Chinese Egg Fried Rice

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This delicious egg fried rice can be served as a side or main dish.

As simple as it may be, this egg fried rice recipe is one of my favourite side dishes when I cook up a Chinese feast. For that matter, you could cook this egg fried rice up and serve it as a main course too. This is the easiest version of my egg fried rice recipe but there is so much more you can do with it which is all explained below.

This is the best egg fried rice!

You know when you get a perfect egg fried rice because you just can’t stop eating it. That is what you are going to get here!

This is my favourite egg fried rice recipe because of the flavour and it’s so easy to prepare.

When I was growing up in Turlock, California, the town was still small and only had about 10 restaurants. Times have changed as you can find whatever type of food you want there now with hundreds of restaurants to choose from.

I’m not suggesting you go there as it’s still not a top holiday destination but at least the people there can eat well now. One of the restaurants back in the day was owned by my friend’s parents and it was the only Chinese restaurant for miles.

My family would go there at least once a week and this egg fried rices was always on the table. I do mean THIS egg fried rice because I learned the recipe by hanging out at my friend’s restaurant after school.

To make this version, you will need…

What I have for you here is the basic egg fried rice which is what is served at so many restaurants. you can do more with the recipe but let’s start here.

Chilled cooked rice: One of the biggest mistakes people make when preparing fried rice is that they cook the rice and then immediately use it in their fried rice recipe. You have to use cold cooked rice in any fried rice recipe or it will become mushy. So no shortcuts here! Cook your rice and place it in the fridge until really cold.
Eggs: Like the rice above, this is an obvious ingredient for egg fried rice. I prefer using free range eggs when I can get them as the yolks are much more colourful and add to the presentation. Today I used barn eggs as that is all that is available at the moment.
Garlic: If you really don’t like garlic, you can leave it out. I like a lot of it as it really adds to the recipe.
Spring onions (scallions): Simple but delicious. I always add spring onions (scallions) to my egg fried rice dishes. You can also add other vegetables as I’ve listed below.
Toasted sesame oil: You can find untoasted sesame oil too so don’t use that. Find toasted sesame oil for this recipe.
Soy sauce: We’re talking light soy sauce here. You can add it to the recipe as written. I also like to have it at the table too for those who love soy sauce as much as I do.
Lemon juice: This adds a delicious sour flavour to the rice and should be added to taste.

There is so much you can do with this egg fried rice recipe.

As you will see from the ingredients listed above, you really don’t need many to make a delicious egg fried rice. That said, there are ways you can change this recipe to taste or even add a bit of texture to it.

Tips for making this recipe your own…

To sweeten the rice: Many recipes call for a little oyster sauce. This will sweeten the rice but be careful when adding it. Add a drop and taste it. Then add more to taste.
Getting a western flavour: You could add a little butter to the rice while it’s frying. Not much. About one or two tablespoons. Butter isn’t added to Chinese fried rice dishes but it’s good, so do it if you like.
Adding more texture: This recipe only calls for spring onions (scallions) as a vegetable. You could also add peas, carrots, broccoli… whatever you like. With vegetables like carrots that are quite hard, fry them first to cook through before adding the cold rice. Softer vegetables like peas can be stirred in at the end of cooking.

Step by step photographs of making egg fried rice…

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy this egg fried rice recipe. If you do try it, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.