Easy and Delicious Fried Rice

Any other fried rice fans out there? Fried rice is hands down one of my favorite things to order from our favorite local Chinese restaurant. But did you know it's also super easy to make at home?! This fried rice is loaded with vegetables, flavored with soy sauce and sesame oil, and is ready in no time!

Ingredients for fried rice

Alright, let's get cooking! Here's a list of everything you'll need to make fried rice at home.

• Prepared jasmine rice

• Vegetable oil

• Soy sauce

• Sesame oil 

• Rice vinegar

• Diced carrots

• Diced onion

• Minced garlic

• Eggs

• Frozen peas

Preparing the rice

I love using Mahatma brand Long Grain and Jasmine rice blend for fried rice. Cook the rice according to the package. I usually make the whole bag at once, and keep leftovers in the fridge and use for other meals. You definitely don't have to do that-- just adjust the measurements and make only as much as you need.

A tip for the best fried rice

If possible, use day-old or cold rice! In making fried rice at home, I've found that using cooled, cold, or leftover rice yields the closest to restaurant quality. I've used fresh, warm rice before, and it tends to result in sticky or clumpy fried rice.

If you don't have leftover rice or need to make it the same day, you can still use freshly made rice. However, I would recommend letting it cool completely and chill in the fridge for a bit (if possible) before adding it to your dish. 

Fresh or frozen veggies?

Either! I've made this fried rice before using fresh and frozen vegetables, and it turns out great either way! I would recommend using fresh yellow onion, but for the other veggies, either is fine. I have found that fresh carrots do take a little longer to cook than frozen ones, but you can just adjust the cooking time a few minutes. I've actually found bags of frozen carrot and pea medleys, which work great for this fried rice.

Serving up the fried rice 

Once your rice is all assembled, you're ready to eat! If you want to jazz it up, you can top it with toasted sesame seeds, sriracha, green onions, or a protein like chicken or beef! 

Easy and Delicious Fried Rice

Recipe by Chrissy

Servings

10-12

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Total time

40

minutes

Ingredients

• 4 ½ -5 cups cooked jasmine or long-grain rice, chilled

• 1 cup diced yellow onion

• 1 ½ cups diced carrots

• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ cup frozen peas

• 3 eggs

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 4-5 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 ½ teaspoons sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Set aside.
• Heat a large pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add in one tablespoon of vegetable oil and heat that for about 30 seconds.
• Add in the diced onion and carrots to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to be sure the onions don't start to burn. You can turn the temperature down a bit if they seem to be browning quickly.
• In a small bowl, beat the 3 eggs. Push carrots and onions to one side of the pan, and add the eggs to the empty space. Cook and scramble the eggs, about 2 minutes, then mix them in with the vegetables. (You can also scramble your eggs in a separate pan, if desired). Pour your vegetable and egg mixture into a bowl, and set aside.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons on vegetable oil to the pan and add in your chilled rice. Cook the rice about 5 minutes, only stirring every few minutes (this will help the rice brown).
• Add the vegetables back in, as well as the minced garlic and frozen peas, and mix everything together. Pour the soy sauce mixture over everything, stir well, and continue cooking for another 4-5 minutes.
• Serve warm, top with green onions or sriracha, and enjoy!