Chicken Fried Rice

5 from 4 votes

This Chinese chicken fried rice recipe is a game-changer, combining tender chicken, peas and carrots, and leftover rice into a Chinese takeout dish that's bursting with flavor. Easy to make and even easier to enjoy, this Chinese classic is a recipe you'll come back to time and again.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Main Course, Side

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 837kcal

Author: Joyce Lee

Ingredients

3 cups leftover rice
2 large eggs
1 cup frozen peas and carrots (or frozen mixed vegetables)
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
2 stalks green onions (whites for fried rice, greens for garnish)

Chicken Marinade

2-3 boneless chicken thighs (or 1 chicken breast)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon ginger (grated)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon oil

Fried Rice Sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
1½ tablespoon oyster sauce
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preparation

Finely mince 2 stalks green onions and separate the greens from the whites. We will add the whites into the fried rice, and use the green for the garnish. Set it aside for later.
Grate ½ teaspoon ginger and set it aside for later for the chicken marinade.
Next, oil your hand and break up 3 cups leftover rice into small pieces. Aim to get them into individual pieces if possible.
In a small bowl, beat 2 large eggs with 1 teaspoon of oil and set aside.
In another small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1½ tablespoon oyster sauce, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside for later.

Marinate Chicken

Start by dicing 2-3 boneless chicken thighs (or 1 chicken breast) into ⅛ inch cubes, and place it in a bowl.
Add 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon water, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil into the bowl and mix everything well.
Once everything is mixed well, add 1 tablespoon oil to the chicken and mix again. Let it marinate for 15-30 mins.

Stir-fry the Chicken Fried Rice

Set a large skillet or wok over the stove, and set it to medium-high heat and let it heat up. Once the pan is hot, add 3 tablespoons oil, and 1 tablespoon butter (optional).
Add in the chicken and cook until it's cooked all the way through. Approx. 3-4 minutes.
Add in 1 cup of frozen vegetables and the whites of the green onion. Cook for about 2 minutes until the vegetables soften.
Push aside the vegetables and chicken, add a bit more oil to the pan, and add in the beaten egg. Let it cook for about 30 seconds until it is about 80% cooked.
Add the rice on top of the half-cooked eggs. Mix just the rice and the egg together and cook it together until the egg is fully cooked and the rice and eggs look dry (not mushy). This should take about 2-3 minutes. If there are still small chunks of rice, use the back of your spatula to break it up.
Push the chicken and vegetables back together, add the sauce and the greens of the green onion, and mix everything together.
Enjoy your Chicken Fried Rice!

Notes

Always Use Leftover Rice: This recipe is perfect for using up leftover rice. Day-old rice is drier and less sticky, which makes it perfect for stir-frying.
Break Up Rice Grains Ahead of Time: Making fried rice is a very quick process, so it's important that you break the rice up into individual grains ahead of time before you start the cooking process, this helps the rice fry more evenly as well.
Marinate the Chicken: Marinating the chicken in sesame oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch gives it a delicious flavor and helps it stay juicy and tender during cooking. The grated ginger gives the chicken that extra depth in flavor as well.
Don't Be Shy with the Oil: A good fried rice will have enough oil to help brown and toast every single ingredient in the fried rice. The oil, coats all the ingredients and helps bring up the temperature so that it stir-fries evenly. This will prevent mushy fried rice as well. I like to add a bit of butter for flavor as well, but that is optional.
Use a Large Skillet or Wok: To make a good fried rice, it's important that you don't overcrowd the pan, because that will 'steam' the ingredients and make the final dish soggy. Use a large pan or make smaller batches to get the best texture.
(Optional) For a more authentic Chinese chicken fried rice, I like to also add in 3-4 tablespoons of finely sliced iceberg lettuce! It must be very finely shredded so that it cooks quickly and doesn't draw out water which will make the fried rice soggy. I add it in at the very end when the fried rice has finished cooking and stir fry it for 30 seconds. It's also important not to add more than 3-4 tablespoons of it as well.

Nutrition