A popular weeknight classic, this chicken fried rice is as simple as it is tasty. This recipe isn’t trying anything crazy; it’s just a simple, easy, and tasty version of a great dish. That said, there are some things you can do to make things even better.
If you’re wanting this today but don’t have day-old rice on hand, no worries. Simply make some “fresh” rice, spread it out on a sheet pan, then leave it uncovered in the fridge for a few hours. I recommend leaving it out at room temperature with a fan blowing (if you have one) for ~30 minutes, or until cooled, before refrigerating. Leaving it uncovered makes it dry out faster, putting you in the fast lane to a great meal.
If you don’t have and dry garlic or ginger, you can use the fresh version of either. You can also leave out the ginger entirely, and/or use onion powder instead of garlic powder. Any of this will change the flavor, but it should be great regardless.
If you don’t have any cooked chicken, you can easily leave it out. You’ll probably want more vegetables, but add those in and you’ll have a great vegetable fried rice. If you only have uncooked chicken, I recommend cooking the chicken and the main dish in the same pan. Cook the chicken, then once everything is ready, just use that same pan for making the fried rice. The browned bits left on the pan from the chicken will add a lot of flavor.
For the vegetables, I recommend something with a bit of texture, so fresh is best, followed by frozen. Canned would technically work, but they’ll be very lacking in texture. I personally like corn and peas, but things like carrot and cabbage would also work.
If you like this recipe for chicken fried rice and want something similar, consider checking out my teriyaki chicken.
Ingredients
2 cups of day-old rice, 316 grams
1/2 lb cooked chicken, diced, 227 grams
1 cup* diced or small vegetables
2 Tbsps vegetable oil, 28 grams
For the sauce:
1 Tbsp water**, 19 grams
2 tsps soy sauce, 15 grams
1 1/2 tsps rice vinegar, 9 grams
1 tsp hot sauce, 5 grams
1/2 tsp garlic powder, 2 grams
small pinch of ground ginger, about 1/4 tsp
small pinch of kosher salt, about 1/4 tsp
Preparation
Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. While heating, combine your sauce ingredients and set aside.
Once hot, add your oil, rice, chicken and vegetables. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 3-5 minutes.
Turn off your heat, add the sauce, stir until combined, then serve.
Notes
* The amount in grams depends on what vegetable you’re using, so I didn’t get a measurement there. If I had to provide a measurement, I’d say two handfuls from a normal-sized hand (whatever that is). Really, it isn’t volatile at all; you can add in whatever looks right and be fine.
** The water is here to help distribute the sauce. Otherwise, you’ll be using a fairly small amount of sauce for a significant amount of food, which may leave some of it without sauce.
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