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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.
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!
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 is THE BEST fried rice anywhere! Personally, I think it’s better than take out! So easy to do in your own kitchen there’s really no need for take out. My husband loved it! We had it last week and now again tonight.
This is the first time my make at home fried rice was as good as our local restaurant’s. There are two things that seem to make the difference i.e., the butter and the little bit of sesame oil at the very end. I added left-over white meat chicken. It was terrific.
I have been making homemade fried rice without a recipe for 20 years, and it was always good. I decided to try this recipe and it is over the top delicious!
OMG.. I’ve made fried rice many times, I followed your recipe exactly as written and this is hands down the best fried rice I’ve ever made!! Wow, What a difference! Thank you for the tip about how and why you should have cold rice.. I didn’t realize how important that step was until now. I cooked the rice and while it was cooling in the fridge I took that time to cut up my veggies and got everything out and ready to cook, that was a perfect time to let the rice cool. This was FANTASTIC! And a tip for others.. Watch out for the soy sauce.. I tasted the rice before serving and I would have added more soy sauce thinking it was a little bland but hubby said it was fine and I already added the 4 tablespoons so I left it alone. I brought the soy sauce to the table in case anyone wanted more but when eating dinner it actually was perfect the way it was and no one added more sauce to theirs; I’m glad I didn’t add more before serving. Thank you so much! I’m adding your recipe to my cookbook!!!
This recipe has been life-changing. We love Chinese food but with the Covid virus still running full force we stopped eating out last year…plus we have to drive about 35 mi. round trip for take-out. Anyway, this recipe is perfect in every way. I hate when people “change” the recipe and then try to review it. The ONLY change we make is I use frozen mixed vegetables rather than a mix of fresh and frozen peas and carrots. I leave everything else the same. I’ve lost track how many times I’ve made it and it always turns out great. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Aptly named. This is the best fried rice. I prepare scrambled eggs and rice early in the day and store in refrigerator until I’m ready to prepare. Oyster sauce makes a difference.
Our variations:
– cooked the small grain japanese sushi stylr rice in chicken stock
– added green cabbage with the other veggies
– we didn’t have the oyster sauce but did the 4tbsp of soy sauce (we use Tamarri) and the 1/4tsp of toasted sesame oil
– we added some diced chicken when we added the rice (cooked on traeger a few days ago and was chilling in the fridge)
Best recipe I’ve ever tried for fried rice! The tips on using cold rice and using the butter and oyster sauce made such a difference! It tastes amazing every time, I add some sliced Chinese barbeque pork and chili oil. Yum and Thank you for the awesome recipe !!
I so grateful I found this fried rice recipe when I was googling “fried rice recipes.”. I added shrimp, scallops, water chestnuts and cooked brown rice, I put in the fridge until everything else was ready. I followed the recipe and it came out DELISH?. No more carry out fried rice ? for me?. This recipe is in my recipe box .
I got to tell you this recipe is the bomb – Ali, you’re a rock star! I’ve made this as a base for my Chinese dishes (beef & broccoli, honey chicken, sweet & sour pork), served it solo, or served it with a nice meat topping (e.g. pan seared salmon or prawns or even lobster, BBQ filet mignon, sautéed pork or chicken). Its a totally epic recipe – having the Asian ingredients on hand to flavor the rice and veggies is a total winner!
Perfect fried rice base!! We added in thinly cut steak and chicken for the proteins, and cabbage, jalapenos, and mushrooms for some more veggies. Delish!
Great recipe. I’m vegetarian so I’m always trying to up the protein. I used brown rice, bought a bag of frozen carrots and peas together, added edamame, sometimes tofu and some red pepper flakes for more kick!! Delicious!! ?
Perfect recipe. I have never been able to make a fried rice that tasted like anything good. THIS.. is a winner. The recipe is easy enough so you can take out anything you are allergic too (sesame and egg can cause issues with a lot of people). Also, I used plant butter. There are a lot of people with allergies I cook for.
