Better than takeout, this Chinese Fried Rice is an easy weeknight dinner that uses up leftovers or ingredients in the fridge that need to be eaten. You can easily customize this Asian dish at home. Learn how to cook this fried rice recipe at home in just 30 minutes.
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Amy’s Notes
Fried rice made a regular appearance while I was growing up, as it comes together quickly once you have all your add-ins ready to go. With leftover rice, eggs, and whatever vegetables or proteins you have on hand, this simple fried rice has been a staple in our home. I love this easy fried rice for its simplicity and flexibility; my boys have all made this dish on their own. One pan, one pot of leftover rice, and it’s done before I’d even get takeout delivered.
- It’s Fast: Homemade fried rice comes together in one pan, start to finish
- It’s Flexible: Use up any vegetables or protein you have — use veggies like peas, carrots, broccoli florets. Use leftover chicken, beef, or shrimp. Or just add scrambled eggs.
- It Pairs with Any Meal: This classic fried rice goes with any Asian main dish, like our Mongolian Beef recipe.
If you’re building a full Asian-inspired dinner around this, browse more ideas in our easy rice and quinoa side dishes collection. I hope you love it!
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Long grain rice (jasmine): cold and a day or two old — this is what keeps the grains separate instead of mushy. More on that below.
- Sesame oil: the nutty, toasty flavor that makes this taste like fried rice and not just rice with stuff in it.
- Maggi seasoning sauce: small amount, but it rounds out the savory flavor in a way soy sauce alone doesn’t.
- White pepper: sharper than black pepper, and the traditional choice in Chinese cooking — worth keeping on hand for this.
- Ham: adds heartiness, but swap it for whatever protein you’ve got (more on that in Variations).
- Eggs: protein, richness, and that classic fried rice texture.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are some of our favorite ways to change up this simple fried rice recipe:
- Vegetables: Swap in bell peppers or shiitake mushrooms instead of (or with) the peas and carrots
- Protein: Use Chinese sausage, shrimp, ground meat, or cooked chicken instead of ham.
- Spice: Stir in kimchi for a spicy, tangy version.
- Seasonings: The soy sauce and seasonings will provide plenty of flavor. Start with a basic amount, and you can add more at the end so you don’t overpower your rice. You can add more or less than the recipe calls for.
- Sweet: Add pineapple with the ham for a tropical twist.
- Breakfast: Use crumbled bacon or breakfast sausage with the eggs for a breakfast version.
- Eggs: We prefer to cook the eggs separately and add them back to the dish. However, you can also cook them in the wok with the other ingredients. Just be sure to push other ingredients to the side of the pan, away from the center, to provide an empty “well” in the middle where you can quickly scramble the eggs.
- Fiber: Swap in leftover Instant Pot brown rice for more fiber.
Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
- Heat the oil until hot. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.
- Add the rice and stir, then add the sesame oil, Maggi sauce, soy sauce, salt, and white pepper. Stir everything together well.
- Add the peas, carrots, and diced ham and stir well. Add the green onions and scrambled eggs, and give it all a good stir.
- Try a bite and see if you want to add more salt or pepper. Serve once you’re ready!
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How to Prep Ahead
- Cook your rice 1-2 days ahead and let it chill in the fridge — this is the actual key to good fried rice, as fresh rice often has too much moisture for it to fry up well.
- Dice the ham and chop the green onions ahead so dinner is just stir-and-go.
- Scramble the eggs ahead of time if you want to cut the active cooking down to a few minutes.
- Storage: Cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat in the microwave or back in the wok over medium heat. If it’s dried out a bit, a splash of water before reheating helps.
Watch Us Make This Recipe
Chinese Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil such as peanut oil or vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 ½ cups long grain rice such as Jasmine, fully cooked and cooled*
- 2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Maggi seasoning sauce
- 2 tablespoons Tamari sauce or regular soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon table salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon white pepper plus more to taste
- ½ cup peas and carrots if frozen, defrost at room temp
- 1 ½ cups ham cooked, diced*
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten with 1/8 tsp salt and scrambled into small bits
- 2 stalks green onion thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large wok or extra-large pan, heat the oil until hot. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the rice, and stir well. Add the sesame oil, Maggi sauce, soy sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp white pepper. Stir seasonings into the rice to coat thoroughly.
- Add the peas/carrots and diced ham. Stir to combine and heat through. Add the green onions and scrambled eggs. Stir to incorporate and heat through.
- If desired, add a bit more salt and white pepper to taste. Serve warm. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Video
Notes
- Leftover jasmine or long grain rice that’s 1-2 days old is best to use for fried rice.
- Substitutions: Cooked shrimp, cooked ground turkey or beef, or cooked diced chicken are all good alternatives for ham. You can also omit meat for a vegetarian egg fried rice.
- Serving suggestions: Serve with Orange Chicken or Kung Pao Chicken for a full meal option. This recipe is part of our Thai Recipes Collection.
- Storage: Cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat in the microwave or back in the wok over medium heat. If it’s dried out a bit, a splash of water before reheating helps.
hearing from you!
Nutrition
What to Serve with Chinese Fried Rice
Chicken Mains
- Make my Dad’s Asian Chicken Wings, which are a favorite in our house.
Seafood
- Fish with Black Bean Sauce is a super simple recipe that everyone craves again once they’ve had it once.
Frequently Asked Questions
It comes down to the rice. Use cold, long-grain rice and don’t crowd the pan; the rice needs room to spread out and fry instead of steam. If you start with mushy rice, frying won’t fix it.
Eggs add protein, richness, and texture, and they pair with almost any vegetable or protein you add. Small ingredient, does a lot of work.
Mostly high heat and a wide wok — both things commercial kitchens have a lot more of than home stoves. Some places also add extra oil, butter, or oyster sauce for browning and flavor. A large pan and not overcrowding it gets you most of the way there at home.
Yes — it’s a great meal-prep recipe. Make a big batch, divide into airtight containers, and you’ve got meals ready for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Yes. Store it in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to a month.
Peanut oil or vegetable oil — both have a high smoke point, which matters because you’re cooking over fairly high heat. Olive oil isn’t a great fit here; it burns at a lower temperature and the flavor doesn’t match.
Yes — just skip the ham or swap it for extra vegetables. The eggs stay in for protein, but you can leave those out too if you want it fully plant-based; the dish will just be lighter on protein.
About 4½ cups of cooked rice, which is roughly 1½ cups of uncooked rice before cooking. Cook it a day or two ahead so it has time to chill.
More to Cook and Eat
- Asian Sticky Rice — Flexible, easy, our go-to side for a satisfying meal.
- Mexican Rice with Chicken and Shrimp — A flavorful change of pace from Asian flavors.
- Wild Rice Pilaf — Fancy enough for the holidays, easy enough for a weeknight.
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