This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Chinese-inspired fried rice recipe is my absolute fave. It’s quick and easy to make, customizable with any of your favorite mix-ins, and so irresistibly delicious.
Hey friends! I’m digging back into the blog archives today to share one of my all-time favorite recipes.
My favorite homemade fried rice. ♡
Growing up, our family had a tradition of eating lunch every Saturday at our neighborhood’s favorite local Chinese restaurant. And every single Saturday for lunch, I ordered the same thing — egg drop soup and fried rice, my absolute favorites. This restaurant set the bar high for me early when it comes to how amazing fried rice could be. Theirs was always perfectly al dente with slightly crispy edges, full of rich savory flavors, and loaded up with plenty of extra veggies, eggs, and whatever protein sounded good.
After our favorite restaurant sadly closed over a decade ago, I spent years tinkering around with dozens and dozens of batches of fried rice, attempting to recreate a fried recipe that tasted as good as theirs. And while nothing will ever match the original in my book, this fried rice recipe that I’ve landed on is as close as I’ve come and has been my favorite go-to ever since. It’s surprisingly speedy to make, easy to customize with your favorite add-ins, and SO flavorful and comforting. Thousands of our readers have also made and enjoyed it over the years since. So if you’re looking for a good recipe to try, I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
Let’s make some homemade fried rice!
Fried Rice Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Tips For Making The Best Fried Rice
Ok, let’s get right to it. Here are the important things I have learned over the years about how to make the best fried rice.
1) Use cold rice: You’ve gotta plan ahead and use thoroughly-chilled cooked rice. A fresh batch of warm (or even lukewarm) rice will not fry well when it hits the hot pan, and will result in soggy and sticky clumps — no good. So leftover refrigerated rice is ideal! Or, if you are in a hurry (or have an impulse craving for fried rice, which I completely understand ?), just cook up a fresh batch of rice. Then spread it out on a baking sheet or another large flat pan, drape the rice with a layer of plastic wrap, then pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes (or in the freezer for 10-15 minutes) until it is thoroughly chilled (not frozen).
2) Use butter: Yes, butter. I have made many a batch of fried rice using various oils, and I’m now convinced there’s a reason why Japanese steak houses use that big slab of butter when they’re making fried rice. It just tastes so much better, and also makes everything brown up perfectly. (Although by contrast to Japanese steak houses, we only use 3 tablespoons for a large batch of rice in this recipe.)
3) Use veggies: This is one of my big pet peeves with lame take-out fried rice — not enough veggies! In addition to adding some nice spots of color, veggies go a long way in adding some flavor and freshness to fried rice. Our local Chinese restaurant always added both white and green onions, too, which I included in this recipe. But feel free to modernize this recipe with some other delicious stir-fried veggies as well!
4) Use toasted sesame oil and oyster sauce: If you do not eat seafood, you can leave out the oyster sauce and your fried rice will still be great. But this ingredient makes such a difference in good fried rice, and a little goes a long way. So even if you’re not into oysters, don’t be scared of oyster sauce! Toasted sesame oil, on the other hand, is 100% non-negotiable. It is my favorite smelling ingredient in my kitchen, and tastes wonderful in fried rice. (Also note that sesame oil is meant as a finishing oil, not a cooking oil, so remove the pan from the heat and then stir it in.)
5) Use high heat: This will help fry and brown the rice and veggies well, and will also help prevent the rice from steaming in the pan instead of frying.
6) Let the rice brown a bit on the bottom: If you’re like me and love your rice to be a bit crispy, let it rest for a bit in between stirs so that it can brown a bit on the bottom. It also helps greatly to use a non-stick skillet so that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
7) Don’t be afraid to add in some extra soy sauce at the end: I know that everyone has different sensitivities to salt, and different brands of soy sauce also contain pretty dramatically different levels of sodium. So I went a little light on soy sauce in the recipe below. But please add more at the end if this tastes good to you. I almost always stir an extra drizzle into my portion and love it.
Homemade Fried Rice Ingredients
Alright, so let’s talk ingredients. To make this fried rice recipe, you will need (affiliate links included):
Cooked, chilled rice: Any kind of white or brown rice will do. Just be sure that it is cooked (I always cook mine in this rice cooker, which works like a charm) and thoroughly chilled (in a sealed container in the refrigerator) before adding it to your hot skillet. Again, freshly-cooked rice will not work well in this recipe.
