Chicken Fried Rice
This classic chicken fried rice recipe is quick to make, no fuss and definitely better than takeout. Learn how to prepare yummy chicken fried rice at home.
Servings: 6
Calories: 327kcal
Ingredients
For the chicken and marinade:
- 8 ounces chicken breast (about 1 large, diced into ½-inch cubes)
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon oil
You'll also need:
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper (or to taste)
- 5 cups cooked rice
- 3 tablespoons canola oil (divided)
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts
- 1 scallion (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
Instructions
- Combine the chicken and marinade ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the hot water, sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, and white pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Take your cooked rice and fluff it with a fork or with your hands (you can rinse your hands in cold water if the rice starts sticking to them). If you are using cold leftover rice, try to break up the clumps as best as possible.
- Heat the wok over medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the eggs and scramble them until just done. Remove from the wok immediately, and set aside.
- Heat the wok until just smoking and spread another tablespoon oil around your wok. Sear the marinated chicken in one layer for 20 seconds. Stir-fry the chicken until about 80% done. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- With the wok over medium high heat, add the final tablespoon of oil, and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the rice, and use your metal spatula to flatten out and break up any large clumps. If the rice is cold from the refrigerator, continue stir-frying until the rice is warmed up, which will take about 5 minutes. Sprinkling just a little water on large clumps of rice will help break them up more easily. If the rice was made fresh, cooking time will be faster. Just make sure that the rice isn't too wet––which will make frying it difficult.
- Once the rice is warmed (very important or the sauce will not mix as well and the color of the rice will not be as uniform), add the sauce mixture and mix with a scooping motion until the rice is evenly coated with sauce. Break up any remaining clumps of rice with the spatula. The rice should be hot by this time. Now add the cooked chicken, along with any juices from the bowl. Stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the eggs, bean sprouts, and scallions, and continue stir-frying the rice for another 30 seconds. Then gather all of the rice into the middle of the wok to let the sides of the wok heat up.
- After about 20 seconds, spread the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok and stir-fry for another 20 seconds. This step gives you a little of that extra "wok hei" that you taste when you get fried rice from a good Chinese restaurant. Serve!
Nutrition
Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 735mg | Potassium: 265mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Vitamin C: 4.5mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.9mg