Chicken Fried Rice Recipe

Leftover rice from dinner is perfect for Chicken Fried Rice the next day. I season the chicken first with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil instead of pouring the sauces over the rice. Once everything goes into the pan, the rice picks up plenty of flavor from the chicken.

Chicken breast cooks fast, so I cut it into small pieces and only cook it for a few minutes. The smaller pieces also mix better with the rice, so you get chicken in every serving. If you want more chicken and egg, you can also try my chicken and egg fried rice recipe.

The eggs go into the pan first. I cook them, take them out, and cut them into pieces before adding them back near the end. This keeps the egg in nice pieces instead of having it disappear into the rice.

What is Chicken Fried Rice?

Chicken Fried Rice is a stir-fried rice dish made by tossing cold cooked rice with diced chicken, fried egg, and vegetables in a hot pan seasoned with soy sauce and oyster sauce. The chicken is the main protein, and the rice is usually left over from an earlier meal.

Fried rice came from Chinese cooking, where leftover rice could be reheated in a hot pan with meat, egg, or vegetables. In a Filipino kitchen it usually begins with rice left over from the night before, and we often eat it for breakfast. The simplest form is sinangag, made with rice and toasted garlic. I also like garlic fried rice served with an egg and a piece of cured meat. My version adds chicken, egg, and vegetables to the rice, so I usually serve it on its own for breakfast or lunch.

Ingredients

• Cooked white rice – Cold rice from the refrigerator, cooked the day before. Long grain works best because the grains stay separate. Here is how to cook rice if you are starting a batch tonight for tomorrow.
• Chicken breast – Boneless, cut into pieces about half an inch across. Thighs work if you prefer dark meat, and they are harder to overcook.
• Eggs – Beat them first so they set into one flat sheet you can chop.
• Frozen mixed vegetables – The carrot, green pea, and corn blend. Buy the bag rather than dicing three vegetables yourself.
• Onion and garlic – Both minced fine, since large pieces of onion stay crunchy against the small chicken.
• Oyster sauce – One tablespoon is enough, and it rounds out the soy sauce so the rice tastes savory rather than just salty. No oyster sauce in the cupboard? See the substitutions below.
• Soy sauce – Regular all-purpose soy sauce. Skip dark soy sauce here, since the color goes muddy and the flavor turns heavy.
• Sesame oil – Toasted, and half a teaspoon only. More than that and it takes over the whole plate.
• Cooking oil – Any neutral oil. The eggs use most of it and the rest stays in the pan.
• Salt and ground black pepper – Added at the end, after you taste.

Cold rice makes the biggest difference in this recipe. Rice straight from the pot is still full of steam, and the grains press together and go soft the moment they hit oil. A night in the refrigerator dries the surface of each grain, so the rice separates in the pan and takes on color instead of turning into a paste. Three cups cooked is roughly one and a quarter cups uncooked. If the cold rice has gone hard, sprinkle it with a teaspoon of water and microwave it for 20 seconds before loosening the grains.

Marinate the chicken first, cook the eggs and set them aside, then cook everything else in the same pan. If this is your first stir-fried rice dish, my walkthrough on how to make fried rice covers the basic method in more detail.

1. Cut the chicken breast into small pieces and place them in a bowl.
2. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix until every piece is coated, then set aside.

1. Heat the cooking oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, pour in the beaten eggs and cook until mostly set.
2. Remove the eggs from the pan, chop them into pieces, and set them aside.

Take the eggs out while they still look a little wet in the middle. They keep cooking on the plate, and they go back into a hot pan later on.

1. Sauté the garlic and onion in the oil left in the pan, adding more oil if the pan looks dry.
2. Add the marinated chicken once the onion softens.
3. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the pieces are white all the way through with no pink left.
4. Add the frozen mixed vegetables and keep stir-frying for 2 minutes.

Cut one of the larger pieces open if you are not sure. The chicken should be cooked through. For an exact check, the internal temperature should reach 165°F.

1. Add the cooked white rice and toss until the sauce and chicken are spread through the grains.
2. Return the chopped eggs to the pan and fold them through.
3. Cook for 3 minutes, then season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.
4. Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately.

Keep the heat high for these last 3 minutes and keep the rice moving. Rice left sitting in a hot pan sticks and scorches, and rice on low heat only warms through without picking up any toasted flavor.

What to Serve with Chicken Fried Rice

• Sweet and Sour Pork – This is one of the pairings I make most often. The sweet and sour sauce goes well with the savory fried rice.
• Egg Drop Soup – Serve a small bowl on the side if you want soup with the meal.
• Lumpia – Lumpia adds something crisp alongside the rice. Fry a batch while the rice rests in the pan and serve both hot.
• A fried egg – One per plate, cooked with a runny yolk. Break it over the rice and the yolk coats the grains.
• Chili garlic sauce – A spoonful on the side of the plate for anyone who wants heat, so the rest of the batch stays mild.

Storage

Chicken Fried Rice keeps well for a few days, so I do not mind making a full batch even if we are not going to finish it in one meal.

• Refrigerator: Transfer the rice to a shallow airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I only reheat what I plan to eat because the rice starts to lose its texture when you warm it over and over again.
• Freezer: You can freeze it in single portions for up to 1 month. I like using resealable bags and laying them flat so they take up less space. If I know I am making a batch for the freezer, I sometimes leave the egg out and cook a fresh one when I reheat the rice.
• Reheating: I prefer warming fried rice in a pan with a little oil instead of using the microwave. Keep it over medium high heat and break up the clumps as the rice warms. Frozen portions can go straight into the pan without thawing first.

• Chicken breast – Boneless thighs, leftover roast chicken, or ground chicken all work. Cooked chicken only needs about a minute in the pan, so add it with the vegetables instead of before them. If you want fried rice with egg but no chicken, my egg fried rice recipe leaves it out completely.
• Oyster sauce – Hoisin sauce is the closest swap at the same 1 tablespoon. You can also use an extra tablespoon of soy sauce with a quarter teaspoon of sugar, though the result is sharper and less rounded.
• Frozen mixed vegetables – Fresh carrot diced small, plus peas and corn. Give the carrot an extra minute in the pan before the peas and corn go in.
• White rice – Brown rice works and needs no change to the method, though it stays firmer. Jasmine rice is fine as long as it has been chilled overnight.
• Sesame oil – Leave it out if you do not have any. The rice will taste less like a restaurant version, but nothing about the method changes.

More Fried Rice Recipes

• Chicken Barbecue Fried Rice – Barbecue sauce goes in with the chicken instead of soy and oyster sauce, which makes it sweeter and darker.
• Yang Chow Fried Rice – A fuller fried rice made with shrimp and char siu.
• Shrimp Fried Rice – Shrimp cooks quickly and works well in fried rice.
• Pork Fried Rice – Made with sliced char siu or pork barbecue, and no vegetables in it at all.
• Adobo Rice – Leftover adobo does the seasoning here, so there is no separate marinade to mix.
• Vegetable Fried Rice – A meatless fried rice made with mixed vegetables.
• BBQ Chicken with Java Rice – Grilled chicken marinated in banana ketchup and soy sauce, with turmeric rice and toasted garlic instead of a stir-fry.

Chicken Fried Rice is best served right after cooking while the rice is hot and the pieces of egg are still soft. I like mine with a fried egg on top. Share and enjoy!