Eggs: Which add great flavor, texture and protein.
Carrots, onions, green onions and peas: This is the base mix of veggies that I always use for fried rice, but feel free to add in other stir-fry veggies you love (see ideas below).
Garlic: Freshly-minced.
Soy sauce: I created this recipe using low-sodium soy sauce. So add less if you’re using traditional soy sauce.
Oyster sauce: This is a major flavor booster in fried rice and (don’t worry) doesn’t taste like oysters. You can find it in the Asian section of grocery stores, or order it on Amazon.
Toasted sesame oil: The finishing touch in this recipe, which is a must. You can also find it in the Asian section of grocery stores, or order it on Amazon.
Butter: My favorite way to stir fry rice.
How To Make Fried Rice
To make this homemade fried rice recipe, simply:
Scramble eggs: Using a small pat of butter, scramble some eggs in a large sauté pan, breaking them into small pieces as you go. Then transfer the eggs to a separate plate, and set aside.
Sauté veggies and garlic: Return your sauté pan to the heat, and sauté the onions, carrots, peas and garlic until soft and cooked through.
Stir fry rice: Then turn the burner to high heat. Scooch the veggies over to one side of the pan, melt the remaining butter in the other half, and add the chilled rice, soy sauce, and oyster sauce (if using). Then stir to combine with the veggies and continue sautéing the rice, stirring every 15-20 seconds or so for 3 minutes, or until you notice the rice and veggies starting to brown slightly.
Remove pan from heat. And stir in your green onions, sesame oil, and scrambled eggs.
Taste and season. Give the rice a taste, and season with salt and pepper, plus any extra soy sauce or sesame oil if needed.
Serve! Then dish it up and serve nice and warm!
Easy Fried Rice Variations
The sky’s the limit when it comes to homemade fried rice variations, so feel free to get creative and use up other leftover ingredients you may happen to have on hand. That said, here are some classic add-ins:
Chicken Fried Rice: You can either sauté some chicken in a separate sauté pan while making your fried rice. Then shred or dice and add to your fried rice. Or for a shortcut, I like to shred a rotisserie chicken. Or even better, shred leftovers from my favorite baked chicken breasts recipe.
Pork Fried Rice: Sauté a boneless pork chop in a separate sauté pan while making your fried rice. Then dice and add to your rice.
Beef Fried Rice: Sauté steak or brown ground beef in a separate sauté pan while making your fried rice. Then crumble or dice and add to your rice.
Shrimp Fried Rice: Sauté half a pound of peeled, raw shrimp in separate sauté pan while making your fried rice. Then add the shrimp to your rice.
Vegetable Fried Rice: Any stir-fry friendly veggies would be great in fried rice! Just sauté at the same time that you cook the onions, carrots, peas and garlic. Then stir to combine with the fried rice.
Kimchi Fried Rice: Fresh kimchi adds a major flavor boost to fried rice. Just chop and stir it in to make kimchi fried rice.
Pineapple Fried Rice: Fresh pineapple can be traditional in Chinese or Thai fried rice. Just chop and stir it in to combine.
Also, in lieu of using traditional white rice in this recipe, feel free to make:
Fried Brown Rice: For a healthier twist, feel free to use cooked brown rice in this recipe instead of white rice.
Learn how to make fried rice with this classic recipe. It only takes 15 minutes to make, it’s easy to customize with your favorite add-ins, and it’s SO flavorful and delicious!
Ingredients
Scale
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 large eggs, whisked
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 small white onion, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and black pepper
4 cups cooked and chilled rice (I prefer short-grain white rice)
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large sauté pan* over medium-high heat until melted. Add egg, and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. Remove egg, and transfer to a separate plate.
Add an additional 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, peas and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion and carrots are soft. Increase heat to high, add in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the rice, green onions, soy sauce and oyster sauce (if using), and stir until combined. Continue sautéing for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice, stirring occasionally. (I like to let the rice rest for a bit between stirs so that it can crisp up on the bottom.) Then add in the eggs and stir to combine. Remove from heat, and stir in the sesame oil until combined. Taste and season with extra soy sauce, if needed.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
*Sauté pan: If you happen to own a nonstick or cast-iron pan, I would recommend it for this recipe. But that said, any pan that you have can work — you may just have to be a bit more vigilant with stirring so that the rice and eggs don’t stick.
