If you’ve never made your own Fried Rice at home, this recipe will show you how easy, and versatile it is! This fried rice is inspired from the same restaurant as our Sweet and Spicy Honey-Grilled Shrimp. It’s not your typical Chinese restaurant-type fried rice; it’s a bit milder and has a little more Polynesian flair. It goes great with Teriyaki Chicken or it’s slightly naughtier cousin, Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Bites. Or try it with Asian BBQ Chicken or the ever-popular Spicy Honey Chicken. Or toss in some leftover Fauxtisserie Chicken or ham or shrimp (or hey, live on the wild side and add all three) and it can be a meal in and of itself.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe. The veggies listed here are just suggestions. You can add whatever you have in your fridge that needs to be used up!
- Cold rice – Fried rice is best when you use rice that has been cooked and cooled. This results in separated grains of rice with less moisture. If you use freshly cooked rice, it will still taste good, but it will likely clump together and tends to turn kind of mushy. Leftover rice from another meal works really well here or, just plan ahead and cook your rice a day or two in advance.
- Butter
- Red onion
- Chopped green onions
- Minced garlic
- Chopped carrots
- Chopped mushrooms
- Coleslaw mix – Just the veggie mix, no dressing. Cabbage is an important part of fried rice and using a bag of shredded coleslaw (either green or the kind with bits of purple cabbage and shredded carrots) just simplifies things. You want the big shreds, not fine angel hair shreds. And you can always chop up a head of cabbage yourself if you prefer!
- Soy Sauce
- Seasonings
- celery salt
- dehydrated onion
- black pepper
- kosher salt
- granulated sugar
- granulated garlic
- Optional add-ins – Scrambled egg or cooked chicken, beef, ham, or pork add protein and make this a well-rounded one-dish meal.
How to Make Fried Rice
- Have everything ready, because this goes fast! First you’ll give your veggies a quick sauté to soften.
- Next you’ll add your cold rice, then the best part of this recipe: the seasoning mix. You’ll just mix up a quick spice blend and then use as much of it as you like for flavor.
- Toss in some protein, if desired, and you’ve got a great one-dish dinner. It also makes a great side for lots of things and it’s a great way to get your kids to eat some veggies!
Storing and Other Tips
- Fried rice reheats really well! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 4-5 days for best results.
- This is a great “clean out the veggie drawer” meal. Feel free to add whatever veggies your family likes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Use whatever variety you enjoy.
Nope. Any skillet will do. You just want to make sure you use a large enough pan and keep your heat medium-high so the ingredients fry instead of steam.
You can, but I find they get kind of lost that way. I like to scramble them separately and then add them in. If you’d like to avoid dirtying another pan, you can always push some of the rice out of the way and scramble your egg in the same pan. Try it out and see which way you prefer!
Fried Rice
Ingredients
Seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon dehydrated onion
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
Fried Rice
- 4 cups cold leftover rice
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup minced red onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
- ½ tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼ cups chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped mushrooms
- 8 oz. 1/2 bag coleslaw mix
- 3-4 generous tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
Seasoning Mix
- Combine all seasoning mix ingredients. This can be made ahead of time and/or saved for later. You'll just use some of and to season to taste!
Fried Rice
- Heat butter over medium heat and sauté onions, carrots, mushrooms and cabbage until carrots are tender. Add the garlic and green onions and sauté briefly.
- Add cooked rice, soy sauce, and season with the seasoning mix to taste. (You will not come close to using all of it. Store the rest for later use!) Serve immediately.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- Feel free to add scrambled egg or cooked chicken, beef, or ham.
Questions & Reviews
Just received your cookbook for my birthday and made
the fried rice and spice honey chicken…loved both!
Can’t wait to try more recipes. 🙂
My family LOVED this last night!! Thanks so much!!
I just made this with Quinoa instead of rice and it was delightful!
Made this last night, along with your Asian BBQ chicken recipe. My husband, who normally isn’t a fan of (any type of) rice, ate the entire batch (save the portion I took)! He asked me to make it again next week, whoo hoo! And what a great way to get in some extra veggies (although I couldn’t get my 3-year old to eat it, it has “green” in it–someone tell me this phase will end soon?!?!).
I’m using the leftover chicken tonight to make the bacon-artichoke penne bake using the guiltless alfredo sauce. I feel like a gourmet chef! Thanks for making dinners exciting around our house again!
So. Delicious. So, so, SO delicious.
Wow! This is an amazing fried rice. My two oldest boys said “Fantastic!”
Wooo–I’d love to try the fried rice recipe! I just saw it linked up from the recent recipe for lettuce wraps. One question: When I get take-out fried rice from the Vietnamese place down the street, it seems like there’s some kind of spice in there that gives the rice a hint of cinnamon flavor. Do you have any idea what that spice is? Whatever it is, I like it and would like to add it to this recipe.
Heather, my guess is Chinese 5 Spice powder. I’ve gotten it in the past online at Penzeys. Hope that helps! 🙂
Matt and Penny–Just the onion flakes. Hope that helps! 🙂
Quick question- what kind of dried onion are you talking about? onion salt, onion powder or dried onion flakes? I am making this for dinner tonight and don't want to mess it up.Thanks Penny
i made this for dinner tonight and it is really yummy. i used brown rice and my non-brown rice eating hubby really liked it (shhh–don't tell him) Thanks.