When it comes to Chicken Fried Rice, I love making it for weeknight dinners because this homemade version easily competes with Chinese takeout. Growing up, ham fried rice and other chicken variation dishes were always protein-packed, hearty, and full of brown rice combo goodness that my family would love. This favorite dish can be made Better-Than-Takeout in a one-skillet style, ready in just 20 minutes, giving you the joy of takeout at home with homemade flavor, greasy, juicy chicken, seasoned rice, peas, carrots, and green onions in a dish that’s good and tastes amazing.
From the House Special to a fully loaded plate with fabulous seasoned chicken, vegetables, fluffy egg, and salty bacon, following a fried rice recipe for a meal or side dish with soy sauce brings authentic flavour like a local Chinese restaurant. With the House Special Chicken Fried Rice or any fried rice option, cook rice, toss in your chook, and enjoy an everyday fried rice experience through simple steps, sharing tips, Monday myth busting, making each serving worthy of authentic chicken fried rice at your friendly local Chinese restaurant, flavourful and satisfying again.
The Best Chicken Fried Rice Recipe:
For the Best Chicken Fried Rice Recipe, I like to keep it simple yet packed with flavor, perfect for weeknight dinners or a quick recipe that feels homemade but tastes like Chinese takeout. Using brown rice as a base, I add juicy chicken, ham, or even a chicken variation, along with peas, carrots, green onions, and a fluffy egg to make the dish protein-packed, hearty, and fully loaded. A one-skillet method makes it ready in 20 minutes, so it’s a takeout alternative that’s better, Better-Than-Takeout, and fabulous.
Adding seasoned rice, a touch of soy sauce, and salty bacon elevates the House Special Chicken Fried Rice, whether served as a meal or side dish. With easy recipe steps, you can cook rice, toss the chook, and make an everyday fried rice recipe dedicated to sharing, myth busting, and creating a worthy serving of authentic chicken fried rice that’s friendly, local, and flavourful, giving loads of good tasting again for your family to love.
What Ingredients Go Into Chicken Fried Rice?
Here are the ingredients that you’ll need to make this Chicken Fried Rice recipe:
Rice
- Brown rice, day old rice, white rice, leftover rice, pre cooked rice packets, cooked white rice, and cold rice provide the ideal texture and moisture.
Protein
- Chicken breasts, boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced chicken in small pieces (1/2 inch, 3/4 inch), shrimp fried rice (optional), ham, bacon, Chinese sausage, Chinese BBQ pork, protein make the dish hearty, protein-packed, and full of flavor variations.
Vegetables
- Frozen peas, carrots blend, frozen corn, fresh vegetables, diced carrot, green onions, onion, diced veg remain tender, fresh, and add color and taste to the dish.
Aromatics & Flavor
- Garlic, fresh garlic, flavour, strong flavor, flavour base essential for that authentic Chinese rice taste.
Eggs
- Eggs, scrambled eggs, fluffy egg bits, 3 eggs help stretch the recipe and add richness.
Oils & Cooking Fats
- Toasted sesame oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, neutral oil, olive oil perfect for sautéing at a low smoke point and enhancing flavor.
Sauces & Seasonings
- Soy sauce, low sodium soy sauce, regular sodium soy sauce, gluten free soy sauce, salt, pepper add the best flavor and balance dietary restrictions.
Tools
- Skillet, bowl, fork necessary to cook, stir-fry, and serve the classic Chinese dish with perfect texture.
For the Fried Rice Sauce:
To make your Chicken Fried Rice truly stand out, the right sauce is essential, combining soy sauce, light soy sauce, all purpose soy sauce, dark soy sauce for that intense flavour and depth. Adding a pinch of Maggie seasoning, a splash of oyster sauce, fish sauce, or hoisin sauce brings layers of complexity, while a touch of Chinese five spice flavour enhances the authentic Chinese restaurant taste. For richness, I often include a dash of Chinese cooking wine, Shaoxing wine, Mirin, or dry sherry, or use an alcoholic substitute if preferred.
To build savory notes, chicken stock, vegetable stock, powder, or granulated bouillon can be added, adjusting the quantity to reduce saltiness and balance the lovely flavors. This secret ingredient approach makes a difference, elevating any fried rice from simple to the best, so every bite feels substitute friendly yet remarkable.
How to Make Chicken Fried Rice (Step-by-Step Guide):
Step 1: Heat the Pan
Heat a large non-stick wok or skillet over medium high heat and add sesame oil or canola oil.
Step 2: Cook the Chicken
Add chicken pieces, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until cooked through, about 5 minutes to 6 minutes. Remove and place on a plate, cover with foil, and set aside.
Step 3: Cook the Vegetables
In the same pan, cook peas, carrots, green onions, garlic, and other veggies around the edges.
Step 4: Scramble the Eggs
Push the veggies to the edges and add eggs in the center, then scramble until cooked.
Step 5: Add Rice and Sauce
Add rice, soy sauce, and Sriracha if desired, then toss everything together and season to taste.
Step 6: Combine Chicken and Rice
Return the chicken fried rice to the pan with the remaining oil, and stir-fry until everything is heated and well combined.
Step 7: Check Chicken Pieces
For diced or chopped chicken, ensure it is pink and fully cooked before mixing.
Step 8: Customize and Serve
Adjust the recipe to customize by adding, removing, or drizzling ingredients, making a classic, easy, straightforward fried rice dish ready to serve warm as a side dish or main meal.
