Egg Fried Rice

Egg Fried Rice is a popular Chinese side dish that compliments most of the Chinese dishes, especially our super tasty Spicy Chicken Wings. This “better than takeaway” Egg Fried Rice is super easy to make and it comes together in just 15 minutes! It is the perfect recipe if you are looking for a quick weekday meal especially if you have some leftover jasmine or basmati rice in your fridge.

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How to Make Egg Fried Rice?

Although this is a very simple recipe, you need to follow few tips and steps to achieve the best results:

• What’s the right type of rice for egg fried rice? – The best results come when using a long grain type for this dish, ideally jasmine or basmati rice.

• Use cold or leftover rice – Freshly cooked rice is too wet and therefore, it makes the rice grains clump together. If you decide to use freshly cooked rice, you would end up with a soggy mess. Because of that reason, always use chilled or leftover rice for best results. If you don’t have leftover rice or you forgot to cook it a day ahead, use freshly cooked rice. Wash the rice until running cold water until the water from the rice runs clear. Put the rice in a pan with plenty of cold water, bring to a boil and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the rice using a fine sieve, cool it down under running cold water and let it drain for 5 minutes. Spread the rice on a large tray and put it in the fridge uncovered for an hour or in the freezer for 20 minutes. This will help the rice to dry a bit. The rice clamps up when cooled so fluff it up and break it apart using a fork or do it with your lightly damp fingertips before using.

• Do your mise-en-place in advance – Egg Fried Rice is a very quick dish to prepare, so have all your ingredients ready before you start. Make sure you measure the sauce ingredients and mix in a bowl, slice the vegetables and beat the eggs. Have your rice on a plate fluffed up. Prepare any vegetables you like or have in your fridge. I love mine with carrots, peas and spring onions but you can use mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, mange tout, cabbage or even green beans.

• Get ready for action – When you have your rice cooled and your mise en place ready, grab a large wok or skillet and put on high heat. A wok works best for egg fried rice as it spreads the heat evenly and adds smokiness to the dish. When the wok is hot enough, add the butter and let it slightly browned before adding the beaten eggs. Quickly scramble the eggs and set them aside on a plate. Although butter is not a common ingredient for Chinese cooking, I prefer using it for cooking the eggs as it adds lots of flavour to the dish and browns everything perfectly. Turn the heat down to medium and add vegetable oil or peanut oil to the pan. Add the carrots and stir fry for 2 minutes until slightly softened but still crunchy. Add the frozen peas, garlic, spring onions, red chilli and stir fry for 2 more minutes. Turn the heat up again and add half of the fluffed up rice. Stir fry for a minute then add the other half of the rice, stir fry for two more minutes. Add sesame oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper or white pepper, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, oyster sauce and mirin. Give it a quick stir and add the scrambled eggs. Stir fry for another minute and garnish with some chopped coriander and spring onion before serving.

I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious Egg Fried Rice as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂

Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!

Did you make this recipe?

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