Here’s my version of this classic dish – not that I have any claim to being an authority on what is “authentic” Chinese food. I am an authority, however, on what is super incredibly yummy. This rice gets my stamp of approval, with honors. It’s better than takeout, and you can enjoy skipping all the mysterious, unhealthy parts of fast food.
Better-Than-Takeout Chicken Fried Rice
Serves 5-6
4 cups rice, prepared
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked (I recommend using slow cooker teriyaki chicken)
1 cup peas & carrots, frozen
1 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
Prepare rice according to package instructions to yield 4 cups cooked rice. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, peas, and carrots.
Stir fry until tender. Crack eggs into pan and scramble, mixing throughout vegetables.
Add rice, chicken, and soy sauce to pan.
Stir in soy sauce and remove from heat.
BY POPULAR DEMAND! You can also check out my recipe for better-than-takeout easy pad thai.
- 4 cups rice, prepared
- ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked (I recommend using slow cooker teriyaki chicken)
- 1 cup peas & carrots, frozen
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- Prepare rice according to package instructions to yield 4 cups cooked rice.
- Heat sesame oil in a large skillet on medium heat.
- Add onion, garlic, peas, and carrots. Stir fry until tender.
- Crack eggs into pan and scramble, mixing throughout vegetables.
- Add rice, chicken, and soy sauce to pan. Stir in soy sauce and remove from heat.
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I would love to print this out and make it but I’d have to have a lot of ink for unnecessary pictures. Too bad their isn’t a printer friendly button to just print the recipe without all the rest.
There is a green & gray printer friendly button. They’re located in at the bottom of every post.
how many calories are in a serving for this meal?
This was awesome. My nephew loves rice of any kind and is enjoying it as we speak. Husband would like shrimp and chicken maybe next time. Thanks
This is nearly the same way I have fixed fried rice for years–only difference is I put the chicken and onion plus our favorite spices(garlic powder,crushed red pepper) in the wok/skillet first. (I also use any vegetable oil such as canola, etc.) I fry it up and then add the rice. Then add the frozen peas and carrots. Add a couple of eggs (break the yolks) and let them cook awhile, stir it all together with the soy sauce. Best recipe, glad someone has posted it!
Someone else said it earlier but the real trick to restaurant quality fried rice is to cook the rice the day before and let it refrigerate. It truly makes a difference in the consistency of the rice…the rice will be firm and not the least bit mushy. Then follow the instructions above for the rest of the preparation…just add a small bit of fish sauce as well, this is standard….dont worry, a bit of it wont make it taste ‘fishy’
Omg, super easy & super yummy!!! My husband was impressed!! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! :)
This is really good.I added some diced celery to the onions and peas and carrots. I have even added water chestnuts to give a crunch. thanks for the recipe. Bon Apitito
This recipe is excellent!!! I just cooked it tonight (made my chicken and rice last night) and loved it! My daughter didn’t like the onion so I may omit next time and add broccoli but overall perfect recipe!!
I made this tonight with the teriyaki chicken…..FANTASTIC! I used some of the leftover liquid from cooking the chicken instead of the soy sauce….delish! Thanks!
I made this last night (I left out the chicken) with orange ginger chicken, it turned out really awesome and my family loved it. We will officially no longer order takeout :)
Wonderful. Great to hear. Hopefully it will save $$$ too :)
Loved the recipe! Adding the egg really made the meal taste more rich, almost buttery :)
I just made this and I’m eating it as we speak. It’s too good to wait til I’m done to say how good it is lol
Another good thing for this is using day old rice…it’s hardened up a bit so doesn’t make it as mushy.
I found this recipe on pinterest and I am going to make it tomorrow. I have all the ingredients I need but I can’t seem to find the sesame oil anywhere! Does anyone know what grocery store has sesame oil? Or if I can substitute it for something else?? Thanks so much!!!
You could make do with olive oil.
I was actually able to find the sesame oil after work yesterday! I made the slow cooker teriyaki chicken last night (which tasted amazing!!!!) and the rice. So I will be putting it all together to make the chicken fried rice tonight. I can’t wait!!