A+. This is a staple in my home now. Please do not let the certification run out on this site so we can pull it up :)
Followed the recipe closely (except for sesame oil) and came out great. I added Prawns (shrimp). Easy and delicious. This will become one of my go to recipes.
This fried rice recipe is the Bomb! I don’t like the taste of sesame oil so I omit but it was still delish. Broiled some lobster tails and place on top of rice. It was delicious and my family loved it. The rice had a very smooth and comfort food kind of taste to it. Will be making again!
Mmmm was dubious about the stop, start removing of ingredients etc, but fair play this worked a treat and was delicious. Plenty of scope for experimenting with alt ingredients and will be trying this again soon. The author has clearly spent time on this to perfect and the results are empty plates with smiles on faces. Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely the best! We loved it better than take-out. Only thing we didn’t add was the peas (I don’t like them). We chopped red pepper and added instead. We had it with Chinese veggies that we stir-fried, but I could’ve eaten all of the rice by myself! So delicious!!!
Stumbled on This about 5 months ago
Absolutely my go to Fried Rice Recipe
Letting rice chilll first and Butter makes all the difference ! Imperative…
Eggs as per recipe a great touch
Nice thing, you can improvise alot but can’t stress enough..Chill rice, use butter!
It’s a definite 5 ?
Question: if I’m adding chicken, when do I add it?
Noreen Beaufrere —
If I am adding meat, I cook the meat separately first, let it cool enough to slice or dice it, then add it to the rice at the end.
Paul McNamara —
Use cooked chicken and add it just before the eggs at the end.
Sam —
If its already cooked, probably near the end, letting it have some time to warm up. If its not cooked- I recommend cooking it in a separate skillet, than adding it to the rice.
I used rice a roni fried rice package. I added oyster sauce and soy sauce to the simmering rice. I sautéed peas, carrots, onions and broccoli and garlic with soy and oyster sauce. When rice a roni was done cooled for 15 minutes, added 2 teaspoons butter turned to high added vegetables and cooked egg on high heat stirred for 5 minutes took off heat added sesame oil and green onions. Better than local restaurants bland fried rice. Looking forward to following your recipe when not in a hurry with no precooked rice
Was actually not a fan of the butter at all. Would make again but oil instead.
S. Felici —
Has been my go to for fried rice for the last few months. Love that you can improvise and add your own touch. Sometimes i add shrimp, if i have it but it’s definitely delicious and take it from someone who is probably the pickiest eater ever and never ate Chinese food until i decided to make this for my husband and kids. My husband absolutely loves it and my kids always want more! Also made for my mom who loves Chinese food and she fell in love lol Def a hit!!! And would recommend
My family thinks it tastes and looks better than take out. It’s an easy and versatile recipe. First time I made it was exactly as written. 2nd time I didn’t add garlic, I forgot, lol, i used preshredded carrots and cabbage cut a few times. It was great. This will be my go to Fried Rice recipe. Must try…
This is THE BEST fried rice anywhere! Personally, I think it’s better than take out! So easy to do in your own kitchen there’s really no need for take out. My husband loved it! We had it last week and now again tonight.
Thanks for the recipe. It’s really good. Definitely 5 stars.
This is the first time my make at home fried rice was as good as our local restaurant’s. There are two things that seem to make the difference i.e., the butter and the little bit of sesame oil at the very end. I added left-over white meat chicken. It was terrific.
Just tried this recipe. Restaurant like! We all loved it (kids jncluded)! Thanks for the recipe.
I have been making homemade fried rice without a recipe for 20 years, and it was always good. I decided to try this recipe and it is over the top delicious!
I’m in love!!! This was delicious!!