This was by far the best at home fried rice I’ve ever made/had. I was fishy (ha) about the oyster sauce but I feel like now that is one of the key ingredients to making it taste better. Thank you! I added chopped cooked chicken in as well (meat and veggies were frozen). It was slightly mushy due to the melting but we have zero issues with that and it still tasted amazing!
Saving me from not being able to eat anything… I’m experiencing the polar opposite of “normal” menopause & am nauseous after 2 bites of most foods. Amazing how such a small amount of toasted sesame oil can go such a long way with flavor. Easy to make and love it
Absolutely 💯 love this recipe! Rice was wayyyy better than most asian restaurants. I literally cleaned out my fridge and added……day old basmati rice, a cup of steamed chopped broccoli (because I have to have more veggies), half of a leftover grilled pork chop (diced up) and lower sodium soy sauce instead of reg . soy sauce. I unfortunately ran out of oyster sauce and added crushed red pepper. Magnificent!!!!!
I’ve made this recipe a dozen times. Started making it with shrimps but shifted to using crab, preferably fresh snow crab bur canned lump crab works equally well. This is one of my signature recipes.
Made this for my VERY picky son (without the veggies) and he declared it “almost as good as” his favorite fried rice from a local restaurant. I sauteed the chicken in a separate pan as suggested, but I think next time I’ll use the same pan and keep that flavor for the rice. Thank you for a great recipe! I’m sure it will be requested weekly after this success tonight!
Great Recipe! I add a little more veggies but really great! Am I missing the nutritional value? I can’t find it anywhere on the site. I’m only finding it can make 4-6 servings b
I use fried rice recipes to use up random leftovers I have on hand. I made this “as directed” but I added diced bell peppers, leftover pork loin and a squeeze of lime. The lime really brightened it up. I don’t care for cooked green onions so I left them as a topping at the end. Topped with a fried egg and some diced Serrano and we had dinner in a bowl. Excellent recipe!
Thank you for the recipe! It was even more delicious the next day.
These vegan substitutes worked out great
Oyster sauce sub seaweed wraps blitzed in food processor with the onion.
Eggs sub pineapple chunks
Also I ground sesame seeds and added them with the garlic since I didnt have sesame oil. I could really taste the sesame. Thanks again this will be my go to for fried rice.
Super easy and delicious. We love fried rice and this recipe is one of the best I’ve tried. I use frozen mixed vegetables and not just peas and carrots. I’ve also added shrimp to make it as standalone meal.
Absolutely loved the fried rice. The sauce was perfection! I judge Chinese restaurants on whether or not I have to add soy sauce to their fried rice. This recipe is packed with flavor. It will definitely be my go to, from now on.
I made this for my daughter, who is All Things Japanese. She actually poked her head out of her bedroom and ate with us; she is a hospital tech and our arrangement is that on some days she comes home and just chills & eats in her room.
She also asked me to print the recipe for her. The only changes I made was to add 1 cut-up chicken breast and I swapped the veges for frozen Asian vege mix.
Can’t wait to make it again. I really think the oyster sauce was the hidden ingredient.
Best fried rice I’ve ever made! I added some ginger and chili flakes but otherwise kept the same same ingredients. Stirred in the egg and sesame oil before taking off the heat. (there’s probably some health reason for cooking earlier but I like it better cracking the egg at the end)
Will try adding shrimp or chicken next.
Fabulous recipe! Delicious fried rice! Thank you!
My husband and son loved it–said it was better than their favorite restaurant’s.
This was by far the best at home fried rice I’ve ever made/had. I was fishy (ha) about the oyster sauce but I feel like now that is one of the key ingredients to making it taste better. Thank you! I added chopped cooked chicken in as well (meat and veggies were frozen). It was slightly mushy due to the melting but we have zero issues with that and it still tasted amazing!
Thank you for your recipe. I followed exactly what you did and it turned out great. Thank you so much.
