This easy Chinese Chicken Fried Rice recipe is the best ever! It tastes even better than takeout and is ready to eat in just 20 minutes. Learn how to make homemade chicken fried rice with this quick, restaurant-style recipe.
This chicken fried rice recipe is one you need to add to your regular dinner rotation, because it is bursting with flavor and is one the whole family will love. In addition, it is so simple to make and uses common ingredients that you probably already have on hand in your kitchen.
Not only does this recipe taste better than takeout, it takes less time to make than your favorite Chinese restaurant takes to deliver. Now you can toss those takeout menus and make perfect fried rice in the comfort of your own kitchen, in no time at all.
Tips for Making Chinese Fried Rice
Here are a few important pointers I have learned with time about how to make the best fried rice:
- Use cold, cooked rice: The key to making perfect fried rice is using leftover, refrigerated rice. This is because chilled (preferably day-old) rice will separate nicely and won’t clump together in the pan. A freshly-cooked batch of warm rice will not fry well when it hits the hot pan, and will result in mushy clumps.
- Use long-grain, white rice: It cooks up fluffy and not sticky, with individual grains remaining distinct and firm. I find that Jasmine or Basmati rice gives the best consistency, fragrance, and flavor.
- Use a wok or large skillet: You want to use a pan that seems large for the amount of rice and other ingredients you are using. This allows the ingredients in the pan to heat up quickly and evenly. It also gives you plenty of room to toss everything together without anything falling out of the pan.
- Use butter: Japanese steakhouses use a big pat of butter when they’re making fried rice for good reason. Using butter (rather than oil) makes the rice brown up perfectly and just makes everything taste so much better.
Chinese Chicken Fried Rice Ingredients
To make this homemade chicken fried rice recipe, you will need:
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: They add protein and flavor to this dish. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can be used instead.
- Yellow onions, carrots, peas, green beans, and corn: This is the base mix of vegetables that I used to make this recipe, but feel free to substitute any other stir-fry vegetables you have on hand.
- Garlic, ginger, and green onions: These three ingredients are collectively known as the holy trinity of Chinese cuisine. They are used to build a solid foundation of flavors and aromas in Chinese-style meals.
- Cooked, chilled rice: Make sure your rice has been cooked in advance and thoroughly chilled in the fridge in a sealed container. As I said before, freshly-cooked rice will not work well in this recipe.
- Eggs: Which add a good dose of protein, as well as flavor and texture.
- Soy sauce: I created this recipe using traditional soy sauce, but you can use tamari if you want this recipe to be entirely gluten-free.
- Sriracha: It adds a good amount of heat without overpowering the rest of the flavors in the dish.
- Butter: Again, butter just makes everything better.
How to Make Homemade Chicken Fried Rice
This recipe is prepared in stages so that everything gets cooked perfectly. Here are the basic steps to make this easy chicken fried rice recipe (full instructions included in the recipe below, as always):
- Cook the chicken: Start by sauteing the chicken pieces in some butter and then set aside once cooked through. This is done so that the chicken doesn’t overcook while the rest of the ingredients are in the pan.
- Saute the veggies & eggs: Next, cook the vegetables and aromatics in the last bit of butter until tender. Then push them to one side of the pan and cook the eggs on the other side.
- Stir-fry the rice, sauces & chicken: Then add the rice, soy sauce, Sriracha, and cooked chicken. Stir-fry the mixture for a couple minutes to pull all the flavors together.
- Garnish and serve: Finally, sprinkle some sliced green onions over top and serve up your rice.
That’s it! 🙂
More Takeout-Style Recipes to Try
Interested in cooking more takeout-fakeout meals? Here are a few of my favorite takeout-style recipes on the blog:
For this Chinese Fried Rice Recipe, I recommend:
- Ultra Chef Express Food Chopper – This is one of my most-used kitchen tools. I use mine all the time to quickly chop up vegetables. I especially love using it to dice onions, because it saves me from all the tears!
- OXO Stainless Steel Scraper – I purchased a bench scraper after seeing them being used on my favorite cooking shows. It is SUCH a handy tool for scraping up and transferring chopped food from the cutting board into the pan.
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If you make this Chinese Chicken Fried Rice recipe, let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating ★ below, because I love hearing from you! 🙂
Chinese Chicken Fried Rice (Better than Takeout!)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a wok or a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Transfer chicken to a separate bowl.
- Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Add the onion and frozen vegetables. Cook for 4 minutes until softened.
- Stir in the garlic and ginger. Cook for a minute further until fragrant.
- Push all of the vegetables to one side of the pan. Add the eggs to the other side and scramble constantly until cooked through.
- Add the cooked rice, soy sauce, Sriracha, and chicken to the pan. Stir-fry mixture for 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle with green onions and serve warm.
Notes
- To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute the soy sauce with tamari.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Nutrition
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Love meals that are healthy, delicious and come together easily.
Me too! Thanks for your comment! 🙂