π
There is nothing more comforting than fried rice, and your dad’s version is truly a simple classic! When I cook a fresh batch of rice for fried rice purpose, I remove 2 tablespoon of water from the total water needed so the rice is slightly drier and works better for fried rice π
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I totally agree with you Anita. π Thank you so much for the tip about the fresh rice for the fried rice! I will try this tip in the future! Yippee!! π
I love a nice big bowl of fried rice and this looks delicious. I’m so glad Wilbur has made a full recovery.
Thank you for your kind words Janette. π I am so glad as well to see the spunk back in the little guy.
Fried rice is my favorite. This looks so yum! Your photos are stunning.
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Thank you Brandi! π