Chicken Fried Rice

From the kitchen of Carly

Takeout-style fried rice in 25 minutes. The one rule that separates great from gummy: use day-old cold rice. Everything else flexes around what's in your fridge. No day-old rice in the fridge? Cook a pot, spread it thin on a sheet pan, and stick it in the freezer for 20 minutes. Same effect, faster.

Chicken Fried Rice
Prep
15 min
Cook
15 min
Total
30 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
easy

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 1 lbboneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tspkosher salt
  • 3 tbspcanola or neutral oil
  • 3large eggs, beaten
  • 0.66 cupyellow onion, diced
  • 2 clovesgarlic, minced
  • 2 tspground ginger
  • 1 largecarrot, diced small
  • 0.66 cupfrozen peas
  • 4 cupscold cooked jasmine rice (ideally day-old)
  • 2scallions, sliced (whites and greens separated)
  • 0.5 tspChinese five-spice powder
  • 2.5 tbspsoy sauce
  • 1 tsptoasted sesame oil

Instructions

  1. If you don't have day-old rice, cook a fresh batch and spread it on a sheet pan to cool and dry out for at least an hour before starting.

  2. Cut the chicken into small ¼-inch cubes. Sprinkle with half the salt, toss, and let it sit 10 minutes while you prep everything else.

  3. Heat a wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Add 1 tbsp oil, swirl, then pour in the beaten eggs. Scramble fast, breaking the curds small. Move them to a plate.

  4. Add another tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken in a single layer and let it sear undisturbed for 1 minute, then stir and cook 3 to 4 minutes more until cooked through. Move to the plate with the eggs.

  5. Add the last tablespoon of oil. Toss in the onion and cook 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, and carrot. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring.

  6. Sprinkle in the remaining salt and the peas, stir.

  7. Add the cold rice, breaking up any clumps with the back of your spatula. Add the scallion whites and the five-spice. Stir-fry, pressing the rice against the hot pan, for 3 minutes; you want some grains to crisp up.

  8. Drizzle in the soy sauce and sesame oil. Return the chicken, eggs, and scallion greens. Toss everything together for another minute. Taste and add more soy sauce if needed.

  9. Serve immediately, while it's still hot off the wok.

Substitutions
  • chicken thighs to shrimp, leftover roast chicken, or diced firm tofu. All work. Add shrimp last (90 seconds); tofu first to crisp; roast chicken at the end just to warm through.
  • jasmine rice to long-grain white rice or even basmati. Cauliflower rice works for low-carb but cuts the cook time and skips the soy step.
  • Chinese five-spice to skip it or use a pinch of white pepper. Five-spice adds a backnote of warmth; the dish is still recognizable without it.

Pairs well with: Cold cucumber salad with rice vinegar and chili crisp, A bowl of egg drop or hot-and-sour soup, Iced jasmine tea or a cold lager

Adapted from TheMealDB.