Egg Fried Rice
Here is my take on a Chinese-inspired egg fried rice that is just as good as your local Chinese restaurant. Perfect for using up leftovers or as a quick, flavourful meal, egg fried rice can be customised with your choice of vegetables, proteins, or seasonings to suit anyone. It’s quick to whip up, it’s endlessly versatile and packed with flavour that gives you a classic takeaway favourite from home.
Egg fried rice is my go to side at my local Chinese restaurant. I’m a sucker for the western style Chinese restaurant dishes; they make a great Honey Chicken and Mongolian Chicken and they go perfectly together with egg fried rice. As much as I love my local, I often have leftover rice sitting in my fridge that needs to be used and this egg fried rice recipe is perfect for a quick and easy one pan meal. It’s perfect on its own or as a side dish to your main meal.
Ingredients
Leftover white rice, eggs, bacon, onion, garlic, frozen mixed vegetables, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, chicken stock powder, sugar, pepper, sesame oil and some oil for cooking.
Ingredient Alternatives
Bacon – it doesn’t have to used, you can use shredded ham and I’ve used Spam in a pinch. You can try turkey bacon or beef bacon. I like the smokiness bacon brings to the dish. A lot of dishes don’t use extra meat at all, so you can completely omit and continue the recipe as stated. Swaps can include beef, chicken or turkey mince in place of the pork. Even leftover rotisserie chicken.
Vegetables – This egg fried rice recipe is a very versatile dish. While I just use some frozen peas, corn and carrot mix, you can use any vegetables you want. If you have some sad looking leftover veggies sitting in your crisper draw in your fridge, chop them and add them in. Any frozen veggies will work too.
Onion – use a regular brown onion or spring onions. Slice up the spring onion into small bits, use the white parts in place of the onion and throw the greens in at the end to be tossed through.
Soy Sauce – For those who are gluten free, swap to a Gluten Free soy sauce or use tamari. Skip the dark soy sauce – it’s not in there for flavour, it’s there to help give more colour to the dish, you can get away with just using the soy sauce on it’s own, it just won’t be as dark.
Oyster sauce – for those who don’t eat seafood, you can substitute for vegetarian oyster sauce, check your local supermarket. Otherwise omit it and swap for the soy sauce.
Shaoxing wine/Chinese cooking wine – this is a rice wine used in Chinese cooking. As the name suggests, it does contain alcohol. If you can’t consume alcohol for religious or health reasons, please omit it. If it’s not something you need to omit, do consider using it. It’s used in a lot of Chinese recipes so it’s not something you’ll use once. I use it in all Chinese dishes I make.
MSG – it’s a very good flavour enhancer. I’ve not spotted MSG at the supermarket before, so try a local Asian grocer in your neighbourhood. Otherwise, chicken stock powder/ is a great alternative for a flavour boost.
Do I have to use a wok?
No. Any large pan will, however a wok does make it easier. I use a large carbon steel wok because it’s light, I can use metal utensils on it and it’s easier for me to mix and stir-fry things in a wok shaped pan. Scrambled eggs can be daunting when using carbon steel, cast iron or stainless steel but with enough oil and the pan at the right heat, they won’t stick. I just cook my scrambled eggs as one big piece with lots of oil until they’re just underdone, remove them from the pan and continue with the recipe; they’ll be broken up and cooked fully when it’s tossed through the fried rice later on. Egg fried rice is a great one pan meal but if you’re cooking the dish in something that’s not non-stick, and you’re worried the eggs will stick, cook them separately in a non-stick pan.
My Best Tips
Leftover or day old rice that has been sitting in the fridge is ideal for fried rice. The fridge dries out the rice, removing the moisture, creating the perfect texture for fried rice. Freshly cooked rice is too wet and fluffy for fried rice so the grains will clump together when stir fried.
Cold rice will have clumps in it so break up them up with your fingers. It’s easier to do this first with your hands rather than in the wok with the spatula as it
You definitely need to have all your ingredients prepped and ready to go. Have everything chopped and measured out, this dish comes together very quickly.
Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 cups white rice cooked, cold, leftover rice – Note 1
- 3 eggs scrambled
- 150 grams bacon diced – Note 2
- 1/2 brown onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves core removed, minced
- 150 grams frozen mixed vegetables peas, corn, carrot mix – Note 3
Sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce gluten free options available – Note 4
- 1/2 tbsp dark soy Note 5
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce sub for vegetarian oyster sauce or more soy sauce – Note 6
- 1 tbsp shaoxing wine optional, sub available – Note 7
- 1 tsp MSG or chicken stock powder Note 8
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Use your hands to break up the rice. This will make it easier for things to come together once the rice is in the pan.
- Mix together the sauce ingredients together in a separate bowl.
- In a wok* on medium to high heat, add in 3 tablespoons of oil into the pan, coating the pan from the middle to the base, add in the scrambled eggs, lightly mix around into one big piece until mostly cooked and remove from pan. *Note 9
- If the pan is looking dry, add in the other half a tablespoon of oil, add in the bacon and cook until nearly crispy, add in the onion and cook until soft, translucent and slightly brown around the edges, and add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the frozen mixed vegetables, mix to combine and cook until the frozen vegetables defrost.
- Add in the rice and cooked egg into the pan and mix to combine, breaking up the egg as you go, this will fully cook the egg.
- Add in the sauce ingredients and combine everything together.
- Serve while still hot.
Video
Notes
Cold rice – freshly cooked rice will not do well for fried rice because it’s too wet and fluffy that can create clumpy fried rice. Leftover rice placed in the fridge dries it out, creating the perfect texture for fried rice. Note 2
Bacon – sub for Spam or shredded ham. Shortcut bacon and shredded ham need oil when they’re being cooked, so add some in. I use streaky bacon and since that has extra fat it releases as it cooks, I don’t add in as much extra oil. Pork free – use turkey bacon or beef bacon. You could also use beef, chicken, lamb or turkey mince. Just break it up in the pan with a sprinkle of salt and pepper until fully cooked in the same step as the bacon and continue the recipe as usual. If you sub to leaner cut of meat like chicken or turkey and the pan is dry, add in some more oil. Note 3
Mixed veggies – I have a frozen mixed peas, corn and carrot mix that I use in the recipe. You can chop up whatever is leftover in your fridges crisper drawer or whatever frozen veggies you have. Note 4
Soy Sauce – for those who need to be gluten free, use gluten free soy sauce or tamari. Note 5
Dark soy sauce – this is just for some extra colour rather than flavour. If you’re gluten free, leave this out. Note 6
Oyster sauce – I’ve seen vegetarian oyster sauce. Or sub for more regular soy sauce. Note 7
Shaoxing wine – leave out if you can’t have alcohol for religious or health reasons. Sub in 1 tablespoon of water. The usual substitution is water and chicken stock powder. If you’re leaving out the wine and adding either MSG or chicken stock powder, just add in the water. If you don’t want to use the wine or MSG, just use water and chicken stock powder. Note 8
MSG – can usually be found at Asian grocers, or online. Sub for chicken stock powder. Note 9
Wok – don’t worry if you don’t have a wok, use any large pan you have. If you’re planning to cook this dish in a pan that isn’t non-stick like stainless steel and you’re worried about the scrambled eggs sticking, cook them separately in a non-stick pan and add them into the fried rice towards the end. I use a carbon steel wok and the oil in the recipe will go towards the cooking of the eggs. I coat most of the pan with oil, cook the eggs as one big piece until slightly underdone and remove from the pan. It will be returned to the pan later to be fully cooked and will be easier to break up the egg into smaller pieces.
