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This chicken fried rice has moist and tender chicken with flavorful peas and carrots and long rice cooked together. Make this unique and your own with this favorite Chinese rice!
So many varieties of fried rice can be made. These better than takeout fried rice recipes are a collage of all my favorites!
Chicken Fried Rice
I mean really. Who doesn’t like fried rice? Ok maybe my six year old doesn’t because of the veggies inside, but I am pretty sure he is the only one out there. 🙂 For my birthday dinner with my family I chose to go to our favorite little chinese restaurant. And it was the bomb. But their fried rice was excellent. But I kept thinking, I can make this just as good at home and I have been craving it ever since!
Since I learned a few awesome tricks on how to get the perfect fried rice in my recipe here, I wanted to make a big old batch for myself for lunch. The baby was craving it that day. But I thought, why don’t I add in some protein and make a meal out of it. You guys. The chicken gave it such amazing flavor! I really couldn’t believe how good it turned out. I promise that you can stay at home and have this better than take out chicken fried rice. You will really be impressed with yourself.
Get Ready to Make Some Rice:
- Vegetable Oil: This helps with cooking the chicken and adding flavoring at the same time.
- Soy Sauce: Chinese favorite sauce that is authentic and brings rich flavoring.
- Chicken: Cut into small pieces and add into the skillet or wok.
- Cooked Rice: It is best to have already cooked rice that has been cooled in a refrigerator.
- Sesame Oil: Brings in a subtle and rich flavoring.
- Onion: Small white onion chopped up.
- Peas and Carrots: Frozen vegetables work best then leave them overnight to be thawed.
- Soy Sauce: More of this delicious sauce!
- Eggs: Lightly beaten and added in the wok.
- Green Onions: Chopped and sprinkle in for added texture, color and flavoring!
Cooking Fried Rice:
- Cook in a skillet: In a large skillet or wok, add vegetable oil and soy sauce. Add in the chicken and cook until lightly brown and cooked throughout. Remove and set aside.
- Add oil and vegetables: Pour sesame oil in the bottom. Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender.
- Pour egg mixture: Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
- Stir in remaining ingredients: Add the rice and chicken to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.
The Recipe Critic Pro Tip:
I cooked my chicken in this teriyaki sauce recipe here. It added amazing flavor to the chicken and it just shredded apart. Other wise, you can boil your chicken, or even cook it in a medium skillet until no longer pink.
Tips for Making the Best Fried Rice:
Enjoy making the this fried rice using these tips to help accomplish the authentic Chinese taste. It is simple to make and comes together quickly and easily. Once you make it you will be making it over and over again!
- Cold Rice: To make the best rice you have to plan a little bit ahead of time. Chilled cooked rice is the best way to use up left over rice as well as fried rice. Rice that is cooked and still warm does not cook well when making fried rice. It tends to turn out mushy and very sticky.
- Make Cold Rice: If you are on a time crunch and craving fried rice simply place the warm rice on a sheet pan and stick it in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes or until cold. For an even quicker remedy, place the rice in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes long. Just enough for it to chill but not be frozen.
- High Heat: It is best to cook on high heat to help fry and brown the rice and veggies throughly. Try not to have the rice steam in the pan or stick together too much. Stir frequently.
- Soy Sauce: Add in extra soy sauce towards the end as you are trying the fried rice as you are cooking it. A light soy sauce is what I prefer for flavor.
Variations:
Try new things and mix it up with all these new and fun variations when making the best fried rice recipe. The best part is using up the leftover rice. Find more left overs that can be added into this chicken fried rice recipe to make it easier. Mix and match ingredients and create more delicious flavors of rice.
- Protein: Mix up your protein with ham, shrimp, bacon or enjoy it with vegetables.
- Oil: Instead of adding in all the oils, butter is just as great! Add in butter to create a rich, flavorful taste.
- Rice: It is best to have cold or chilled rice for this recipe. Quinoa or long grain rice are great ways to enjoy a variety.
- Vegetables: Create a combination of a few to several of your favorite vegetables to enhance this recipe. Broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas or water chestnuts are great vegetables to add in.
More better than take out recipes!
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Equipment
- Large Skillet or Wok
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 pound chicken cut into small pieces
- 3 cups cooked rice *
- 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 small white onion chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots thawed
- 2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce more or less to taste
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons chopped green onions optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet or wok, add vegetable oil and soy sauce. Add in the chicken and cook until lightly brown and cooked throughout. Remove and set aside.
