Easy Egg Fried Rice (蛋炒饭)

Name: Easy Egg Fried Rice (蛋炒饭)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons peanut oil ((or vegetable oil)); 4 eggs (, beaten ); 3 cups cooked white rice (day-old rice works best); 1/2 teaspoon salt ((or to taste)); 4 green onions (, sliced)

A super easy egg fried rice that you can prep and cook in 10 minutes, featuring tender eggs with crispy rice simply seasoned with scallions and salt. It is the perfect side dish for your Chinese dinner, or you can even serve it by itself as a light meal. {Vegetarian, Gluten-Free}

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By Maggie Zhu
Published 04/13/23 Updated 11/15/24

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This 3-ingredient egg fried rice has been my favorite snack since the time I was growing up. Yep, for me, the ideal afternoon or late night snack is a plate of fried rice. Not chips or cookies. I love it for breakfast as well. This fried rice is a life-saver because it’s so fast to make. It only uses three ingredients: leftover rice, eggs, and green onions, which I always have in the fridge. Whenever I’m craving some salty food, I rush to the kitchen to whip up this dish in five minutes.

I have quite a few fried rice recipes that I love, for example, Yang Zhou Fried Rice, XO Fried Rice with Char Siu, and Chicken Fried Rice. But my go-to side dish is still this egg fried rice. It does not require any complicated seasoning or any special meat or vegetables. It’s so simple yet comforting and satisfying.

Egg Fried Rice Ingredients

You only need a few ingredients for egg fried rice:

Day-old rice
Eggs
Green onions
Salt (for extra flavor, you can add a touch of chicken bouillon or MSG as well)

What is day-old rice?

You might often see “day-old rice”, “overnight rice”, or “leftover rice” in a fried rice recipe. It simply means that you should use rice that is not freshly cooked, which is hot and sticky.

The reason is, you want the rice to be a bit dried out and cold, so the grains separate easily during cooking and result in a nicely toasted crispy texture. Freshly cooked rice tends to get mushy and clumpy when made into fried rice.

The best way to prepare rice for fried rice

That said, if you do not have leftover rice but want to make this dish, it’s possible to make it from uncooked rice. What I usually do is to:

Use slightly less water when steaming, so it results in slightly firmer rice.
Once the rice is cooked, spread it out into a thin layer on a large plate (or a tray) to cool completely
Then move the rice to the fridge to cool and dry off a bit before making the fried rice.

If you don’t plan to make the fried rice immediately, you can store the dried, cooled rice in a sealed container or ziplock bag in the fridge or freezer. The result gets even better when you store the rice in a cold environment for a day or two, which removes the moisture from the grains.

What type of rice to use

The most commonly used rice in Chinese fried rice is Jasmine rice or regular medium grain rice. It is OK to use long grain rice as well, although it gives the dish a different look. I usually do not use short grain rice (or sushi rice) for fried rice, because the grains are stickier.

It is totally OK to use brown rice to make egg fried rice as well.

How to make egg fried rice

To make egg fried rice, heat the oil until hot and pour in the beaten eggs. Wait until the bottom sets and scramble lightly. Adding the eggs into hot oil will set the bottom fast and create a lovely crust, which is quite delicious. The hot oil also causes the eggs to fluff up, creating an airy texture.

Add the rice when the eggs are mostly set but partially runny. Cook and stir to chop the eggs into smaller bits. This way, you will get nice egg bits, and some of the grains will be coated with eggs for a great texture.

Add the green onion and salt and thoroughly toast the rice to finish up.

Once done, you will get a lovely egg fried rice with egg bits that are partially crispy yet still tender, and separated grains of rice that are perfectly toasted. The whole dish only takes a few minutes to whip together.

Different variations of egg fried rice

I love to keep my egg fried rice very simple. But here are some other simple ways to spice it up to make different versions:

Add 2 tablespoons soy sauce (with 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce if you have it) and 1/2 teaspoon sugar onto the rice to make it soy sauce fried rice. Skip the salt or use very little at the end to adjust seasoning.
Consider adding diced ham or crispy bacon bits along with the green onion to further boost the flavor.
Add 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables (such as green beans, carrots, and peas) along with the rice, for extra intake of veggies.

More egg fried rice cooking tips

Here are a few tricks to make the best fried rice. You can use an electric stove and a nonstick pan and still get great results.

(1) Don’t skimp on the oil. This is the best way to make the rice crispy without making the dish too dry. I would use at least 2 tablespoons of oil for the recipe below. You can even use a bit more without having the rice taste greasy.

(2) Use PLENTY of green onions. It is a key ingredient to make the rice fragrant. You can use regular onion as a substitute, but green onion always works best for fried rice.

(3) Do not stir too frequently. This way, the rice will be perfectly toasted in the hot pan. That’s the other secret to creating super crispy rice without using a wok.

(4) You can use a touch of chicken bouillon or MSG for extra flavor. When it comes to fried rice I keep it simple, because I want to taste the natural aroma of the rice and the eggs. But if you want to give the dish an extra kick, a touch of chicken bouillon or MSG is a great idea (Chinese restaurants commonly use this trick).

Frequently asked questions

How do I make rice taste like a restaurant?

Chinese restaurants use a wok and very high heat to create wok hei, giving the egg fried rice a smoky flavor. They also use a lot of oil for a better texture, and a pinch of MSG to boost the flavor. When cooking at home, it’s a bit harder to achieve the wok hei unless you have a very powerful gas stove and are familiar with cooking with a wok. But as long as you use overnight rice and toast it properly, you will get very nicely charred rice. Extra oil and a pinch of MSG always help.

Do you add eggs before or after in fried rice?

There are many ways to to make egg fried rice, and you can add the eggs before or after in fried rice depending on the texture you prefer. For example, in my beef fried rice recipe, I cooked the eggs separately and add them towards the end. Because I don’t want the eggs to get darker when I use soy sauce to season the rice. It also keeps the egg more tender than crispy. I chose to add eggs in this recipe because I want the eggs to be crispy. And since the recipe only uses salt, it won’t make the eggs darker when you season the rice.

What ingredients are in Chinese egg fried rice?

There are so unlimited ways to make egg fried rice, but you should always keep the ingredients simple. Like I suggested above, you can use a bit diced vegetables, some ham or crispy bacon pieces, or a bit soy sauce in your egg fried rice. But it’s important to not overloading your fried rice with too many ingredients, so the flavor of the eggs shine.

What goes with egg fried rice?

You can serve egg fried rice as a small light meal by itself. It is also a great side to accompany other main dishes, soup or appetizer. For example, a full Chinese dinner can include a cucumber salad, kung pao chicken, and a hot and sour soup, along with the egg fried rice.

You’d be surprised at how satisfying a plate of egg fried rice is, with just a handful of ingredients. You can serve it alongside stir fries, soup, or stew to make a full-on Chinese dinner. But sometimes I eat it as a main for breakfast or lunch because it’s so good!

Easy dishes to serve egg fried rice with

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