This is an easy, classic chicken fried rice recipe you can make for a quick dinner on any weeknight. It’s also heavier on the chicken than what you’d get from takeout!
Limited by the low prices they need to charge to get by, takeout restaurants keep the chicken pieces small and the vegetables at a minimum. Because chicken isn’t the most flavorful protein on offer, I generally choose beef, pork, or shrimp when I order fried rice. This recipe remedies that flavor gap with juicy chunks of chicken and lots of crunchy vegetables.
Our already popular Classic Pork Fried Rice is hard to beat if you use fresh Chinese roast pork (char siu), but for those of you who don’t eat pork—or just happen to have a chicken breast in the freezer—chicken fried rice is a great choice.
Note: This recipe was originally published in October 2015. We have updated it with clearer instructions and metric measurements. The recipe is still the same. Enjoy!
Customize This Chicken Fried Rice!
Remember, this recipe is only a template. I used onions, eggs, bean sprouts, and scallions, but you can customize to your heart’s content.
Add mushrooms, peas, or carrots. Cut your chicken into smaller pieces if you like. Omit the onions, use black pepper instead of white pepper… I think you get the point.
One word of advice: If you’ve never made chicken fried rice before, then follow these directions as written just once. Then next time, you can make adjustments according to your own tastes and experiment with variations.
Happy Cooking!
Chicken Fried Rice Recipe Instructions
Combine the chicken and marinade ingredients (soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, and oil). Set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
For more information and preparing chicken for stir fries, see my post on Chicken Velveting: 101.
In a small bowl, combine the hot water, sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, and white pepper. This is the sauce you’ll add to the rice. It’s much easier to have it combined and ready to go before you start cooking.
(If you have questions about light and dark soy sauce, check out our extensive article on soy sauce.)
Fluff your cooked rice 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 cooked. Start scooping them up when they look like they are almost set.
Set aside. They will continue to cook in the bowl and you will cook them again in the rice. I’m only harping on this because you don’t want dried egg bits in your chicken fried rice!
Heat the wok until just smoking and spread another tablespoon oil around the perimeter. 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 another 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.
Cooking Rice:
When it comes to fried rice, leftover rice is best. But how exactly do you make the rice in the first place?
If you have not purchased a rice cooker yet, then you really should consider it. They’re a kitchen lifesaver, and we recommend a really simple one without too many bells and whistles. Check out our Chinese Cooking Tools page for more information and some useful links to products.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, check out our instructions for foolproof stovetop rice and steamed rice.
If the rice is cold from the refrigerator, continue stir-frying to warm it 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 you made the rice fresh, it will cook faster. Just make sure that the rice isn’t too wet, as it 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.
You will have to break up any remaining clumps of rice with the spatula as best as possible, but no need to be obsessive. The rice should be hot by this time.
Now add the chicken and any juices from the bowl you set aside earlier and stir fry for another 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. This lets 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 with some homemade chili oil.
Chicken Fried Rice
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!
Fabulous rice dish, quick, simple, cheap and easy, tastes 😋
The information you have on your website for How to Velvet Chicken seems to contradict the preparation of the chicken in this recipe. Can you clear that up, p.ease?
Hi Lisa, usually we don’t velvet chicken for fried rice, but it doesn’t hurt to use it either. Happy cooking!
Hey Bill. Amazing recipe. I made this for my partner Kevin and he ABSOLUTELY loved it. im going to make it for my other BF (that Kevin doesnt know about) at his place this saturday. Im sure hes going to love it too. anyways, I love all your recipes!
Hi Steve, glad you enjoyed our chicken fried rice recipe!
This was one of five dishes we made for NYE this year. We used mushrooms instead of chicken and it turned out amazing!!! Super delicious and authentic – the Shaoxing wine is key and totally elevated the dish!! Thank you for sharing these recipes!!
Hi Susan, I do love a good mushroom fried rice. Happy New Year!
If you make this with leftover chicken (from a stock I made), would I still want to marinade the chicken and fry it early on in the recipe to heat and crisp it up? Or would I just put it in at the end without additional cooking?
Thanks! I love your recipes!
Hi Douglas, I would put cooked chicken near the end right before adding the egg and scallions. You could also add them after you cook the onions, but in any case, no need to marinate the cooked chicken. Happy cooking!
I made this today. Yum. I’ve been making fried rice for years and I can say this is the best Thank you for all the great recipes. Today I also made your American chow Mein. Takes me back to Ling Island New York and my childhood when my mom brought home chow Mein every Friday. Going to try the egg foo young soon. Thank you again.
Donna
Oops that Long Island New York
Hi Donna, if you love this fried rice and our chicken chow mein, then I’m sure you’ll adore the egg foo young ;-)
Such a delicious fried rice and so easy to make. Really have loved all the recipes I’ve tried so far on your blog. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome Jenny, keep up the great cooking!
The best home made fried rice I’ve ever had! Great recipe!
Thnks Courtney!
Made this for dinner yesterday and it was so good, better than takeaway! I added some diced carrots before sauteing the onions, then added some minced garlic with the onions. It is quite a fast paced recipe like many stir fries, but it was still so simple. Thanks for the recipe!
Great job Debbie, adding a little garlic gives some added flavor and extra veggies are always nice especially if it’s a one-plate meal :)