Chicken Fried Rice
This easy chicken fried rice comes together so fast repurposing leftover rice! Made with chicken, eggs, vegetables, and white or brown rice.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 (3.5-ounce) package shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and choppped
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- ½ cup frozen green peas
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 4 cups leftover white or brown rice
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Equipment
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together oyster sauce, rice vinegar and red pepper flakes.
- Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet in a single layer and cook until golden brown, about 7-8 minutes; set aside.
- Add onion, mushrooms and carrots to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in green peas until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; set aside .
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and sesame oil over medium high heat.
- Spread rice in an even layer. Cook, without stirring, for 2 minutes. Flip and spread in an even layer again, cooking for an additional 2 minutes.
- Push rice to one side of the skillet; add eggs to opposite side of the skillet, and cook, stirring often, until thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in chicken, vegetables and oyster sauce mixture until well combined, about 2-3 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until flavors have blended, about 3-5 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Notes
- Prep ahead of time. Save time by cooking the rice and dicing the vegetables 1-2 days prior, storing in airtight containers in the fridge.
- Oyster sauce is key. Oyster sauce, the secret ingredient here, will add a rich, savory umami flavor to the fried rice – slightly sweet and salty, and will not taste strongly of oysters.
- Use your favorite protein. Chicken thighs, chicken breasts, pork or shrimp will all work very well here.
- Swap, omit, or add as many vegetables. Broccoli, green beans, spinach, asparagus, cabbage and snow peas are all great additions.
- Day-old rice is best. Use leftover chilled long grain rice. Fresh rice will be too moist and will turn to mush.
- Substitute brown rice. Brown rice will have more nutritional benefits than white rice (more fiber and vitamins), add nutty flavors, and does not require pre-chilling to dry out properly, allowing you to use fresh brown rice if needed.
- Avoid sticky rice. Avoid short-grain, sticky or sushi rice as they can clump and become gummy.
- Add garnishes. Make it restaurant-quality by adding simple garnishes such as green onions and sesame seeds.