Watch the Chicken Fried Rice Video:
Here I also came up with a video tutorial to make this easy recipe:
Easiest Fried Rice Recipe with Chicken:
For a simple fried rice recipe perfect for weeknight dinner or quick lunches, heat a skillet with sesame oil and toss in chicken until juicy and moist, then add scrambled eggs and bits of green onions, garlic, peas, carrots, and corn. Stir in white rice, soy sauce, and your choice of sweet or saltiness to create a balanced flavor, cooking for about 20 minutes until everything is ready. This homemade version beats takeout with layered flavor, making leftovers easy to devour, helping you learn, make, and whip up a healthy, favorite dish for the family while saving time. Perfect for searching for treasures in your container, this easy recipe layers love, help, and fun to enjoy again and again.
Recipe Tips (for Perfect Chicken Fried Rice Every Time):
Here are some useful tips that can help you during making this recipe and ending in a more perfect way:
- Use leftover or day old rice because it’s less moist and dry, which prevents clumping during stir-frying.
- Thaw any frozen veggies and soften them slightly before adding to the skillet.
- When cooking in batches, keep your pouches or container airtight for storage in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for 3-4 months.
- Use water or a splash of soy sauce to adjust flavor and maintain a crunchy texture.
- Microwave for 30 seconds if you need to reheat, and normally, less stirring keeps the rice perfectly separated.
- Following these tips ensures every serving is ready to serve, flavorful, and quick.
Recipe Variations to Try:
Here are some variations that can be adopted to get more results with different flavors:
Protein Options
Use chicken thighs, ground turkey, ham, crumbled bacon, beef, or tofu to make your chicken fried rice more protein packed and hearty.
Vegetable Choices
Add fresh or frozen vegetables like carrots, onions, mushrooms, bean sprouts, cauliflower, or bite sized veggies for texture, color, and nutrition.
Grain Options
Swap the base with white, long grain, brown, or quinoa grain to create different textures and flavors in your dish.
Sauce & Flavor Twists
Experiment with teriyaki, soy, tamari, or liquid aminos to change the flavor profile, adding a fantastic homemade or takeout style ease.
Preparation Tweaks
Finely chop, blend, saute, adjust, omit, or replace ingredients to suit your taste while keeping the dish clean and delicious.
Recipe Notes:
- Storage & Freshness Tips Store fried rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 4 months, then reheat gently when desired to preserve texture and taste.
- Ingredient Adjustments: Substitute items like vegetables, bacon, sausages, BBQ pork, or ham as preferred, and use dice able or stir-fry-able forms for faster cooking.
- Cooking Notes: Use proper oil and grain (long grain, white, cooked rice) and avoid sticky, crumbly, or dry results by stirring through remaining ingredients. Enhance flavour with wine, Mirin, sake, sherry, broth, or soy sauce, and season with salt, pepper, hoisin, fish sauce, or Maggie seasoning.
- Serving & Portions: Make generous servings of 1.5 cups per meal or side, and moisten leftovers in the microwave to retain nutrition and flavour.
How Is This Healthier than Traditional Fried Rice?
This healthier version of fried rice swaps out white rice for brown rice and includes lean chicken instead of ham, which lowers the salt and sodium content compared to traditional fried rice. Using low sodium soy sauce and controlling seasoning makes the place where you cook your rice a hub for higher nutrition while keeping all the flavor you love from classic recipes.
Ingredient Substitutions (Chicken Thighs, Shrimp, or Ham Options):
Can I Substitute Chicken Thighs?
You can easily substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs for breasts in your Chicken Fried Rice; just cook them a few extra minutes until the center reaches 165 degrees using an instant read thermometer to check doneness, and be aware it might require a little extra time at the right temperature to ensure juicy, fully cooked meat.
Can I Use Shrimp or Ham instead of Chicken?
If you want to swap chicken, you can use shrimp or ham in your Chicken Fried Rice; make sure they are small, pre-cooked, and heated through, then cook for a minute or so on the side before mixing with cups of rice, so you need not worry about undercooking, and it works instead of chicken for a tasty variation.
How Much Dry Rice Equals Prepared Rice?
When making Chicken Fried Rice, remember that dry brown rice expands as it cooks, so 1 cup of dry rice will yield about 3 cups of cooked or prepared rice, which is enough for a meal with some extra on the side; if you need a bit more, you can use 1/4 cup additional dry rice to reach the right quantity.
More Chicken Recipes:
Here are some recipes that you should try if you like spicy food:
FAQs About Chicken Fried Rice:
What are the ingredients for chicken fried rice?
For a tasty Chicken Fried Rice, use cooked day old rice, chicken, eggs, and fresh vegetables like peas, carrots, and onions, then season with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, oyster, ginger, black pepper, and other flavorings or additions, and mix well; these are the common and key ingredients for a flavorful dish.
What gives Chinese fried rice its flavor?
The flavor of authentic Chinese fried rice comes from cooking in a hot wok over high heat to create hei, the smoky aroma, while combining soy sauce, aromatics like garlic and ginger, umami, MSG, oyster, and toasted sesame oil so that individual grains are cooked properly; the right combination of ingredients and technique are the most important factors to achieve that perfect taste.
What are the 5 ingredients in fried rice?
5 Key Ingredients for Fried Rice
- Fried rice recipe suitable for lunch or dinner
- Uses cooked rice, egg, frozen peas, carrots
- Flavored with oil or soy sauce
- Simple ingredients make an easy, delicious dish
- Works as a main or side with just a few ingredients to master the 5 essentials
What is the trick to making fried rice?
The trick to making fried rice is to plan ahead and use cold, thoroughly chilled, cooked rice, butter, and veggies. Cook on high heat to brown the bottom, add extra soy sauce, and this gives the best results.
How do Asians eat so much rice but stay thin?
Asians enjoy rice in smaller portions as part of a balanced diet with lean proteins, vegetables, and healthy fats. Their active lifestyle and mindful eating practices help control calorie intake and manage blood sugar levels, keeping them thin.
