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Chicken fried rice

Yesterday's rice, a smoking-hot wok and a few sauces. The best thing leftover rice can become.

20 min Serves 4 Asian Kid friendly

Chicken fried rice turns leftover rice into a quick, savoury one-pan meal with egg, vegetables, and soy. The secret is cold, day-old rice, which fries up separate and golden rather than mushy. It is the ideal fridge-clearing dinner and ready in minutes.

Ingredients

  • 600 g cooked rice, cold, cooked the day before and chilled within an hour of cooking (about 250g uncooked); or cook it, spread it on a tray and chill for at least 2 hours
  • 300 g chicken thigh, boneless, skinless, cut into 1.5cm pieces
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 spring onions, sliced, whites and greens apart
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 150 g frozen peas
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • chilli sauce, or chilli oil, to serve (optional)

Method

  1. Break the cold rice up with your fingers so no clumps remain; day-old rice is drier and fries into separate grains rather than sticking. Cut up the chicken, chop the garlic, slice the spring onions and beat the eggs, so everything is by the hob before the wok goes on.
  2. Heat a wok or your largest frying pan over a high heat until smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and the chicken and stir-fry until golden and cooked through with no pink inside, 4 to 5 minutes. Tip onto a plate.
  3. Keep the heat high, add another tablespoon of oil, pour in the eggs and let them set for 20 seconds, then scramble into large, soft pieces, about 1 minute. Take them out while still a little wet, since they finish cooking later.
  4. Add the last of the oil, the garlic and the spring onion whites and stir for 10 seconds, until fragrant. Add the rice, spread it out and leave it for 1 minute to toast, then toss and repeat, 3 to 4 minutes in all, until every grain is hot and some are crisp.
  5. Return the chicken and egg with the peas. Drizzle the soy sauce down the hot side of the wok, so it sizzles and caramelises, then add the oyster sauce and toss hard for 2 minutes, until the peas are hot and the rice is steaming all the way through.
  6. Off the heat, stir in the sesame oil and spring onion greens. Taste and add a splash more soy if it needs it, then serve straight away in warm bowls, with chilli sauce on the side for anyone who likes it spicy.

Tips

  • Use cold leftover rice, as freshly cooked rice is too moist and clumps in the pan.
  • Cook over high heat and avoid overcrowding so the rice fries and toasts rather than steams.
  • Splash the soy down the side of the hot wok rather than over the rice for a smokier, caramelised edge.

Common questions

Why does my fried rice turn out mushy?

Usually the rice was too fresh or wet. Use cold day-old rice and a hot pan so the grains crisp up and stay separate.

Can I use freshly cooked rice?

It is better to chill it first. If you must use fresh rice, spread it out to cool and dry for a while before frying.