Julie Nguyen
Saving me from not being able to eat anything… I’m experiencing the polar opposite of “normal” menopause & am nauseous after 2 bites of most foods. Amazing how such a small amount of toasted sesame oil can go such a long way with flavor. Easy to make and love it
Absolutely 💯 love this recipe! Rice was wayyyy better than most asian restaurants. I literally cleaned out my fridge and added……day old basmati rice, a cup of steamed chopped broccoli (because I have to have more veggies), half of a leftover grilled pork chop (diced up) and lower sodium soy sauce instead of reg . soy sauce. I unfortunately ran out of oyster sauce and added crushed red pepper. Magnificent!!!!!
Most oyster sauce is not oysters, it’s oyster mushrooms. .
Just a heads up.
A good recipe! I added a few tablespoons of fresh ground ginger to give it a bite and it was perfect.
I’ve made this recipe a dozen times. Started making it with shrimps but shifted to using crab, preferably fresh snow crab bur canned lump crab works equally well. This is one of my signature recipes.
Can I substitute Hosin Sauce for oyster sauce?
Love this 😋
Learned a trick from an Asian guy – stir the egg into the rice before adding it to the pan
Made this for my VERY picky son (without the veggies) and he declared it “almost as good as” his favorite fried rice from a local restaurant. I sauteed the chicken in a separate pan as suggested, but I think next time I’ll use the same pan and keep that flavor for the rice. Thank you for a great recipe! I’m sure it will be requested weekly after this success tonight!
Delicious!!! Will make over and over again!!!
Came out delicious. I added ground chicken for extra protein and used frozen mixed veggies.
Great Recipe! I add a little more veggies but really great! Am I missing the nutritional value? I can’t find it anywhere on the site. I’m only finding it can make 4-6 servings b
I use fried rice recipes to use up random leftovers I have on hand. I made this “as directed” but I added diced bell peppers, leftover pork loin and a squeeze of lime. The lime really brightened it up. I don’t care for cooked green onions so I left them as a topping at the end. Topped with a fried egg and some diced Serrano and we had dinner in a bowl. Excellent recipe!
The butter makes it! Used sesame oil and soya sauce. Added eggs and veggies I had in the fridge. Delicious!
Thank you for the recipe! It was even more delicious the next day.
These vegan substitutes worked out great
Oyster sauce sub seaweed wraps blitzed in food processor with the onion.
Eggs sub pineapple chunks
Also I ground sesame seeds and added them with the garlic since I didnt have sesame oil. I could really taste the sesame. Thanks again this will be my go to for fried rice.
Delicious recipe. The ouster sauce makes all the difference too!
Super easy and delicious. We love fried rice and this recipe is one of the best I’ve tried. I use frozen mixed vegetables and not just peas and carrots. I’ve also added shrimp to make it as standalone meal.
Absolutely loved the fried rice. The sauce was perfection! I judge Chinese restaurants on whether or not I have to add soy sauce to their fried rice. This recipe is packed with flavor. It will definitely be my go to, from now on.
so very delicious — and easy.
I gather all sorts of veggies (actually clean out some leftovers too) — and add it all in there..
it’s fresh and wonderful… thanks!!
Am I able to use sesame oil or does it need to be toasted sesame oil?
what is the calorie content of the rice?
I made this for my daughter, who is All Things Japanese. She actually poked her head out of her bedroom and ate with us; she is a hospital tech and our arrangement is that on some days she comes home and just chills & eats in her room.
She also asked me to print the recipe for her. The only changes I made was to add 1 cut-up chicken breast and I swapped the veges for frozen Asian vege mix.
Can’t wait to make it again. I really think the oyster sauce was the hidden ingredient.
So good. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe.
Absolutely delicious! I added an extra egg, some stir fry chicken and used vegan butter (earth balance) to avoid the dairy, and it was sensational!
Excellent made as directed second time…very tasty easy simple
So good! I added cabbage as well and didn’t add the oyster sauce and it was great!!
Best fried rice I’ve ever made! I added some ginger and chili flakes but otherwise kept the same same ingredients. Stirred in the egg and sesame oil before taking off the heat. (there’s probably some health reason for cooking earlier but I like it better cracking the egg at the end)
Will try adding shrimp or chicken next.
Very tasty, thank you!