On nights when I don’t feel like making dinner, but want to save picking up take out for the end of the week or weekend, I make Easy Chicken Fried Rice for dinner. This customizable dish is SO quick, SO easy and, although I’m showing you how to make chicken fried rice, I usually use whatever we’ve got on hand in the fridge or freezer. We blaze through a wok of it incredibly fast – it’s delicious, cheap, and did I mention quick? It takes longer for it to cool down to a temperature that Cameron doesn’t consider “spicy” than it does to actually cook!
Chicken Fried Rice Ingredients:
I can say with 99% certainty that you’ve already got all the ingredients you need to make Chicken Fried Rice on hand in your refrigerator and cupboards. You’ll need:
- White rice
- Frozen vegetables
- Garlic
- Sesame or wok oil
- Chicken breast or thighs
- Eggs
- Butter (yes, BUTTER!)
- Gluten free tamari, or soy sauce if you don’t need to eat gluten free.
Tips for Making Fried Rice:
- Use leftover rice. Cold leftover rice works great for fried rice, so don’t toss extra cooked rice if you’ve got it from a meal during the week. I’ll show you my go-to method for cooking rice fresh below.
- No chicken? No problem! This recipe is great when made with chopped shrimp, leftover steak, shredded pork, smoked rib meat, or chopped kielbasa. Or, go meatless and double up on the vegetables.
- Pump up the veggies. If you want to pump up the nutrition of this recipe even more, you can replace some of the white rice with cauliflower rice in a 1:1 ratio. Add it when sauting the frozen vegetables.
- Gluten free? If you need to eat gluten free, be sure to use gluten free soy sauce, ie gluten free tamari. My favorite brand is San-J and I prefer their low-sodium variety.
How to Make Fried Rice at Home:
Start by making the rice, or you can use 3 cups leftover cooked rice. To a small saucepan add long grain white rice (I like Lundberg Farms) plus water, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a bubble then turn the heat down to medium-low, place a lid on top, and simmer for 10 minutes. The water should just BARELY be bubbling.
Remove the pan from the heat then let it sit with the lid on for 5 minutes before fluffing the rice with a fork and spreading it out onto a plate. Rice = done!
Next heat a large wok or skillet over high heat then add sesame or wok oil. Once hot, add chopped chicken breast seasoned with salt and white pepper then stir fry until cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate then set aside.
Heat an additional teaspoon oil then, once hot, add frozen vegetables and stir fry until tender. Again, use whatever you’ve got in the freezer – I usually use peas and sweet corn. Add minced garlic then stir fry for another 30 seconds or so, being careful to not let it burn.
Scoot the vegetables to the side of the wok then add an egg whisked with sesame oil into the center and scramble.
Lastly, add a couple pats of butter then allow it to melt. I know, I know – butter in fried rice? Trust me – it’s DELISH!
Once melted, add the cooked chicken and rice then toss to combine and heat everything through.
Last step is to drizzle in reduced sodium gluten free Tamari (or soy sauce if you don’t need to eat gluten free) then toss again to combine.
That’s all she wrote! I like to let the fried rice cool a little before serving as you can taste the ingredients so much better when it’s not piping hot. I hope you love this super simple, quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe – enjoy!
Similar Recipes:
- Cauliflower Fried Rice >
- Sesame Chicken Fried Rice >
- Mongolian Beef Noodle Bowls >
- Potsticker Noodle Bowls >
- Kimchi Fried Rice >
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Easy Chicken Fried Rice
Description
Easy Chicken Fried Rice is a cinch to make at home with a few kitchen staples. This simple, 20 minute dish tastes just like take out!
Ingredients
- 3 cups prepared long grain rice (see notes)
- 1 chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
- salt and white pepper
- 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 egg
- 3 teaspoons sesame or wok oil, divided
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons butter
- 3 - 4 Tablespoons gluten-free Reduced Sodium Tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce)
Directions
- Whisk egg with 1 teaspoon oil in a small dish then set aside.
- Heat another teaspoon oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat. Season chicken with white pepper and salt then add to hot skillet and stir fry until cooked through. Remove to a plate then set aside.
- Heat remaining teaspoon oil in the wok then add frozen vegetables. Stir fry until tender, 1-2 minutes, then add garlic and stir fry for 30 more seconds being careful not to let it burn. Push vegetables to the side of the wok then add egg and sesame oil mixture into the center and scramble.
- Add butter then, once melted, add cooked chicken and rice and then toss to combine. Drizzle in tamari, toss to combine, then serve.
