Gimme Some Oven

Fried Rice

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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.

The BEST Fried Rice Recipe from Gimme Some Oven

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 Recipe

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 | Sauté onions, carrots and peas

How To Make Fried Rice | Be sure to start with cold rice

How To Make Stir Fried Rice

How To Make Fried Rice:

To make this homemade fried rice recipe, simply:

  1. 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.
  2. Sauté veggies and garlic: Return your sauté pan to the heat, and sauté the onions, carrots, peas and garlic until soft and cooked through.
  3. 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.
  4. Remove pan from heat. And stir in your green onions, sesame oil, and scrambled eggs.
  5. Taste and season. Give the rice a taste, and season with salt and pepper, plus any extra soy sauce or sesame oil if needed.
  6. Serve! Then dish it up and serve nice and warm!

The BEST Fried Rice Recipe | Feel free to add chicken, beef, pork, shrimp or extra vegetables

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.
  • Quinoa Fried Rice: Here is my favorite recipe.

What To Serve With Fried Rice:

Looking for inspiration? Some of my favorite recipes to serve with fried rice include:

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The BEST Fried Rice Recipe from Gimme Some Oven

Fried Rice

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 1309 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x

Description

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)
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 34 tablespoons soy sauce, or more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons oyster sauce (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.


Notes

*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.

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2,407 comments on “Fried Rice”

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  1. This is amazing. I’ve been making the fried rice all wrong and realize now it’s because we were using warm, freshly cooked rice – correcting this detail will make a huge difference in our final product. Thank you!!!!!

  2. Let me just say – OH. MY. GAWD!! This was SO DELICIOUS and will be my new go-to Fried Rice. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to trying many more of your recipes!,,






  3. I recommend this recipe for beginner, this was my first time making rice, so i used this recipe as a guideline but after you make this once, you should be able to make it to your liking in the future now that you know the basics of what goes in to it. This recipe feels like its missing something in my opinion, but i can add whatever in the future. This recipe did taste alright though.






  4. I’ve tried cooking fried rice multiple times and it’s always disappointing! I thought cooking with butter for rice was a little odd but thought why not- seriously glad I did so! I didn’t follow the recipe properly but more the ‘gist’ of it. You won’t be disappointed, will be using this style from now on!






  5. I made this without peas, because we don’t care for them, I added leftover pork. It was the best rice ever. My husband loved it….which he usually doesn’t like mixed foods. I agree that using butter adds more flavor than oil. My husband says, now I probably won’t see this again.
    Definitely making again. Today, as a matter of fact. Thanks for sharing.






  6. Sooooo goooood!!! Turned out great!!! Added some hot sauce in the end for extra kick. Was perfect quick dinner meal!

  7. This recipe was fabulous! I prepared it for my family today using it with no adjustments and it was on point! The additional guidance provided was extremely helpful. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks again!






  8. Thank you so much recipe was awesome
    It was easy to follow This was only the second time I made fried rice from
    Scratch This recipe came out way better than other one
    I will definitely add this one to my favorites






  9. Very tasty and easy to make.






  10. Absolutely LOVED this recipe! And you’re so right about the butter…tasty, light, filling without being heavy. I had already chopped everything and had it ready in prep bowls so adding according to your directions was a breeze. And the hint on cooled rice was spot on – fluffy, not gummy and divine. Didn’t have the oyster sauce (yet – but ordered through the Mala Market online) but enough soy sauce and definitely just the amount you specified of sesame oil made this perfect. This will be my go to meal any day! THANK YOU!!

  11. Really good flavour from the sauces, onions and garlic! I added chicken, diced frozen veggies and 1 cup of pre chopped kale and cabbage salad.






  12. Maybe it was my rice, but I have had better homemade fried rice. I will keep looking. Thanks for giving it a go.






  13. I make fried rice in a wok because (1) it’s my largest frying pan and (2) it heats rice and vegetables better than any other pan. I also like to chop an onion and saute it before I do the eggs. The onion flavors the eggs very subtly.






  14. This was fantastic! I added all the veg from my fridge including sweet corn cut off the cob (sweet with a crunch!) and some cremini mushrooms and chopped broccoli florets. Added minced ginger to the veg mix. Had an Asian marinated cooked pork chop from last nights dinner…….chopped it up and tossed it in! I used only 2.5C of cold white rice…..finished it with the sesame oil , scallions and egg. The bones of the recipe are what make this so good! Oyster sauce is soooooo good bc is it so high in sodium-I didn’t use that, but I did use low sodium Kikkoman soy sauce. Loved it!






