Daily Dish: Easy Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of those meals that proves dinner doesn’t have to be complicated to be delicious. With leftover rice, a few vegetables, eggs, and some basic seasonings, you can turn ingredients already sitting in your refrigerator into a hot, satisfying meal in about 20 minutes.

It’s also one of the best recipes for reducing food waste. Yesterday’s rice is actually better for fried rice than freshly cooked rice because chilling helps dry the grains and keeps them from becoming overly soft in the skillet. Add whatever vegetables or leftover proteins you have available, and you’ve got an inexpensive meal that can change every time you make it.

What You’ll Need

3 cups cooked and chilled white or brown rice
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, diced
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 scallions, sliced
½ teaspoon garlic powder, optional
Black pepper, to taste
Cooked chicken, shrimp, pork, or beef, optional

Get Everything Ready

Before you turn on the stove, break apart any large clumps in the cold rice and have the rest of your ingredients within reach. Fried rice cooks quickly once it hits the skillet, so preparing everything beforehand keeps you from scrambling for ingredients while something else is already cooking.

If you’re adding leftover chicken, beef, pork, or another cooked protein, cut it into small bite-sized pieces. Frozen peas and carrots can usually go directly into the skillet, making them especially convenient for a quick weeknight dinner.

Let’s Cook

Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat and add about 1 teaspoon of the oil.
Beat the eggs, pour them into the skillet, and scramble until just cooked. Transfer the eggs to a plate and set aside.
Add the remaining oil and butter to the skillet.
Add the diced onion and frozen peas and carrots. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes until the vegetables are heated through and the onion begins to soften.
Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn.
Add the cold rice and break apart any remaining clumps with your spatula.
Spread the rice across the hot skillet and allow it to cook briefly before tossing. Continue stir-frying for 3 to 4 minutes until the rice is hot.
Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder if using, and black pepper. Toss until the seasonings are evenly distributed.
Return the scrambled eggs to the skillet. If you’re using cooked chicken, shrimp, pork, or beef, add it now as well.
Stir-fry everything together until completely heated through. Add the sliced scallions, toss once more, taste for seasoning, and serve hot.

Why Cold Rice Works Better

Freshly cooked rice contains plenty of moisture and steam. Put it directly into a crowded skillet, and there’s a good chance you’ll end up steaming the rice rather than frying it. The result can be sticky, clumpy, and softer than the fried rice you’re trying to create.

Refrigerated rice has had time to cool and lose some surface moisture, making the individual grains firmer and easier to separate. When those grains hit a hot skillet, they can absorb the seasonings while maintaining a better texture.

If you don’t have leftover rice, cook a fresh batch and spread it across a baking sheet or large plate so it can cool quickly. Once it has stopped steaming, refrigerate it until thoroughly chilled before making your fried rice.

Make It a Complete Dinner

Fried rice can easily move from a side dish to the main event. Add diced cooked chicken for chicken fried rice, sliced leftover steak for beef fried rice, or cooked shrimp for a quick seafood version. You can even combine proteins when you have several small amounts of leftovers that need to be used.

A meatless version can be just as satisfying. Add mushrooms, broccoli, edamame, cabbage, bell peppers, corn, zucchini, or extra eggs. The important thing is to avoid adding too many watery ingredients at once because excess moisture can interfere with the texture of the rice.

Cooking With Tiffany Tip

Don’t drown your fried rice in soy sauce. One of the easiest mistakes to make is assuming that more soy sauce automatically means more flavor. Too much can make the rice overly salty while adding enough liquid to soften the texture you’re trying to create.

Start with a few tablespoons, toss everything thoroughly, and taste it. If you think it needs more, add another small splash. You can always increase the seasoning, but you can’t easily remove soy sauce once it’s been absorbed by the rice.

Another important trick is giving your ingredients enough room in the pan. A wide skillet or wok allows more rice to touch the hot cooking surface. If you’re making a large batch, cooking it in two smaller batches can produce better results than overcrowding one skillet.

Change Up the Flavor

Once you know the basic technique, fried rice becomes incredibly easy to customize. A little fresh ginger can add brightness, while crushed red pepper, chili crisp, or sriracha can bring some heat. You can also finish the dish with additional scallions or a small drizzle of sesame oil.

The vegetables don’t have to remain the same either. Fried rice is perfect for those nights when you open the refrigerator and discover half an onion, a few mushrooms, a small piece of bell pepper, and leftover chicken from yesterday’s dinner. Instead of throwing those ingredients away, you can turn them into an entirely new meal.

From Leftovers to Dinner

That’s what makes easy fried rice such a useful recipe to know. You’re not starting with an expensive shopping list or spending an hour preparing dinner. You’re taking basic ingredients, using a simple cooking technique, and creating something that tastes completely different from what you ate the night before.

Serve it straight from the skillet while it’s hot, either by itself or alongside your favorite chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, or vegetable dish. With savory rice, tender vegetables, scrambled egg, and plenty of flavor in every bite, this is the kind of quick meal that can easily become part of your regular weeknight rotation.

The next time you see a container of leftover rice in the refrigerator, don’t look at it as yesterday’s side dish. With a hot skillet, a couple of eggs, some vegetables, and about 20 minutes, you’ve already got the beginning of tonight’s dinner.