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!
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.
I know I should thank you because I’ve now made this twice and my entire family loved it. But, my entire family loves it and keeps asking for it. LOL. This is delicious! Thank you!
YES….just adjust the rest of the ingredients to half as well…or to your taste!! I live alone…..and halfing it works great!! I personally like the extra veggies mentioned…wow…….. excellent!
Great recipe as a basis for your family’s customized fried rice. We don’t like garlic so that was eliminated. (We never heard of adding garlic to fried rice.) Also, the oyster sauce and green onions were eliminated. The butter added a great taste and the low-sodium soy sauce didn’t need any additional salt nor black pepper. We added 1/8 – 1/4 tsp. of ground ginger. We used brown rice, peas, carrots, white onion, and scrambled eggs. We topped it off with toasted sesame oil. We added the following ingredients: water chestnuts, mushrooms, snow peas, bean sprouts, red bell pepper, leftover pork tenderloin, and Spam! It was absolutely delicious and the best fried rice we ever had. I made another batch the next night. My husband said I can make this anytime!
This was awesome! The only thing we subbed was fish sauce for oyster sauce (we were out) and is was still good! Next time we will add more garlic ( we love garlic here).
It was great! I didn’t have toasted sesame sauce or oyster sauce so it was a bit different but it still tasted great! Only recommendation is I cooked my pork in the same pan as I cooked my rice, adding more flavor
This fried rice is better than my local take-out! Love it! I used shredded carrots(easier prep)and doubled up on veggies. Wasn’t sure abt oyster sauce, but def use it. Also use the sesame oil. Can’t wait to make again!
If you can keep this in the fridge for 3 days then you have more will power than I have – hot for tea one day, cold for lunch the next (I always make full quantities for 2 of us). Amazing recipe! We usually liven it up a little with extra Oyster sauce and either pre-cooked chicken or frozen prawns!
I have this stored in my phone’s recipe box…it’s my absolute favorite fried rice. I make Korean BBQ meatballs with jasmine rice and edamame the night before I make this so that I have a big batch of rice ready. I do add fresh ginger, and the sesame oil is vital. Double up on veggies and sometimes add a leftover meatball in there. Thank you!
Can someone clarify if you’re measuring 4 cups of UNCOOKED rice to make and then use that for the recipe? Or is it 4 cups of COOKED rice? It sounds stupid but the measurements are different lol.
If you go to a REAL Chinese restaurant and not an American Chinese restaurant that you see everywhere…. You actually get a lot of veggies in the fried rice and it will taste 1000 times better than american chineses places
This sounds great. My old roommate used to make a killer fried rice that sounds similar to yours, but used chinese sausage as the protein, minus the peas, adding fresh chilis and corn. Gonna try using your recipe. Give the corn a try, it works surprisingly well.
Butter for fried rice?
As a Chef, you’re outside your mind telling people to use butter. Oil will brown your rice if you know what your doing. ( It’s apparent you don’t) not to mention using infused oils to really take it up a notch.
On a side note, I’d recommend blanching your carrots unless you are A) willing to stand there for atleast 15min to get them chuncks soft or B) Your cheating and using shredded carrot.
Your recipe is okay. Mediocre at best.
Made this exactly as written, oyster sauce and all, but added diced fresh red pepper during the carrot-peas-onions step and topped fresh chopped cilantro. Right before serving. Very tasty. It made a lovely companion to my Chilean sea bass.
Great recipe. I decided browning the rice separately from the veggies would be easier..stove skillet, no wok. Fried all the moisture out of the rice. Follow the instructions……lol
I haven’t been a fan of fried rice because usually it doesn’t taste great to me. But this rice was delicious! I followed all your suggesti delicious and the best part of the meal. Thanks!
This was so much better than I’d have thought. I used what I had around as far as veggies. I had 1/2 a shallot and 3 green onions that needed to use up and frozen peas. I had everything else already. My free range hens donated the eggs.
At first bit I thought it needed more soy sauce. But as I chewed the most wonderful flavorful flavor/aroma of toasted nuts. I realized that more soy sauce would have covered up the delicious subtle flavor.
I tried to make Chinese fried rice do many times and it was never great….but this time was sooooo delicious! Thank you so much fir sharing your recipe!!
Amazing recipe! I didn’t have any carrots or peas so I substituted some frozen mixed veg instead. It was super easy to make and tasted just like take-out.
My wife made this on our Blackstone Griddle and it was really freaking good. We’re not going to be able to get Chinese take out anymore, it would suck in comparison.
I made breakfast fried rice this morning. Didn’t add veggies (except green onions) but added bacon and it was delicious that way as well. A local restaurant makes it with bacon, ham & fried spam and it’s amazing so one of these days I’ll do that!
This is the best fried rice ever!!! I have tried other recipes and they were ok but this one with butter it is definitely the best! I can’t wait to make it again ….
I made this recipe for the second time. We really like it, especially since it’s better than what we can buy locally. I had resorted to using frozen Chinese noodles from Costco but this is much better. I throw some frozen egg rolls in the oven and then start making this. It’s especially easy if you make the rice ahead of time so it can cool as suggested and then have everything else measured out so you can get everything mixed in timely. Today due to lack of preplanning I used minute rice directly from the stove but it still tasted great. I made the full recipe and had leftovers since it was for only two people. Hopefully it will reheat well.
Thanks so much for the recipe it’s just what I was I needed!!
Came out PERFECT!! Thank you SO much for this recipe! When I first did fried rice is was so gummy, but the “using cold rice” tip REALLY helped! THANK YOU!!!!!
I followed the recipe to the T and was concerned about the 4 cups of rice but just kept going. Once I was ready to add the rice I realized 4 cups was way WAY too much rice for the amount of vegetables and sauce. I ended up only using 3 cups of rice but I still had to double up on the rest of the ingredients for it to taste flavorful. Next time I will only use 2 cups of rice and see how it comes out. I think everything is right except the amount of rice.
Anni —
Hahaha I did the same and realised it was 4 COOKED cups of rice. Not cook 4 cups of rice. Misread with a toddler at my feet and just went with it also. Obviously didn’t use ALL the rice in the end. lol too funny
I changed it quite a bit but it reminded me to use all the listed ingredients! haha — I used JUST egg (the vegan stuff) and served it with some fried tofu. it was great! Thanks so much.
This was super easy to follow as tasty too! We added precooked shrimp, water chestnuts and celery with the the egg, carrots, and onion. The added ingredients Mixed well with the rice with no problem.
It was a great dish for my hubby and I to cook together. We look forward to making this again, this time for the whole family.
This is my go-to fried rice recipe ever since I discovered it in 2015. Unfortunately, I can no longer eat dairy so going to try with margarine. Thank you for sharing. Making some this weekend for a friend who will be recovering from surgery.
Lisaloo2 —
I know this is an older review, but from one Lisa to another, I highly recommend using pure coconut oil or making your own vegan butter (https://lovingitvegan.com/homemade-vegan-butter/) in place of butter. I am a butter lover, but while eliminating dairy from my diet for an elimination test, I found coconut oil to add far more flavor than margarine to recipes and to make everything taste so good, still.
Amanda —
I use olive oil instead of butter, and works great! :)
Anna —
Any kind of cooking oil would make a great (and probably better in terms of frying) substitute for butter rather than margarine, just for future reference. I personally used canola oil because I like to cook my veg at a higher heat.
I know I should thank you because I’ve now made this twice and my entire family loved it. But, my entire family loves it and keeps asking for it. LOL. This is delicious! Thank you!
Hits the spot and easy to customize with what you have on hand!
Can I make 2cups of rice
YES….just adjust the rest of the ingredients to half as well…or to your taste!! I live alone…..and halfing it works great!! I personally like the extra veggies mentioned…wow…….. excellent!
Excellent recipe!
Fast, easy and flavorful! Loved this recipe!
Great recipe as a basis for your family’s customized fried rice. We don’t like garlic so that was eliminated. (We never heard of adding garlic to fried rice.) Also, the oyster sauce and green onions were eliminated. The butter added a great taste and the low-sodium soy sauce didn’t need any additional salt nor black pepper. We added 1/8 – 1/4 tsp. of ground ginger. We used brown rice, peas, carrots, white onion, and scrambled eggs. We topped it off with toasted sesame oil. We added the following ingredients: water chestnuts, mushrooms, snow peas, bean sprouts, red bell pepper, leftover pork tenderloin, and Spam! It was absolutely delicious and the best fried rice we ever had. I made another batch the next night. My husband said I can make this anytime!
This was awesome! The only thing we subbed was fish sauce for oyster sauce (we were out) and is was still good! Next time we will add more garlic ( we love garlic here).
It was great! I didn’t have toasted sesame sauce or oyster sauce so it was a bit different but it still tasted great! Only recommendation is I cooked my pork in the same pan as I cooked my rice, adding more flavor
I’m 10 and I made this, it’s very easy and so delicious-me and my entire family loved it. I recommend.
This fried rice is better than my local take-out! Love it! I used shredded carrots(easier prep)and doubled up on veggies. Wasn’t sure abt oyster sauce, but def use it. Also use the sesame oil. Can’t wait to make again!
Yum
If you can keep this in the fridge for 3 days then you have more will power than I have – hot for tea one day, cold for lunch the next (I always make full quantities for 2 of us). Amazing recipe! We usually liven it up a little with extra Oyster sauce and either pre-cooked chicken or frozen prawns!
I have this stored in my phone’s recipe box…it’s my absolute favorite fried rice. I make Korean BBQ meatballs with jasmine rice and edamame the night before I make this so that I have a big batch of rice ready. I do add fresh ginger, and the sesame oil is vital. Double up on veggies and sometimes add a leftover meatball in there. Thank you!
Wow! And here I was, thinking fried rice was something so hard to do, boy was I wrong! Thank you for making this dish feel comfortable.
I tried this recipe and it was absolutely delicious, I wouldn’t change a thing. I made mine with sweet and sour chicken, a perfect combination.
Can someone clarify if you’re measuring 4 cups of UNCOOKED rice to make and then use that for the recipe? Or is it 4 cups of COOKED rice? It sounds stupid but the measurements are different lol.
You need 4 cups of *cooked* rice. :) Enjoy!
If you go to a REAL Chinese restaurant and not an American Chinese restaurant that you see everywhere…. You actually get a lot of veggies in the fried rice and it will taste 1000 times better than american chineses places
Just made this tonight!!! It’s a keeper and a hit! I’ll be making this again, SOON!
It was just ok. I added chicken steak and shrimp. Would’ve rather had the real thing lol
We loved it!
This sounds great. My old roommate used to make a killer fried rice that sounds similar to yours, but used chinese sausage as the protein, minus the peas, adding fresh chilis and corn. Gonna try using your recipe. Give the corn a try, it works surprisingly well.
Butter for fried rice?
As a Chef, you’re outside your mind telling people to use butter. Oil will brown your rice if you know what your doing. ( It’s apparent you don’t) not to mention using infused oils to really take it up a notch.
On a side note, I’d recommend blanching your carrots unless you are A) willing to stand there for atleast 15min to get them chuncks soft or B) Your cheating and using shredded carrot.
Your recipe is okay. Mediocre at best.
Made this exactly as written, oyster sauce and all, but added diced fresh red pepper during the carrot-peas-onions step and topped fresh chopped cilantro. Right before serving. Very tasty. It made a lovely companion to my Chilean sea bass.
Delicious, easy to make and very tasty.
Great recipe. I decided browning the rice separately from the veggies would be easier..stove skillet, no wok. Fried all the moisture out of the rice. Follow the instructions……lol
I didn’t like it at all, sorry.
Quick, easy and delicious! Thank you!
This is so delicious. I did not put the oyster sauce in but will the next time. Will make again
I haven’t been a fan of fried rice because usually it doesn’t taste great to me. But this rice was delicious! I followed all your suggesti delicious and the best part of the meal. Thanks!
This was so much better than I’d have thought. I used what I had around as far as veggies. I had 1/2 a shallot and 3 green onions that needed to use up and frozen peas. I had everything else already. My free range hens donated the eggs.
At first bit I thought it needed more soy sauce. But as I chewed the most wonderful flavorful flavor/aroma of toasted nuts. I realized that more soy sauce would have covered up the delicious subtle flavor.
Fantastic ? ? ?
I tried to make Chinese fried rice do many times and it was never great….but this time was sooooo delicious! Thank you so much fir sharing your recipe!!
Amazing recipe!
Amazing recipe! I didn’t have any carrots or peas so I substituted some frozen mixed veg instead. It was super easy to make and tasted just like take-out.
Straight fire. Added shrimp. Didn’t have oyster sauce so used some hoisin sauce. Worked great ????
My wife made this on our Blackstone Griddle and it was really freaking good. We’re not going to be able to get Chinese take out anymore, it would suck in comparison.
I made breakfast fried rice this morning. Didn’t add veggies (except green onions) but added bacon and it was delicious that way as well. A local restaurant makes it with bacon, ham & fried spam and it’s amazing so one of these days I’ll do that!
This is the best fried rice ever!!! I have tried other recipes and they were ok but this one with butter it is definitely the best! I can’t wait to make it again ….
I made this recipe for the second time. We really like it, especially since it’s better than what we can buy locally. I had resorted to using frozen Chinese noodles from Costco but this is much better. I throw some frozen egg rolls in the oven and then start making this. It’s especially easy if you make the rice ahead of time so it can cool as suggested and then have everything else measured out so you can get everything mixed in timely. Today due to lack of preplanning I used minute rice directly from the stove but it still tasted great. I made the full recipe and had leftovers since it was for only two people. Hopefully it will reheat well.
Thanks so much for the recipe it’s just what I was I needed!!
Ali – so so good! We loved it! My daughter said it was top tier!! ?
Have you tried using amino acid instead of soy sauce? Mind. Blown.
Came out PERFECT!! Thank you SO much for this recipe! When I first did fried rice is was so gummy, but the “using cold rice” tip REALLY helped! THANK YOU!!!!!
This recipe is easy, and super tasty. Super happy that I tried it out! Thanks!
I followed the recipe to the T and was concerned about the 4 cups of rice but just kept going. Once I was ready to add the rice I realized 4 cups was way WAY too much rice for the amount of vegetables and sauce. I ended up only using 3 cups of rice but I still had to double up on the rest of the ingredients for it to taste flavorful. Next time I will only use 2 cups of rice and see how it comes out. I think everything is right except the amount of rice.
Hahaha I did the same and realised it was 4 COOKED cups of rice. Not cook 4 cups of rice. Misread with a toddler at my feet and just went with it also. Obviously didn’t use ALL the rice in the end. lol too funny
I changed it quite a bit but it reminded me to use all the listed ingredients! haha — I used JUST egg (the vegan stuff) and served it with some fried tofu. it was great! Thanks so much.
This was super easy to follow as tasty too! We added precooked shrimp, water chestnuts and celery with the the egg, carrots, and onion. The added ingredients Mixed well with the rice with no problem.
It was a great dish for my hubby and I to cook together. We look forward to making this again, this time for the whole family.
Best fried rice recipe we’ve tried!
Can I use regular sesame oil instead of toasted?
yes
Tasty!
yummy!! So glad you posted this and I found it. Everyone loved it! I put grilled chicken in it, looking forward to trying it with shrimp next!
This is my go-to fried rice recipe ever since I discovered it in 2015. Unfortunately, I can no longer eat dairy so going to try with margarine. Thank you for sharing. Making some this weekend for a friend who will be recovering from surgery.
I know this is an older review, but from one Lisa to another, I highly recommend using pure coconut oil or making your own vegan butter (https://lovingitvegan.com/homemade-vegan-butter/) in place of butter. I am a butter lover, but while eliminating dairy from my diet for an elimination test, I found coconut oil to add far more flavor than margarine to recipes and to make everything taste so good, still.
I use olive oil instead of butter, and works great! :)
Any kind of cooking oil would make a great (and probably better in terms of frying) substitute for butter rather than margarine, just for future reference. I personally used canola oil because I like to cook my veg at a higher heat.