The Easiest Egg Fried Rice

This easy egg fried rice is something that I cook every other week. It’s a no-fuss meal, made with four key ingredients: rice, eggs, vegetables, and soy sauce. The fried rice is great with my Chinese Green Beans, Chinese Garlic Cucumber Salad, or Honey Chili Garlic Shrimp.

You would be hard-pressed to find a Chinese household that doesn’t enjoy a good bowl of fried rice. Growing up, whenever I saw a large bowl of cooked rice in the kitchen, I would cross my fingers and wait with eager anticipation to see if it was fried rice night. The flavor of rice mixed with eggs, vegetables, and a thin layer of soy sauce was something that brought comfort to my belly.

It probably comes as no surprise that I cook fried rice very frequently. Not only do I find this dish comforting, but it is also darn easy to make. All you really need is rice, eggs, vegetables, and soy sauce. Once you get into the rhythm of this basic egg fried rice recipe, play around with it! Substitute rice for quinoa, add other vegetables or protein—do whatever suits your taste.

COOKING NOTES FOR EGG FRIED RICE

• Try to use day-old rice: Fried rice is usually a dish that you make to repurpose the leftover cooked rice from the day before. You want to avoid freshly cooked rice because it is still moist and steamy, which may yield fried rice with a mushy texture. (Notice in the photo below how you can see the individual grains of rice instead of a mushy mass of rice.) However, if you forget about cooking rice the day before, here is a little trick that I use. Spread a layer of freshly cooked rice onto large baking sheets and let the rice air out for 1 to 2 hours—the longer the better. The grains of rice will dry out during this process.
• Using packaged rice: For this recipe, I experimented with using packaged pre-cooked rice, which is what you see in the photos. These packages usually contain 2 cups of cooked rice, so you’ll need 2 packages for the recipe. The packaged rice is fine, especially if you are too busy during the week to cook rice. However, it is definitely more expensive than buying rice and cooking it yourself (I sound like a mother here). I also found a slight smell when I opened the packages (probably from whatever preservatives the manufacturer used), though not enough to make me throw the rice straight to the trash. Ultimately, I recommend cooking the rice yourself, but hey, I understand if you don’t have time for that.

• LOOKING FOR MORE FRIED RICE RECIPES?

  • Pineapple Fried Rice
  • Kimchi Fried Rice
  • Yellow Curry Fried Rice with Potatoes
  • 30-Minute Shrimp & Egg Fried Rice

  WHAT TO SERVE WITH EGG FRIED RICE

  • Chinese Garlic Cucumber Salad
  • Sambal Potatoes
  • Honey Chili Garlic Shrimp

Try to use day-old rice. This ensures that there isn't too much moisture in the rice so that the fried rice does not end up being too mushy. If you are cooking rice on the same day, let the rice cool completely before stir-frying.

If you want more flavor, you can add a drizzle of my teriyaki sauce or oyster sauce (if you're not vegetarian).

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons peanut, vegetable, or olive oil, divided (see note 1)
• 1 cup diced red onion (about 1 small onion, see note 2)
• 1 1/3 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (or a mixture of diced carrots, bell pepper, peas, and carrots)
• 3 stalks of scallions, sliced, white and green parts divided (see note 3)
• 4 cups cooked jasmine rice (see note 4)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (use tamari if gluten free)
• 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional, see note 5)

Instructions

1. Crack 3 eggs into a small bowl and beat them together.
2. Heat a wok (or large sauté pan) with 1/2 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the beaten eggs and scramble them for about a minute. Transfer the eggs to a dish and turn off the heat. Wipe off the wok with a kitchen towel.
3. Drizzle the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook them for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the mixed vegetables and white parts of the scallions and cook for another minute.
4. Add the cooked rice into the pan or wok and cook for a few minutes, until the rice is heated through. If you have large clumps of rice, break them apart with the back of your spatula.
5. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and five-spice powder (if using) and stir to distribute the seasonings. Add the scrambled eggs and stir to mix again. Garnish with remaining sliced scallions. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. Peanut oil will give the fried rice a nice light fragrance. I know that olive oil is not traditionally used in Chinese cooking, but you can't really detect the flavor of the olive oil in this recipe.
2. I used red onion mainly for color. You can use yellow or white onions instead.
3. I like to reserve the dark green parts of the scallions for garnish.
4. If you are looking for a basic recipe for cooking jasmine rice, refer to my guide on how to cook jasmine rice.
5. I love the nutty flavor that toasted sesame oil adds to dishes, which is why I included it in the recipe.  Not everyone likes sesame oil. My sister certainly doesn't. You can still make a tasty fried rice without the sesame oil, so feel free to omit it.