Chicken Fried Rice

I will teach you how to make it right at home with simple ingredients, in just a few minutes, and it will take 100 times better than takeout! If you don’t feel like having chicken, make my shrimp fried rice version, or pork, or with extra vegetables, it’s completely customizable. 

Why This Is The Best Chicken Fried Rice

I’ve been making fried rice at home for over 20 years. It started as our go-to takeout favorite, but as a broke college student, I learned to recreate it at home and kept tweaking it until it was just right.

• The secret is all in the flavor and ingredients. While takeout often keeps it simple with soy sauce and a few veggies, I take it further by building layers of flavor into the chicken, veggies, eggs, and sauce.
• The best part? You can use any leftover rice you have on hand.
• All you need are a few simple ingredients, about 30 minutes, and a pan full of leftovers turned into something amazing. Your family will thank you!

Key Ingredient and Notes Before Cooking

Chicken – you can use boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken thigh meat. Chicken breast meat is more lean but chicken thigh meat is juicier and more flavorful.

Soy Sauce – use a low sodium soy sauce because regular soy is quite overwhelmingly salty.

Gluten Free Substitutions – to make this fried rice gluten free, you need to substitute soy sauce and oyster sauce. Use gluten free soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos if you need to and gluten free oyster sauce.

Garlic – Fresh garlic will yield the most flavorful results. Don’t use pre-minced garlic from the store, as the flavor is quite different.

Best Rice To Use To Make Fried Rice – long grain rice is THE best recommended for fried rice dishes. It’s also good to use leftover cold rice. You can always make rice the day before and then store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Cool Rice Fast – If you don’t have any leftover fried rice and forgot to make some the day before, I do have a trick. Cook the rice fist and then spread it on a large plate or a rimmed baking sheet. Pop it into the refrigerator and let it chill for 15-20 minutes.

More Vegetable Options – You can also add corn, bell peppers, green onion, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans. Any dense and hearty vegetables would be nice, just make sure to finely dice it so there are no large chunks. 

How To Make Chicken Fried Rice – Visual Guide

• First, brown the chicken in a preheated cooking pan until just done and take it out of the pan.

• Next, cook onions and carrots and then pea until softened.
• Add garlic and ginger, sauté until fragrant, and mix. You will notice the distinct garlic and ginger aroma. Don’t over-cook before mixing or garlic can get bitter.
• Move the veggies over, and pour in whisked egg. Leave it untouched and let it cook for a couple minutes.
• Add cold rice into the pan, right over eggs, and quickly stir everything together.

• Finally add back the chicken and stir it all together.
• Pour in sauce mixture and as you heat it sizzle, stir to coat everything with sauce. Let it cook just a couple of minutes and then take off heat.

Lyuba’s Tips When Making Chicken Fried Rice

Years of making fried rice has taught me a few things that I always teach others first:

• Use cold, leftover rice – Day-old rice works best because it’s drier and won’t turn mushy. Fresh rice can be too soft and clump together.
• Cook on higher heat – A hot pan helps the rice fry properly and gives it that slightly crisp, takeout-style texture. I recommend medium to medium-high heat.
• Prep everything first – This dish comes together fast, so have your chicken, veggies, and eggs ready before you start cooking.
• Cook ingredients separately – Cook the chicken, eggs, and veggies in stages before combining everything with the rice. This keeps each ingredient perfectly cooked and full of flavor.
• Don’t overdo the sauce – use low-sodium soy sauce and don’t increase the amounts unless you’ve tried this recipe and it’s truly not enough. You want flavored rice, not saucy rice.

Make It A Little Healthier

There are a few ways you can make it slightly healthier with fats and sodium adjustments:

• Substitute the oil. Peanut oil is not the lightest option and if you want to lighten your dish, use avocado oil.
• Substitute white rice for brown rice is another way to make it a little healthier. 
• You can also try Cauliflower Fried Rice.
• Use low sodium soy sauce to minimize sodium amount in the recipe. 
• Throw it extra vegetables even when making chicken fried rice or shrimp fried rice and use less rice. 
• Use chicken breast meat because it’s leaner. 

Best Way To Reheat Fried Rice

Storing: Store any leftover chicken fried rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. To reheat:

• you need to add a little moisture. Rice is like a sponge that soaks in any moisture around it so it gets pretty dry after sitting in the fridge overnight.
• When reheating fried rice, I like to use a either a combination of water and a little soy sauce OR some low sodium chicken broth to introduce some of the moisture back into the rice. 
• Depending on how much rice I need to reheat, I add about a tablespoon of liquid. A tablespoon per serving is usually enough to get it moist. 
• You can reheat it in the microwave but make sure to cover with a microwave-safe lid. Best way to reheat it though is to pan-fry it with a little oil, water, and soy sauce (or chicken broth). 

Recipe FAQs

PIN THE RECIPE FOR LATER

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below or share and tag me on social media @willcookforsmiles. DON’T FORGET to subscribe to my newsletter!

Try More Fried Rice Variations

If you don’t like chicken or simply don’t have any, there are many variations of fried rice you can try (I have a lot! Like I said, we’re big fried rice enthusiasts):

Shrimp Fried Rice

Cauliflower Fried Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice

Khao Pad – Thai Fried Rice 

Thai Basil Fried Rice

Crab Fried Rice

More Chinses Cuisine Inspired Recipes

Shrimp Stir Fry

Chicken Teriyaki

Sweet and Sour Chicken