Easy & Delicious Fried Rice
Table of Contents
Easy & Delicious Fried Rice
Easy & delicious fried rice is a favorite recipe in my household. I must confess that I am not a big Asian food fan, but the one thing I’ll always eat is fried rice. Nathan and I went to a Japanese restaurant a while ago where we sat around a table and watched our food being prepared. It was a show, to say the least!
One of my favorite parts is where they make the fried rice. It always looks delicious, and it tastes just as good. Watching it being made inspired me to give it a try at home by myself, and it has been successful every time.
Simple & Fast
The reasons I love this recipe is that it is quick and easy. Who doesn’t love that? It is almost impossible to screw up, and can be made in a single pan. The other part is that it can be made with almost anything. This is an excellent way to clean out the vegetable drawer in the fridge. Finish off the last little piece of onion, or the single mushroom drying out that has a day left.
Every time I make this, I check my veggie drawer and see if there is anything about to go bad that I can save by using it in this recipe. Food waste is a huge money drain, and I’ve been trying to cut down on it. I’ve also incorporated some Thrive Life freeze dried veggies into it to give an added flavor while still saving me time.
Ingredients
Minute rice
Onions
Celery
Chicken
Mushrooms
Soy Sauce
Eggs
Garlic
Ginger
Directions
I use a non-stick pan for this and keep using it for every step. I haven’t measured anything out for this recipe simply because it is more to use up what would be wasted kitchen scraps. Just what looks good to me.
Start with boiled water and put the rice in. Once the rice is in the water and starts absorbing, I’ll turn the burner off but leave the pan uncovered on the burner.
While the rice is cooking, I chop up my veggies to be used. The last one I made, I incorporated Thrive Life freeze dried chicken and celery into it, and just let them soak in hot water until I was ready for them.
After the rice is cooked, remove from the pan and set aside in a bowl. I then add butter to the pan to saute the veggies. Once the veggies are close to being done, add the rice back in to fry, followed by the eggs.
I love scrambled eggs in my fried rice. That is easily my favorite part because it is another texture and flavor in the dish. Plus a quick cooking protein. Eggs are also like little vitamin bombs of goodness that our bodies need. They are often called “nature’s multivitamin.”
Adding in Soy Sauce
The last thing I add into the pan is soy sauce. Here’s a little secret to a deeper flavor. That pan is hot and I pour the soy sauce in from a single corner or open space. Don’t drizzle it all over the rice. What this does is cooks the soy sauce because as soon as it hits the hot pan, it will start to sizzle and bubble. Not only will this deglaze the pan and bring all the yummy bits up off the bottom of the pan, but it gives a much deeper and richer flavor.
My other favorite thing about this method versus drizzling it over everything is I can clearly see how much soy sauce I am adding it. When I drizzle, it literally disappears into the rice and is gone. It is beyond easy to overdo it that way and the meal goes from amazing to simply being a giant salt bomb. Nobody wants that.
Remember earlier when I said this meal was almost impossible to screw up? Adding in too much soy sauce is a guarantee to screw it up. Being able to visually see what is going in is a huge help for me. I would much rather serve it to Nathan and let him add more if needed.
Notes
As I talked about earlier, I incorporated some Thrive Life freeze dried foods into this recipe. I used the celery and chicken. Celery is the single most wasted vegetable in my house, so having the freeze dried option is amazing. There is no waste when a food is freeze dried because it will last 25 years unopened and 5 years opened.
The Thrive Life chicken was perfect for this dish because I didn’t have to dice and cook the chicken for the meal. That just adds time and another pan, and I don’t usually have the time to devote to that. To be perfectly honest, without the freeze dried chicken option, I would not have added in any other protein besides the eggs.
For garlic, I will say not to add in more than one good sized clove, maybe two small ones. But this is the one other ingredient that can overwhelm the dish. Less is more in terms of the garlic!
Fried rice is a nicely balanced meal with carbs, protein, and vegetables, that takes less than 20 minutes to make in a single pan. When Nathan comes home in between his two jobs and is rushed, this is my go-to meal to give him something great while cutting down on my food waste at the same time. This is literally the perfect meal in my house!