  15. This fried rice is so delicious! I’ve always just used oil to make fried rice, but the butter in this recipe makes it so tasty! Thanks for such a great recipe.






  16. I have two restaurants that I thought made a good fried rice, but this beat them. Made it last night and I did indulge in the oyster sauce and sesame oil ingredients. I’m sure it will be a staple dish at my house.






  17. Great recipe – the butter and sesame oil are the keys to super tasty, decadent fried rice. Used garlic, carrots and asparagus, half a spring onion and one egg. The rice was fancy leftover red rice that reheated beautifully! I would have taken a photo but I had to shove it in my face immediately.
    Thank you for this!






  18. Made this for dinner. It’s now almost 11:30 pm and my husband is still raving about it. It really is outstanding. I used leftover pork tenderloin to make pork fried rice and it was the perfect use for it. Thank you for an amazing recipe that we will enjoy often!






  19. Living in Sicily doesn’t make it easy to find Chinese food- and this was AMAZING! The only thing I need to do next time was fry the rice longer than 3 minutes once I add it to the pan. My rice was soft, but that didn’t change the wonderful taste!!! International ingredients aren’t the easiest to find here so I didn’t even have oyster sauce or toasted sesame oil (I only had soy sauce) and it was still delicious! Thank you!






  20. This has been a go to recipe of mine for a while now. I usually make it when I want a quick meal so I use frozen mixed veggies- peas, carrots, corn, and green beans. Typically use a freshly chopped white onion but even that I sometimes sub for frozen. Regardless, always comes out good. I have modified a bit for our liking- adding chili garlic paste for spice and ginger (fresh or powdered). I don’t always have the green onions but it’s still very good.






  21. The recipe is good! But I think 4 cups of rice is quite a lot, next time I make it, I’m definitely halving it! Then again I did use long brown rice, so that could’ve been the issue






  22. Made this last night and used a bag of frozen veggie medley (peas, carrots, corn). AMAZING. Best fried rice I’ve ever made – and so easy. I don’t normally write a review but this one warranted it! I have a newborn and very limited time to get something cooked/healthy onto a plate… I think cooking with the butter vs my faux pas of using olive oil put this dish over the top. Also had not thought of drizzling the sesame oil on at the end… game changer. Will be trying way more of your recipes!! <3






  23. Very easy and good, so convenient, full of flavours. Excellent ?






  24. The recipe sounds great. But the advertisements I was forced to print with the recipe waste paper.






  25. Thank you so much this looks really delicious!
    Great tips!

  26. Delicious! I used bok choy, broccoli, shallots. You are absolutely right about the butter. Will make again.






  27. Hands-down the best fried rice I’ve ever had!
    Can you freeze it? Would love to make a huge batch and freeze smaller portions.






  28. Just made this with veggies I had on hand including some thin sliced cabbage.. EXCELLENT thank you !!






  29. This recipe is soooooo good! Which is not surprising, I love every receipe of yours I’ve made! I’ve made this one many times though and it’s always great. Sometimes I use cauliflower rice instead of regular and it still tastes amazing! I love to add mushrooms too, which makes it extra delicious (and I don’t like peas ?). Thank you!






  30. Love it. Delicious.






  31. I tried this before and you are right I’m back to make it Again.. Awesome recipe Thank You

  32. I made the beef version tonight…. my husband LOVED it!!!! He ate two helpings and he is very picky!!! I am so happy to find a recipe that gets him to eat veggies. Adding butter is a stroke of pure genius! I hope there are some leftovers so I can eat it for a tasty, hearty breakfast!!!

  33. Second time making this recipe and it is awesome. Served teriyaki chicken sticks with rice and it was a huge hit.






  34. I have two younger picky eaters and two that will eat about anything. It was easy to make and everyone loved it!






  35. Turned out great. Chilling the rice in the freezer was a great trip. My 17-year-old ate a few extra servings, so I didn’t have to worry about leftovers! I skipped the egg and the oyster sauce.






  36. This was so delicious! I added shrimp
    and it turned out fantastic.
    Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!






