Easy Chicken Fried Rice

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Easy Chicken Fried Rice is quick to prepare and cook, and ready to enjoy in only 20 minutes. Cooked rice is combined with scrambled egg, onion, peas and carrot and stir fried, then seasoned with some soy sauce for the perfect alternative to your regular takeout.

Easy Chicken Fried Rice

In fact this easy, one-skillet chicken fried rice recipe tastes so good that my family prefers this over takeout!

Chinese Chicken Fried Rice is one of our go-to EASY 20-minute meals. We’ve been making fried rice in our home for many years, it’s one of my husbands favorite meals.

Fried Rice is a great way to use leftover chicken from the weekend’s roast or leftover cooked rice. We’ve found that leftover rice works even better than freshly cooked rice.

This is the Best Chicken Fried Rice recipe and for me the key to easy assembly is to prep all the ingredients before you begin cooking.

When we first got married, we purchased an Asian recipe cookbook, because neither of us had ever cooked Asian food. Over the years, we’ve adapted and adjusted recipes to meet our personal taste preferences, and this chicken fried rice recipe is one that’s in regular rotation around here.

How to make Best Chicken Fried Rice

• Start by heating the wok or large pan on the stove over a high heat.
• When the wok is searingly hot, add the oil.
• Once the oil is hot, add the rice, chicken, onion, egg, peas, carrots, salt & pepper into the wok or pan.
• Add the ingredients one at a time, that way you stop the ingredients from cooling down too much – you want to retain a high heat in the wok.

• Now add the soy sauce. 
• Stir everything together and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Serve immediately & enjoy! 

Recipe ingredients & substitutions:

• RICE: I use 2 cups of cooked long grain white rice which will serve 2 diners. However, you can also use basmati rice, jasmine rice, or brown long grain rice.
• OIL: I use olive oil to fry the rice but you could also use sunflower or vegetables oil.
• VEGETABLES: I use a small yellow onion, along with a 7 oz can of peas and carrots in this easy rice dish.
• EGGS: 2 large eggs are added to the rice, just ensure you scramble the eggs first before adding to the other ingredients.
• CHICKEN: dice up 1 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast. You could also make great use of leftover roast chicken from the weekend’s roast.
• SEASONING: I season the chicken fried rice with soy sauce, salt and black pepper.

Best Chicken Fried Rice recipe variations:

This recipe is really straightforward and can be easily adapted to suit what you have in your own refrigerator and stores at home. Here are some ideas:

CHICKEN: Swap the chicken breast for chicken thighs, or use leftovers from the weekend’s roast.

USE OTHER PROTEINS: Swap the chicken for another protein, such as:

• Shrimp (cook about 1 minute per side for small shrimp)
• Ham (use about 1 1/2 cups)
• Steak (use about 1 cup)
• Pork (saute a of pork chop, then dice)

RICE: I’ve used white long grain rice but you can also use basmati rice, jasmine rice, brown rice or quinoa.

VEGETABLES: Feel free to add, increase, replace, reduce, or substitute any other vegetables such as onion, scallions, broccoli, corn, cabbage, bean sprouts, red bell pepper, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, celery, asparagus or green beans.

SEASONINGS: You can add other seasonings such as oyster sauce, fish sauce, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, sherry, hot sauce, hoisin sauce, or freshly grated ginger.

Serving suggestions:

This is an entire meal in one dish. If serving anything alongside I keep things light and simple. Try some steamed or stir-fried greens like broccoli, bok choy, sugar snap peas or green beans.

Recipe hints & tips:

• Prepare all the ingredients before you begin. Cooking goes quickly so everything needs to be ready for you to pour right into the wok.
• We have found that we get better results when using cold rice, because warm rice can get gooey and sticky in the pan. If I know ahead of time that I’ll be making this, I’ll make the rice the day before and refrigerate in until time to cook. If you’re making fried rice on the spur of the moment and have to make fresh rice, go ahead and cook it, then spread it out on a cookie sheet. Loosely wrap with Saran Wrap and pop in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes (this is a good time to prep other ingredients), then remove and proceed with the cold rice!
• Preheat the wok and only add the oil and only begin cooking once it is really hot.
• Fried rice needs to be cooked quickly over high heat. I prefer using a wok because it withstands the high heat well and the shape makes it easy to stir quickly and not spill ingredients.
• Add ingredients one at at time. If you add everything at once, it can cause the heat in the pan to cool too much and it’s important to maintain a high heat.
• Stir with bamboo or wooden utensils to avoid scratching the base of the wok or skillet.
• I find that canned or frozen peas work better for this recipe than fresh.

How to store leftover Easy Chicken Fried Rice:

Store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days. You can also freeze, in an airtight container or ziplock freezer bag.

To reheat, it’s easiest to just thaw in the refrigerator overnight then toss in a skillet for about 5 or 10 minutes until thoroughly heated through.

Don’t miss these additional delicious Asian Recipes here at When Is Dinner:

• Homemade Sweet & Sour Chicken
• Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki
• Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
• Asian Pasta Salad
• Keto Chinese Chicken Salad
• Asian Zucchini Noodles

These are a few items I find helpful in my own kitchen when preparing this Easy Chicken Fried Rice Recipe: