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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.
I followed everything in your recipe, except I added frozen broccoli, that’s the only change I made. This fried rice is a huge hit for my family & I. Now this is the only recipe I use ❤
My son made this out of leftovers. We used rice pilaf, cut up chicken burgers, and veggies we could find. Only thing I got him to do diffrent was whisk in a bit of soya sauce into the egg befor frying it.
I used leftover rice and heated it up in a cast iron pan with butter and sesame oil until golden brown. They say to cook rice a day ahead. – keeps it from being mushy. Then pushed aside in pan like in the Japanese restaurants. Then heated veggies and onion. I used shrimp so I cooked them first in sesame oil and garlic. I would add soy sauce and hoisin for more flavor. Cooked the egg last and then added to the dish.
This recipe, exactly as written, has put me in a funny position. Used to be if we wanted Chinese food, we got carry out from our favorite place. That is no longer the case. This has spoiled us and we find this fried rice to be better than any restaurant. Now what? Grrrrrrr! This truly is the best fried rice, exactly as billed. Thanks.
MARY ANN —
Delicious and quick…key is to have all the ingredients ready to go before the cooking begins. Thanks for all the substitution suggestions.
Excellent recipe. In the spirit of true fried rice, I used this recipe to get rid of a few raw vegetables from my fridge (baby carrots and snap peas). Considering that fried rice is my least favourite Asian food, I was not expecting much. I was totally wrong. This is amazing, easy and helps to clean out my fridge! My only change for next time (besides adding more vegetables), will be to separate the vegetables, so those that need longer to cook are added first. This is a great flexible recipe that can be modified to suit your needs and tastes. Thank you.
I love this recipe. I’ve made it many times. It’s a very flexible recipe. I add extra ingredients if I have them on hand, i.e., fresh ginger, diced red pepper, pepper flakes, cashews, mushrooms, etc. If I’m missing one or two ingredients, it’s still great–as long as it’s not the rice I’m missing! I don’t have the oyster sauce because I use so little of it and it comes in fairly big bottles here. My husband and I really enjoy having this for dinner and leftovers the next day.
Absolutely delicious. My new go to for fried rice. All I did differently was add in some leftover rotisserie chicken from the night before to add some protein. 10/10 on everything. My picky husband and 3 year old son also loved it.
I have used this recipe multiple times! It is the best ever!Thank yo so much for posting this recipe, because who doesn’t;t love excellent fried rice?! Today, I will adapt it to make Brisket Fried Rice, fingers crossed…
I woke up on the very cold day -23 wind chill and fried rice came to mind for a meal which is funny because I rarely eat fried rice. My body is looking for some carbs I guess. I found your receipt and not only is it delicious I will be eating fried rice more often in the future. I added broccoli, and zucchini to mine along with some pork. I’m not big on garlic so I omitted that but used a little garlic seasoning.
Great recipe, thank you!!
Yes! Love this recipe. Did not have oyster sauce. Will have for next time. I will add sliced water chestnuts next time. I always use them in stir fry along with cashews. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe
Excellent recipe! Super easy and add a protein or extra vegetable you like. Good to have everything out chopped and ready because it doesn’t take long. Also let it fry more for more crunchy rice goodness!
Wow. We made this tonight and it was delicious!! We couldn’t stop eating it. We made the rice and then put it in the freezer as recommended if you didn’t make the rice the day before and it worked perfect!! We will definitely be making this again.
Amazing Fried Rice. We added chicken to ours. This is as good or better than my favorite resturaunt for this soup. Thank you for publishing this wonderful recipe….will be trying your Hot and Sour Soup soon.
Made this for supper tonight. Added a protein at the end. Directions were good. Easy to follow. Prep was simple and fast. I added bok choy to my vegetables. It was amazing. I will definitely make this again.
Very good recipe and definitely use oyster sauce. I add a lot more veg, plus 5 chicken thighs fillets
red capsicum
peas
corn
water chestnuts
celery
mushrooms
zucchini
brown onion
ginger
garlic
I followed the recipe and my son loved it. When serving I added chilli flakes and macadamias
Thank you for this video! It was very detailed and easy to follow. This is the first time I’ve EVER made PERFECT fried rice! Butter, who new. It made all the difference in the world. I use leftover T-bone steak and leftover Jasmine rice to make my fried rice and it was sooooo delicious 😋. I had all the ingredients except for the toasted sesame seed oil, so I use pure sesame seed oil instead. Thanks again for sharing the secret to making the BEST homemade fried rice!!!!
This is so good! We used to get frozen fried rice from the grocery store and it was good. On a whim I decided to try homemade fried rice and found this recipe. Followed it almost exactly and it turned out great. My husband now doesn’t want the grocery store kind anymore. Like others said, I like that you can vary the ingredients to your taste or what you have on hand. I also like that you can make a big batch and it freezes and heats up well. Perfect for “care packages” for my colleges kids to take back with them.
Hot damn this is freaking fabulous! Definitely a keeper. We love cooking Oriental food and this just rocked our boat lol. 🙂 I had all the ingredients and there was no substitutions. The oyster sauce and the roasted sesame oil is a must. Thanks kindly for a delicious fried rice recipe. There is absolutely no reason for me to search for another. Yay!!
Wish I could post a picture….both my husband and son had their heads down until they finished cleaning their plates! For the veggies I ended up cutting up onions but used the SteamFresh mixed veggies for the rest. Added a few pieces of shrimp and it is now a family favorite. Best fried rice recipe out there!!!
I found adding rice to the eggs right away before eggs begin to cook works much better allowing the eggs to coat the rice and no need to cook veggies before hand if cut small enough they are tender enough when added to rice mixture and fried for couple mins
Excellent recipe. Didn’t have peas on hand, so I upped the carrot a little bit. Topped it off with some fresh kimchi from the nearby Korean market. This is my new go to fried rice recipe. Thank you!
This is a great recipe! I usually have stir fry at least once a month, but haven’t seemed to find the right recipe. This one is very good as I think the major difference is the butter. Very delicious, but I think I’ll try adding a bit of ginger next time.
The roasted carrots remind me of my old stir fry rice flavor. This time, I used frozen vegetables(corn, carrots, peas, and green beans.) Next time I’ll add some extra fresh chopped carrots.
I was a bit surprised that the author doesn’t emphasize Japanese rice and organic ingredients. Whenever I make fried rice or any other Asian dish that requires rice, I always use imported Japanese rice–my favorite is Koshihikar. There is no comparison between American rice and Japanese rice. The first time I used Koshihikar, I thought I’d tasted a bit of heaven (I cook it in a rice cooker; it’s sticky rice). For the other ingredients? Use grass-pastured eggs or organic eggs. That goes for the other ingredients as well. Organic butter and vegetables taste so much better and they’re cleaner.
Killer recipe. Best I have had in many years.
1st attempt today 7/10, forgot the garlic. Next time.
Trevor Cheltenham
Best recipe out there.
I followed everything in your recipe, except I added frozen broccoli, that’s the only change I made. This fried rice is a huge hit for my family & I. Now this is the only recipe I use ❤
My son made this out of leftovers. We used rice pilaf, cut up chicken burgers, and veggies we could find. Only thing I got him to do diffrent was whisk in a bit of soya sauce into the egg befor frying it.
I used leftover rice and heated it up in a cast iron pan with butter and sesame oil until golden brown. They say to cook rice a day ahead. – keeps it from being mushy. Then pushed aside in pan like in the Japanese restaurants. Then heated veggies and onion. I used shrimp so I cooked them first in sesame oil and garlic. I would add soy sauce and hoisin for more flavor. Cooked the egg last and then added to the dish.
Thank you for this recipe love it. I made with rice for the kids and cauliflower rice for myself, absolutely delicious. Easy to follow directions.
This recipe, exactly as written, has put me in a funny position. Used to be if we wanted Chinese food, we got carry out from our favorite place. That is no longer the case. This has spoiled us and we find this fried rice to be better than any restaurant. Now what? Grrrrrrr! This truly is the best fried rice, exactly as billed. Thanks.
Delicious and quick…key is to have all the ingredients ready to go before the cooking begins. Thanks for all the substitution suggestions.
Delish!! It was super easy and quick to make. I recommend adding a little bit more oyster and soy sauce if you want a saltier flavor.
Excellent recipe. In the spirit of true fried rice, I used this recipe to get rid of a few raw vegetables from my fridge (baby carrots and snap peas). Considering that fried rice is my least favourite Asian food, I was not expecting much. I was totally wrong. This is amazing, easy and helps to clean out my fridge! My only change for next time (besides adding more vegetables), will be to separate the vegetables, so those that need longer to cook are added first. This is a great flexible recipe that can be modified to suit your needs and tastes. Thank you.
I love this recipe. I’ve made it many times. It’s a very flexible recipe. I add extra ingredients if I have them on hand, i.e., fresh ginger, diced red pepper, pepper flakes, cashews, mushrooms, etc. If I’m missing one or two ingredients, it’s still great–as long as it’s not the rice I’m missing! I don’t have the oyster sauce because I use so little of it and it comes in fairly big bottles here. My husband and I really enjoy having this for dinner and leftovers the next day.
This recipe has become a family favorite! Easy to follow and it’s delicious. Loved it <3
This recipe is amazing. Simple, yet, delicious. I make it a couple times a month!
Absolutely delicious. My new go to for fried rice. All I did differently was add in some leftover rotisserie chicken from the night before to add some protein. 10/10 on everything. My picky husband and 3 year old son also loved it.
My favorite rice to make for me and my boyfriend. Thanks!
I have used this recipe multiple times! It is the best ever!Thank yo so much for posting this recipe, because who doesn’t;t love excellent fried rice?! Today, I will adapt it to make Brisket Fried Rice, fingers crossed…
I add more veggies and prawns into mine and it’s delicious. Thanks for sharing this recepe.
We make this recipe all the time and it’s such a good one!
I woke up on the very cold day -23 wind chill and fried rice came to mind for a meal which is funny because I rarely eat fried rice. My body is looking for some carbs I guess. I found your receipt and not only is it delicious I will be eating fried rice more often in the future. I added broccoli, and zucchini to mine along with some pork. I’m not big on garlic so I omitted that but used a little garlic seasoning.
Great recipe, thank you!!
I made this exact recipe had not made fried rice in years husband loved it. This is going to be a regular for us.
Yes! Love this recipe. Did not have oyster sauce. Will have for next time. I will add sliced water chestnuts next time. I always use them in stir fry along with cashews. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe
Excellent recipe! Super easy and add a protein or extra vegetable you like. Good to have everything out chopped and ready because it doesn’t take long. Also let it fry more for more crunchy rice goodness!
Wow. We made this tonight and it was delicious!! We couldn’t stop eating it. We made the rice and then put it in the freezer as recommended if you didn’t make the rice the day before and it worked perfect!! We will definitely be making this again.
Made this last night and it was amazing! Best fried recipe I have tried. My daughter took what was left to school for her lunch today.
Dumb question. 4 cups cooked rice or four cups dry rice cooked
4 cups of cooked rice. :) Enjoy!
This is terrible, I Tried making it and it tasted horrid
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had this within the last couple of months…I literally CRAVE it!!! Best fried rice recipe ever!
Very good flavor in this fried rice. Did everything exactly as it says.
Amazing Fried Rice. We added chicken to ours. This is as good or better than my favorite resturaunt for this soup. Thank you for publishing this wonderful recipe….will be trying your Hot and Sour Soup soon.
Simply the best. We make it 2 to 3 times a month. Thank you!
Made this for supper tonight. Added a protein at the end. Directions were good. Easy to follow. Prep was simple and fast. I added bok choy to my vegetables. It was amazing. I will definitely make this again.
Very good recipe and definitely use oyster sauce. I add a lot more veg, plus 5 chicken thighs fillets
red capsicum
peas
corn
water chestnuts
celery
mushrooms
zucchini
brown onion
ginger
garlic
I followed the recipe and my son loved it. When serving I added chilli flakes and macadamias
Thank you for this video! It was very detailed and easy to follow. This is the first time I’ve EVER made PERFECT fried rice! Butter, who new. It made all the difference in the world. I use leftover T-bone steak and leftover Jasmine rice to make my fried rice and it was sooooo delicious 😋. I had all the ingredients except for the toasted sesame seed oil, so I use pure sesame seed oil instead. Thanks again for sharing the secret to making the BEST homemade fried rice!!!!
This recipe rocks
This was easy to make and my family loved it. I had no idea that the rice needed to be cold, but it worked!
Yummy 😋
This is so good! We used to get frozen fried rice from the grocery store and it was good. On a whim I decided to try homemade fried rice and found this recipe. Followed it almost exactly and it turned out great. My husband now doesn’t want the grocery store kind anymore. Like others said, I like that you can vary the ingredients to your taste or what you have on hand. I also like that you can make a big batch and it freezes and heats up well. Perfect for “care packages” for my colleges kids to take back with them.
Is plain sesame oil OK if I don’t have toasted sesame oil?
You can toast plain sesame oil. By stirring constantly and browning it. Let it cook and then add it as a finish oil, don’t cook with it.
Hot damn this is freaking fabulous! Definitely a keeper. We love cooking Oriental food and this just rocked our boat lol. 🙂 I had all the ingredients and there was no substitutions. The oyster sauce and the roasted sesame oil is a must. Thanks kindly for a delicious fried rice recipe. There is absolutely no reason for me to search for another. Yay!!
Wish I could post a picture….both my husband and son had their heads down until they finished cleaning their plates! For the veggies I ended up cutting up onions but used the SteamFresh mixed veggies for the rest. Added a few pieces of shrimp and it is now a family favorite. Best fried rice recipe out there!!!
Butter is key to good fried rice. Love this recipe have modified with different proteins and is a family favorite.
Your fried rice recipe is my absolute favorite!
I found adding rice to the eggs right away before eggs begin to cook works much better allowing the eggs to coat the rice and no need to cook veggies before hand if cut small enough they are tender enough when added to rice mixture and fried for couple mins
Delicious recipe. It came out perfectly. Better than takeout.
Excellent recipe. Didn’t have peas on hand, so I upped the carrot a little bit. Topped it off with some fresh kimchi from the nearby Korean market. This is my new go to fried rice recipe. Thank you!
Such an easy go to. Love it!
This is a great recipe! I usually have stir fry at least once a month, but haven’t seemed to find the right recipe. This one is very good as I think the major difference is the butter. Very delicious, but I think I’ll try adding a bit of ginger next time.
Question: Any ideas for options if my spouse is highly allergic to sesame? We both miss eating Chinese food and would love any ideas!
My first time ever making fried rice and it was amazing! Thanks for the killer recipe!
This rice us so delicious and it satisfys the rice cravings. Would recommend
The roasted carrots remind me of my old stir fry rice flavor. This time, I used frozen vegetables(corn, carrots, peas, and green beans.) Next time I’ll add some extra fresh chopped carrots.
I was a bit surprised that the author doesn’t emphasize Japanese rice and organic ingredients. Whenever I make fried rice or any other Asian dish that requires rice, I always use imported Japanese rice–my favorite is Koshihikar. There is no comparison between American rice and Japanese rice. The first time I used Koshihikar, I thought I’d tasted a bit of heaven (I cook it in a rice cooker; it’s sticky rice). For the other ingredients? Use grass-pastured eggs or organic eggs. That goes for the other ingredients as well. Organic butter and vegetables taste so much better and they’re cleaner.