What a great, flavorful,simple recipe! I live in the middle of nowhere and no one will deliver to my house, so I have been missing Chinese takeout. This recipe is a great substitute, thanks for bringing takeout home!
You’re welcome! So glad to hear it was helpful for you.
Tried this tonight & it got a thumbs up from everyone. Used the slow cooker teriyaki chicken, some of the leftover sauce (thickened), a bit of Chinese five spice & mushrooms instead of carrots. This a great base recipe that you can adjust to your own preferences, but dont omit the sesame oil, that is key to the deep flavor. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Made this last night with modifications and it was great! I used my “new” Breville electric wok I just got on eBay. Awesome basic recipe that you can change up. I made two batches to use up all my rice and mixed up the veggies – on the second batch I didn’t have peas left so used bok choy, corn and carrots. I made extra rice the night before, put it in the freezer after it cooled, put in in the fridge the next day, and into the oven’s warming drawer about half an hour before cooking to bring it up to room temp. I cracked two eggs in a bowl first and whisked them with about half a teaspoon of sambal olek, sprayed the wok with cooking spray and cooked them omelette style in the wok and removed. Then cooked the onions in a T of oil until brown, then added more oil and mixed in everything else. For the sauce, I used 1 T oyster sauce, 1 T black soy sauce, 1 T low Na soy sauce, 2T regular soy sauce. I had just been to the asian market so had stocked up on asian cooking goodies!
This was a super easy awesome dish. Even a blonde could do it!!!
Haha! Glad you liked it.
YUM!!! I made this tonight and it was great!! I marinated my chicken in teriyaki sauce first and I added about a half a pkg. of fried rice seasoning mix. Will definitely make this again!! Thanks for the recipe!
Made this tonight and it was a big hit with the hubs. Next time, I will definitely scramble the egg separately and reduce the sesame oil by one tablespoon. I’d never cooked with sesame oil before and the flavor was quite potent–good, but potent.
I made the better than take out chicken fried rice last night for dinner. My hubby loved it!! :) Three cheers for you Rachel!
I made the terriyaki chicken before and added it to the fried rice! It was great!!
Thanks! So glad to hear it.
I used basmati rice, cooked it in the slow cooker and then dumped it in with the chicken and veggies, and it turned out amazing. I also used garlic butter to cook the carrots and peas in. I also didn’t use the sesame oil either. Only because I didn’t have any. I asked Hubby if this was this was a more than once meal and he said yes and rated it 9.5/10! I found this recipe on pinterest. Great recipe!
Not the slow cooker, the rice cooker. Haha.
Thanks! That makes me so happy to hear.
I had brown rice left from the night before and used that. I will never use brown rice again. It just isn’t as good as white rice for this dish. I thought it was really good other than my mistake of using the brown rice…lol Oh well you never know until you trie, right? Your photos are really a nice addition to the recipe. Thanks my dear :-))
You’re welcome! And thanks!
Just made this…best chicken fried rice EVER! Thank you for sharing!
May I recommend adding a touch of Sesame Oil? It adds so much flavor and the aroma is fantastic.
Yes, I agree! The recipe calls for this.
xo
rach
We made your fried rice and the whole family loved it and it was easy!!! Thanks!!
I have NEVER commented on a recipe before but I’ve tried to make fried rice before and it always tasted a little bit off. This recipe is DELICIOUS! I’m going to have to make a double batch next time because everyone wanted thirds and fourths ;)
That’s great to hear, Abbey! And glad this could be the inspiration for your first ever comment :)
LOVE this recipe, I do make it with the slow cooker teriyaki chicken. I use teriyaki sauce in place of the sugar/soy combination… I find 4 cups of rice is way too much. I had to toss it all together in a huge mixing bowl to be able to mix it at all. I bring this down to 3 cups prepared rice & that works much better for us. Otherwise, EXCELLENT.
Add some chopped pineapple… it will change your life! :D
Mmm. I think I’ll do that.