OMG.. I’ve made fried rice many times, I followed your recipe exactly as written and this is hands down the best fried rice I’ve ever made!! Wow, What a difference! Thank you for the tip about how and why you should have cold rice.. I didn’t realize how important that step was until now. I cooked the rice and while it was cooling in the fridge I took that time to cut up my veggies and got everything out and ready to cook, that was a perfect time to let the rice cool. This was FANTASTIC! And a tip for others.. Watch out for the soy sauce.. I tasted the rice before serving and I would have added more soy sauce thinking it was a little bland but hubby said it was fine and I already added the 4 tablespoons so I left it alone. I brought the soy sauce to the table in case anyone wanted more but when eating dinner it actually was perfect the way it was and no one added more sauce to theirs; I’m glad I didn’t add more before serving. Thank you so much! I’m adding your recipe to my cookbook!!!
Where your Wok!? Where your wok!?
It was as good as you said.
Sooo Good, so easy and simple and the outcome! Wow
This recipe has been life-changing. We love Chinese food but with the Covid virus still running full force we stopped eating out last year…plus we have to drive about 35 mi. round trip for take-out. Anyway, this recipe is perfect in every way. I hate when people “change” the recipe and then try to review it. The ONLY change we make is I use frozen mixed vegetables rather than a mix of fresh and frozen peas and carrots. I leave everything else the same. I’ve lost track how many times I’ve made it and it always turns out great. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Aptly named. This is the best fried rice. I prepare scrambled eggs and rice early in the day and store in refrigerator until I’m ready to prepare. Oyster sauce makes a difference.
Best fried rice ever!! Just using the cold rice was like the “secret sauce” for me. Will definitely make again!
Great recipe! We made this and loved it.
Our variations:
– cooked the small grain japanese sushi stylr rice in chicken stock
– added green cabbage with the other veggies
– we didn’t have the oyster sauce but did the 4tbsp of soy sauce (we use Tamarri) and the 1/4tsp of toasted sesame oil
– we added some diced chicken when we added the rice (cooked on traeger a few days ago and was chilling in the fridge)
Yes!! it tastes like fried rice. Most recipes I’ve tried are always missing a component.
This is goooood!
Best recipe I’ve ever tried for fried rice! The tips on using cold rice and using the butter and oyster sauce made such a difference! It tastes amazing every time, I add some sliced Chinese barbeque pork and chili oil. Yum and Thank you for the awesome recipe !!
So delicious ?
I so grateful I found this fried rice recipe when I was googling “fried rice recipes.”. I added shrimp, scallops, water chestnuts and cooked brown rice, I put in the fridge until everything else was ready. I followed the recipe and it came out DELISH?. No more carry out fried rice ? for me?. This recipe is in my recipe box .
Have never made fried rice but looking forward to my first try. Can garlic salt be used instead of cloves?
Don’t forget the best one – Bacon Fried Rice
Quick and easy. Thank you! X
I got to tell you this recipe is the bomb – Ali, you’re a rock star! I’ve made this as a base for my Chinese dishes (beef & broccoli, honey chicken, sweet & sour pork), served it solo, or served it with a nice meat topping (e.g. pan seared salmon or prawns or even lobster, BBQ filet mignon, sautéed pork or chicken). Its a totally epic recipe – having the Asian ingredients on hand to flavor the rice and veggies is a total winner!
Perfect fried rice base!! We added in thinly cut steak and chicken for the proteins, and cabbage, jalapenos, and mushrooms for some more veggies. Delish!
…
This recipe is the best ever fried rice!
Great recipe. I’m vegetarian so I’m always trying to up the protein. I used brown rice, bought a bag of frozen carrots and peas together, added edamame, sometimes tofu and some red pepper flakes for more kick!! Delicious!! ?
Perfect recipe. I have never been able to make a fried rice that tasted like anything good. THIS.. is a winner. The recipe is easy enough so you can take out anything you are allergic too (sesame and egg can cause issues with a lot of people). Also, I used plant butter. There are a lot of people with allergies I cook for.