  37. I’ve made this multiple times and my kids absolutely love it!






  38. This dish was so delish! I tried it because I was craving fried rice and I had all the ingredients so I tried it and I am pleased with the results!
    A winner






  39. I made this recipe, had to “freeze” my rice to be cold enough to fry in time. (YES IT MATTERS! USE COLD RICE!) Instead of oyster sauce I used hoison SAUCE. I also added a few drops of sirracha because we like a little spice I’m our lives. Came out great without me over saucing the rice like I normally do. For some reason I think saucing more makes it better when less is more and this recipe made me control myself. I love it!

    • For almost 50 years I’ve made clumped fried rice, even after I learned that the rice needs to be cold.
      This time, I cooked Jasmine rice in organic chicken broth two days ago. I made a small batch tonight, BEAUTIFUL and delicious. Thank you!






  40. I made fried rice today using this recipe and I LOVE IT OML. The only fried rice I’ve cooked that tasted good??. Since my family and I love to eat spicy, so I added chili and tossed in some black pepper to add some heat and some little twist. Overall, yummy!

  41. I made it with Spam. A true store cupboard meal with veg from the freezer. Great when you cant get to the shops.






  42. Hi Ali!
    I love your site.

    Please tell me the approximate size of a “serving” for this recipe.

    I am trying to calculate ingredient amounts needed to prepare 36 cups of the fried rice.

    Thank you!!

  43. Very easy and modifiable. Second time I made it. Used Trader Joe’s frozen precooked brown rice right out of the freezer. Also added diced ginger root and cut up snow peas. Easy, tasty, and filling. Thanks.

  44. We had a go-to fried rice recipe that we used for years and now we have a new one. The rice was delicious, with the exsct right amount of butteriness without being too oily. I used the oyster sauce and will keep on using it because it adds another layer of flavour.






  45. Vegetarians don’t need to miss out on oyster sauce! There’s a very good vegetarian ‘oyster’ sauce made by Ayam.






  46. Followed directions…Impressed myself ! Did NOT share…ate it all myself…omg…thank you. P.S. Chilling the rice…who knew!!!Best tip EVER…






  47. O.M.G!! This is exactly the taste I get from my local Chinese restaurant and I now know that the flavor comes from the otster sauce:) My husband devoured it in about 5 mins and that was a BIG bowl. Some changes I made only because I wanted to “healthify” it a bit.
    1. I doubled this recipe to feed 8
    -used (12)eggs
    -I used (2) frozen bags of peas/carrots mix
    -I had no onions(covid impact) so I used onion powder
    -I had no green onions so i left that out
    -used (1) bottle of oyster sauce on the stir fry and meat mixture
    -meat mixture I used ground chicken (2) pounds. Only seasoned the meat with salt and pepper and poured the half bottle of oyster sauce over it once cooked.
    -used SimpleTruth brown rice (2) bags—heats up in 90seconds
    -combined the entire mixture and it was ? YUM!
    My secret***I used avocado oil for frying because it has high heating point without overcooking or frying your food too fast and unevenly. The dish came out so soft just a little texture like it is at the Asian restaurants.

    • Did you defrost the frozen carrots & peas, or just put them straight into the pan frozen? Thanks

  48. This recipe is very adaptable! We only had carrots for veggies in our house and it still tasted amazing. Only thing I would say is it felt like it was missing a spice or sauce…just something else to add to the flavour. Still a good recipe!






    • Minced ginger! Add it with the garlic. I used a little more than a teaspoon – use more or less according to your taste






    • Yumm-O! Great just as it is but of course I have to mess with every recipe. Ha ha hah. I added in a bag of frozen riced cauliflower (plain, with carrots and peas) and stir fried it into the veggies after the onion And carrot was soft and beginning to carmelize. Doubled the carrot and added an extra egg. I’m ornery, lol. The original recipe would be delightful with no changes. I used brown rice as I’m a fiber hound and made sure it was completely COLD before adding in. I tend to use recipes as a template. This is a GREAT template, and this recipe is a keeper!!






  49. Amazing. Make sure to steam the carrots






    • Absolutely. That is a great tip.. and that goes for any of the vegetables. Water is the enemy of any good fried rice or stir fried dish and you also don’t want to have to worry about cooking the carrots to keep pace with the rest.

  50. This is the best fried rice I’ve ever tasted! I followed the recipe exactly.