- Pour sesame oil in the bottom. Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender.
- Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
- Add the rice and chicken to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Haha sorry i meant Fried rice….
Hi Alyssa….mmm the presentation of this fried looks sooo tempting…can’t wait to make it soon….
I have the same question that Jennifer posted.
I totally loved your recipe, it was simple and easy to make. I find myself making chicken fried rice all the time just because I love it so much! However, I like to experiment and try new things so I decided to replace the rice with quinoa. I have eaten quinoa many times but I didn’t think it was going to work with this dish but it did and I wanted to share my discovery. Quinoa has many health benefits and is called the “super-food or super-grain.” It’s high in protein and fiber more so than other grains. It has lots of iron and its gluten free! It’s full of vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients than other grains. Quinoa can be found anywhere–from any supermarket to a health food store–and its reasonably priced. It has a soft texture and most importantly it tastes delicious!
Hi! When you use the Quinoa did you use the same amount that you would have of rice, also does it cook in the same amount of time as rice?
YUM!
I love experiencing with food so I was wondering how much would a recipe book cost and where would I be able to get one. I love to try new things with food I love to eat
I use a 3 ring binder for my recipies with dividers for all new recipies i try and like works out very good and it inexpensive.
If i do not use the chicken, will the recipe still be delicious (I don’t eat meat)? I love fried rice 🙂
Yes! Below the post I have a link to my original fried rice recipe! 🙂
This sounds yummy! I’ll definitely be trying it. I make fried rice often and found a great way to really make it flavorful. I use chicken broth instead of water to boil the rice in and I make and refrigerate the rice at least 3-4 hours before I use it for fried. It turns out delicious!!
Mmm that sounds delicious! I never thought to make my rice with chicken broth!
Just made this!! It was AWESOME!!! I’m not big on peas and carrots so I left them out – I think I’ll try some frozen corn next time. Very easy to make, and didn’t take long either. The hardest part was getting the chicken to small enough pieces, lol. Thanks for this one, it is gonna be my “Go To” fried rice recipe from now on!!!
Your Firecracker Chicken recipe points to the Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken. 🙁
I fixed it! Thanks!
If you don’t like onions or frozen veggies, can you omit those? Or will it mess with the consistency of the rice?
You can omit those — it will basically be chicken and rice – YUM!
My kids are picky so I just put peas in, and that is all 🙂
Hi Alyssa – can you please post recipe for the liquid type chilli red sauce which Chinese restaurant people use? The spicy eaters need that as a MUST for the chicken fried rice.
Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce. Sold in a jar in my supermarket.
Looks great, pinning it now. I clicked your firecracker chicken but it goes to sweet and sour is it the same thing?
I made this tonight and it was so delicious! My husband loves it when I make chicken fried rice and previously I was using a seasoning packet and adding fresh veggies and meat. I am sure that had a ton of sodium! I found your recipe and decided to give it a whirl. I used a shallot instead of a white onion and absolutely added some green onion! I didn’t do the chicken teriyaki style, but I did season it and cook it up in some additional sesame oil. My husband and I thank you for the great recipe and I look forward to trying your other creations!
You must cook it in the teriyaki it is amazing!!!!!
I love fried rice. Usually I get take out house combination fried rice. However, I”m definitely going to be making this delicious looking dish for me and my partner. We both love chicken in most dishes. I’m truly excited to try this recipe.
Simple and easy to cook. I hope it will taste better than Chinese take away meal.
This looks completely delish! I love fried rice!
Ok so I am looking at this recipe and fully intend to make it this week (it’s already on the menu) but I have 1 question. A * was put next to the rice but it was a comment about cooking the chicken in the teriyaki sauce. Once the chicken is cooked am I supposed to use that same sauce and toss it with the chicken, rice and other veg/egg? Or do I only use the additional soy sauce listed?
It looks like the * for the rice is referring to using rice that has been prepared a day ahead. That bit of info was found one another one of her recipes.
I make this dish a few times a month for my family. I have made both with and without cooking in the teriyaki sauce. I now cook this in the sauce every time! I have also used this sauce with just chicken breasts on top of a bed of rice…. delicious. To your original question- cook the chicken in the teriyaki then discard the sauce and continue cooking the fried rice recipe as normal. You will not be disappointed!