A+. This is a staple in my home now. Please do not let the certification run out on this site so we can pull it up :)
Followed the recipe closely (except for sesame oil) and came out great. I added Prawns (shrimp). Easy and delicious. This will become one of my go to recipes.
This was delicious! I highly recommend the sesame oil and oyster sauce! Never cooked with them much before, but they really help flavor the rice. :)
I used cold leftover basmati rice.
I diced chicken breast.
So delicious ?
Very much like my rice but I prefer your cooking method. Adding the oil at the end makes all the difference. Great job, well done.
I made this and my boyfriend loved it. Will definitely be making again in the future!
I left soy sauce out and it still came out delicious. My husband loved it and asked me to make it again the next day.
Turned out perfect!
This fried rice recipe is the Bomb! I don’t like the taste of sesame oil so I omit but it was still delish. Broiled some lobster tails and place on top of rice. It was delicious and my family loved it. The rice had a very smooth and comfort food kind of taste to it. Will be making again!
Best fried rice recipe I have made! Cold rice is definitely the key. Have made with chicken as well as a combination of chicken and shrimp!
The butter was key! I have made fried rice a hundred times and always used oil. Never again!
Mmmm was dubious about the stop, start removing of ingredients etc, but fair play this worked a treat and was delicious. Plenty of scope for experimenting with alt ingredients and will be trying this again soon. The author has clearly spent time on this to perfect and the results are empty plates with smiles on faces. Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely the best! We loved it better than take-out. Only thing we didn’t add was the peas (I don’t like them). We chopped red pepper and added instead. We had it with Chinese veggies that we stir-fried, but I could’ve eaten all of the rice by myself! So delicious!!!
Stumbled on This about 5 months ago
Absolutely my go to Fried Rice Recipe
Letting rice chilll first and Butter makes all the difference ! Imperative…
Eggs as per recipe a great touch
Nice thing, you can improvise alot but can’t stress enough..Chill rice, use butter!
It’s a definite 5 ?
Ditto to all the comments below. This is now my go to recipe for egg fried rice in future.
Question: if I’m adding chicken, when do I add it?
If I am adding meat, I cook the meat separately first, let it cool enough to slice or dice it, then add it to the rice at the end.
Use cooked chicken and add it just before the eggs at the end.
If its already cooked, probably near the end, letting it have some time to warm up. If its not cooked- I recommend cooking it in a separate skillet, than adding it to the rice.
Amazing. No changes were needed!
So easy and yummy. The cooking tips made all the difference. Thanks.
I did everything step by step and it still didn’t come out right
Did you chill the rice first?
A very easy and simple recipe. It tastes great
I used rice a roni fried rice package. I added oyster sauce and soy sauce to the simmering rice. I sautéed peas, carrots, onions and broccoli and garlic with soy and oyster sauce. When rice a roni was done cooled for 15 minutes, added 2 teaspoons butter turned to high added vegetables and cooked egg on high heat stirred for 5 minutes took off heat added sesame oil and green onions. Better than local restaurants bland fried rice. Looking forward to following your recipe when not in a hurry with no precooked rice
Hi Ali,
Made this tonight and it was very good! I made it with shrimp and we loved it. Thank you for a wonderful meal.
Steve
Was actually not a fan of the butter at all. Would make again but oil instead.
Has been my go to for fried rice for the last few months. Love that you can improvise and add your own touch. Sometimes i add shrimp, if i have it but it’s definitely delicious and take it from someone who is probably the pickiest eater ever and never ate Chinese food until i decided to make this for my husband and kids. My husband absolutely loves it and my kids always want more! Also made for my mom who loves Chinese food and she fell in love lol Def a hit!!! And would recommend
My family thinks it tastes and looks better than take out. It’s an easy and versatile recipe. First time I made it was exactly as written. 2nd time I didn’t add garlic, I forgot, lol, i used preshredded carrots and cabbage cut a few times. It was great. This will be my go to Fried Rice recipe. Must try…