Once I serve the rice, I add some chow mein noodles on top for an added crunch to a soft dish. Texture is important! Nuts also can be added in for the same reason. Last time I made this I used cashews and loved it. Peanuts work wonderfully too.
Discussion
What are some veggies you like adding in to a fried rice recipe? Tell me about them in the comments! Or tell me about a wasted veggie in your house that could be added to this recipe and cut down on food waste. Have you tried this easy & delicious fried rice recipe? Check out my other side dish recipes!
20 Comments
Casey
That looks delicious! Fried rice is one of my favorite Asian foods. I almost always get that when I order take out or go out! I’ve tried to replica it multiple times with minimal success. I’ll definitely have to try your recipe and give it a go. It sounds like it will taste amazing!
Casey
Nicholas Tuma
I love fried rice and it is so much healthier making it at home rather than takeout. Also, you can almost make it with any meat and veggies on the side for a well-balanced meal. I am going to try your way of making it soon.
Sara
Wow, this looks delicious. My family and I love Asian inspired meals, but I have never made fried rice. I’ve always enjoyed peas and carrots in my fried rice.
Anthony @ Green Mochila
Fried rice is a classic, isn’t it? Although it might seem like a no-brainer, anyone who’s tried cooking it properly realised it’s hard to get it right. So thank you for sharing your tips and tricks – I’ll try your recipe (without chicken) asap!
Kelly Martin
This fried rice looks great. I love how you don’t use measurements. That’s how I like to cook.
Jemma @ Fantastic Books
This looks really yummy and I appreciate the extra tip about the soy sauce!
jerry godinho
Yum…I love fried rice. Chinese, schezwan, Hakka, Cantonese, Japanese and singaporean I love it. This is a simple and amazing recipe and I will try it this weekend. Thanks and have a wonderful week ahead.
Lindsay Brown
That looks so yummy! I never thought of putting egg into my fried rice, I am definitely going to be trying this recipe out soon because that sounds ahhhmazing! I love learning all these new recipes on your site, you should write a cookbook!
Rupy
My all-time favorite dish. My mother used to cook it.
Lyanna Soria
Fried rice is a great dish to make especially since you can change up or add some ingredients that you prefer. It’s easy to make and is quite delicious too. I’ll try making that with your soy sauce tip next time.
Live Learn Better
This one right here looks so yummy!. I have been trying the low carb diet lately and the kind of rice i eat now doesn’t do well with fried rice. But who says I can’t have it on my cheat day?
Thanks for sharing
Alyssa @ Click Happy Mom
My mouth is literally watering! This sounds so yummy. I love fried rice! Bookmarking so I can make this with some of my chicken recipes!
WanderlustBeautyDreams
I love making fried rice. Such a great recipe here, I make mine a little bit differently but will try this out sometime.
Lyosha
It looks delicious! It’s definitely something I eat often at home and francly it’s my favorite. I like it more than more fancy versions. Comfort food in its core for me
maria saeed
Creamy white sauce on pasta otherwise known as béchamel sauce pasta is one of my preferred pasta plans.
The Prepping Wife
Have you tried the béchamel sauce from Thrive Life, Maria? That is one on my list to try next, so I would love to hear your thoughts!
Despite Pain
I love fried rice and your recipe makes it seem so simple. I’m like you, whatever in the fridge needing to be used goes in. Red peppers, sweetcorn, broccoli, bacon…anything goes really. It can be a really fast, simple meal.
The Prepping Wife
I made some last night using freeze dried mushrooms that just arrived, and bacon fat instead of butter. It was really good!
Alexandra
This was great! I love fried rice and I absolutely HATE when I mess up by adding too much soy sauce! I’m so glad you gave me a way to help with that because, you’re right when you pour it over everything it disappears in the rice and then you just don’t know how much you’ve added. Great advice and great recipe!
Britt K
I love how quick and easy this is! My husband and I are both big fans of Chinese food, but it’s not always in the budget to go running out to pick up takeout. It’s nice to know that there’s an easy way to make a little Chinese right at home (and likely healthier than eating takeout all the time lol). We usually do Chinese for New Year’s Eve, so I’ll have to try making this before then to see how it turns out!