Notes
- How I make my rice: add 1 cup long grain white rice (I like Lundberg Farms) 1-3/4 cup water, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and pinch of salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer then place a lid on top and turn heat down to medium-low. The water should barely be bubbling. Cook for 10 minutes then remove pan from the heat and let sit with the lid on for 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork then spread out onto a plate to cool. Yields: 3 cups cooked rice.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
I made this and it was fantastic, but I think an extra ingredient really makes it. Whenever I make whole chickens in the oven, I always save the fat and add a little bit of it in with the fried rice. It sounds pretty gross, but everyone that eats it raves about how amazing my rice is. I am always upset when I don’t have any handy as it just isn’t the same without it!
This is one of the cheaper and more filling meals that I enjoy as a college student and something I can serve my guests (fellow broke college students) and not feel bad. Yum! Thanks so much for this site. This is my first time commenting here but I have really found a lot of affordable and tasty recipes here.
I’m not one to eat out, but if any place made this the way the recipe calls for, I would eat there. I MADE THIS RECIPE AND IT IT TO DIE FOR! Thank you!
I love how you said to clean out the fridge and use whatever you have. I had some leftover rice and pork chops from dinner a few nights ago, so I chopped the pork into pieces, mixed with an onion, garlic, 1 carrot, frozen peas, an egg and the leftover rice of course, all sauteed in sesame oil… fast and super delish! I will definitely make this again! Thank you!
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This is really nice, we already have the ingredients. Made this tonight (w/plain chicken) and my husband & I Loved It!! Definitely will be making this a lot! :-)
This turned out great! It’s a great use for leftover chicken. I just made this with left over steak and it was fantastic!! So easy. never thought I could make chicken fried rice until this recipe.
I made this dish and it was delicious! I fried some chopped brown onion and then fried othe chicken pieces first and then followed the recipe as per normal. Fantastic recipe I’ll definitely be making it again.
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what if I dont have a wok???
You can just use a large skillet.
My Stove is now a mess (I got carried away with the veggies and rice.. HOWEVER, THE PRODUCT IS BETTER THAN I HAVE EVER MADE. Thanks!
I made this tonight…. Absolutely LOVED it!!!! Didn’t have wok or sesame oil but olive oil worked perfectly! Thanks for sharing your recipe, will definitely be making this again! :)
I attacked this recipe this evening for my family which includes one very picky 5 year old boy, mind you. I had to work around a few things because I didn’t have sesame anything, green onion, or minced garlic in sight. I simply used olive oil and garlic salt. Also added some chili pepper flakes and a little brown sugar to the soy sauce to add some depth while cooking the chicken. It was delish, and the lil picky one ate his whole bowl and said, oh maybe I want some more, which is code for this is the best thing you have put in the table in a long time! Thank you for your in depth posts which include step by step pictures… these are just what I need. I am looking for the next recipe to try out! Cheers!
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I’m having serious wok envy every time I read one of your Asian recipes (I made potsticker noodle bowls last night – so fricken’ GOOD!) Can you share information about your wok? I have an induction cooktop and would so love to be able to use a wok!
Oh I’m so glad you like it! I have this Curtis Stone Wok but it looks like it’s no longer available :( :( I would try and find one like it though, it is AMAZING! http://amzn.to/2mjcwdR
I’ve had this “pinned” for a while and finally whipped it up tonight. So easy and yummy! It’s going in this single gal’s regular rotation. Thanks for all the cooking inspiration!
Looks yummy! I am definitely going to give this one a try!
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Hi!! This looks so yummy, I want to make it on the weekend and have a silly question – are the veggies completely frozen when you start to cook them or do you defrost them a bit?
Either! I throw them in straight from the freezer but it’s fine if they sit out a bit.
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Such a yummy, easy recipe!
This was SO good! Maybe I missed it but I didn’t see what the seasoning for the chicken was? Only saw “seasoned chicken” so wasn’t sure how to season it, just used some salt and pepper but I REALLY loved this recipe! I left out the onions but it turned out fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing!
I come back to this recipe ALL the time, tweaking it to my pantry as needed. Thank you so much!
Can I double this recipe? There are 3of us. Would you just double everything?
Thanks,
Krist
Quick question, and this may be a bit silly, but I use a rice cooker to cook my rice. Would that be okay for this recipe? And if I am using my rice cooker, should I only cook 1 cup of rice in it, or 3 cups of rice in it for this recipe? I saw where the recipe said 3 cups of leftover rice, but when you explained how to cook the rice you said add 1 cup of rice to the saucepan and then water. Thanks!
Absolutely! You’ll need three cups of cooked rice. :)
This is what we make to use up our leftovers. We always through inn the leftover meats, veggies, rice and whatever else we have. A great one for sure!