I found you on Pinterest. I just got done making this. It was really good. I did just use a 1/4 cup of the sauce from the chicken receipe you linked this fried rice too, instead of using the soy sauce and brown rice instead and it was sooo good. Yum I look forward to leftovers!
We lived in Shanghai for two years and pretty much agree with Rob. it needs to be day old rice, and they cook the egg separately. I was not taught to use sesame oil and don’t really like it, but we did always use a spoonful of rice wine along with the soy sauce.
I made this, exactly as the directions said. It was perfect! My husband and kids ate most of it before I could even get to it.
So good!!! Thank you!!
im gonna have to try this. it looks easy enough ive tried to make it before but no luck.. this is about the same thing i did minus the sesame oil. so ill give it a go! thanks and wish me luck :)
The key is the sesame oil. You can use a tablespoon or two of canola or peanut oil to fry with and just add one tablespoon of sesame oil (make sure it is the dark Asian version) when you add the soy sauce. The flavor will be more intense that way.
We all loved this! My only modification was to add about a T. of agave nectar with the soy sauce. Probably sounds weird, but I like it! It’s not enough to make it sweet, just more like a soy sauce packet you get with store bought frozen pot stickers!
I just LOVE it !!!!
Awesome fried rice, thank you! We substitute the rice with shirataki rice as the no carb version and it’s fantastic!
It serves about 6 and I think it would be great for freezing.
xo
rach
Has anyone tried freezing this recipe? Also, how many does this feed for a meal?
Big thumbs up! I did make a few adjustments for what I had on hand. Fresh broccoli and corn. Brown rice and reduced sodium soy sauce. Great reciepe.
Thanks!
xo
rach
Interesting take on Fried Rice… I have done it differently having learned a few secrets from my father who spent many years in the Far East, and a number of other friends who were of Oriental descent. This was not bad for a quickie dish. Hint: try letting the rice cool uncovered in a refrigerator overnight, stirring often to allow to dry somewhat. Then add soy sauce gradually, allowing steam to dissipate each time — allows the flavors to seep in while caramelizing the rice grains. Cook egg separately, cutting fragments, cook veggies and meats the same, adding to rice to reheat along with egg strips.
Great tips. Thank you.
xo
rach
Just tried this dish tonight! We loved it, and i knew it was a hit when our one year old loved it as well…. will be doing this dish from now on. ps everyone should try its soo easy
Yay! Thanks :)
xo
rach
When making our rice we either add a bullion cube or use 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken broth. gives the rice a little extra flavoring
Found you on Pinterest and my bowl of fried rice is sitting next to me as I type :)
Thanks for a great recipe!
BLING, BLING. Fave Etsy shops include: http://www.etsy.com/shop/moxieandoliver and http://www.etsy.com/shop/WryAndGinger. Thanks so much for the giveaway and your great blog, Rachel. Tonight, my son and I will make BTT chicken fried rice – yum.
Found you on pinterest…made this tonight. Yum!!! Love it! Thanks! One less recipe that I have to go out for!
I can support that! Much healthier too.
xo
rach
This was SO good. I halved the recipe because I’m only cooking for one, and it was perfect! Thank you so much, this will definitely be a regular item!
My mom used to make something like this for us when I was little, now I can make it myself!! I’d probably add some water chestnuts and maybe some bean sprouts, but this is a great recipe, thanks for sharing!!
You’re welcome! Great ideas for other ingredients, too. This is a really versatile dish.
xo
rach
At what point do you add the water chesnuts & bean sprouts? I was thinking both of these sounded good in this recipe too, but haven’t cooked with them before…
Hey Rachel, I just wanted to say I love your blog! I made your teriyaki chicken today for the chicken fried rice, both are amazing, and I’m making your slow cooker Italian chicken recipe which looks wonderful later this week! Keep it up!
Thanks Amanda! So glad for the support.
xo
rach
Sprinkle some chicken boullion granules at the last minute and slightly stir. I learned this from a Japanese friend and it’s great!
Neat! Way more authentic than I am capable of being.
xo
rach
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