Easy Fried Rice
Use fresh or leftover white rice for this easy, vegetable-studded fried rice recipe. We fry the grains in batches and season the dish lightly for a perfect texture and flavor.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Active time
- 5 min
- Yield
- Serves 2 to 3
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Equipment
- 1 required
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Ingredients and Constraints
Ingredients
- Preparation: Finely Chopped
- Preparation: Peeled and Cut Into Small Dice
- Preparation: Thinly Sliced
- Preparation: Minced
Ingredient watchpoints5 watchpoints
Short requirements and tradeoffs to check while gathering ingredients; detailed source notes stay expandable.
Cooked White Rice
2 cups cooked white rice (12 ounces; 350g; see note)
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, or preparation detail.
Details and source
Source: Easy Fried Rice
Vegetable Oil
2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable or canola oil, divided
The source ingredient row lists alternatives.
Details and source
Acceptable alternatives: canola oil; divided
Source: Easy Fried Rice
Onion
1 small onion, finely chopped (4 ounces; 115g)
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, or preparation detail.
Details and source
Source: Easy Fried Rice
Carrot
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into small dice (3 ounces; 85g)
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, or preparation detail.
Details and source
Source: Easy Fried Rice
Garlic
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons; 5g)
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, or preparation detail.
Details and source
Source: Easy Fried Rice
Additional ingredient notes
Required setup
Equipment
Before You Cook
Constraints, controls, and warnings to review before starting.
Decisions before cookingDetails2
Reviewed comparisons and tradeoffs that affect the path before the first active step.
Rule #1: Use the Right Rice (Almost Any Rice)
Perfect fried rice is all about texture.
Fried rice recipes typically call for Chinese-style medium-grain rice, though Thai-style versions use fragrant jasmine, and Japanese-style fried rice can even be made with short-grain sushi rice. Longer-grain rice varieties tended to be the most troublesome, as they fell apart a little bit during stir-frying and lacked the plumpness that gives fried rice its signature chewy-tender texture.
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Rule #3: Rinse the Rice
Nobody likes clumpy fried rice.
A quick dunk and shake in a bowl of cold water, or a 30-second rinse under a cold tap while agitating the rice, is plenty.
Source video
Source video
Method Timeline
Prep
ActivePrep
5 min
Source Recipe JSON-LD prepTime.
Cook
ActiveCook
20 min
Source Recipe JSON-LD cookTime.
Finish
ActiveFinish
Not listed
Final serving step and finishing actions from the source directions.
Step 1
If using day-old rice (see notes), transfer to a medium bowl and break rice up with your hands into individual grains before proceeding. Heat 1/2 tablespoon (7ml) vegetable oil in a wok over high heat until smoking. Add half of rice and cook, stirring and tossing, until rice is pale brown and toasted and has a lightly chewy texture, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with another 1/2 tablespoon oil and remaining rice.
3 minCook%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%3Aformat(webp)%2Feasy-vegetable-fried-rice-recipe-step-01-0345c5c9ba7049229f32a4fba5a5d26f.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Image detailsBrowned white rice inside of a carbon steel wok.Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg · Easy Fried RiceDev reference Checks1
TimingInfoTimingabout 3 minutes
Target: 3 minute
Expected state: Add half of rice and cook, stirring and tossing, until rice is pale brown and toasted and has a lightly chewy texture, about 3 minutes.
Troubleshooting1
CautionRice too wet or clumpyStep 1Keep the rice dry and separate
Rice clumps together or turns soft instead of toasty.
Fresh rice or compacted cold rice still has too much surface moisture.
Prevention
Break up day-old rice into individual grains before frying. If using fresh rice, spread it out to cool and dry first.
Recovery
Pause and break up clumps with the spatula; if the rice is very wet, fry in smaller batches.
Inputs and tools3
Uses
- 2 cups cooked white rice (12 ounces; 350g; see note)
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable or canola oil, divided
Techniques
Why and source
This step has reviewed source-backed guidance.
- Source: Easy Fried Rice
Step 2
Return rice to wok and press it up the sides, leaving a space in the middle. Add 1/2 tablespoon (7ml) oil to the space. Add onion, carrot, scallions, and garlic and cook, stirring gently, until lightly softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Toss with rice to combine. Add soy sauce and sesame oil and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
1 minTossCoatSeason%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%3Aformat(webp)%2F__opt__aboutcom__coeus__resources__content_migration__serious_eats__seriouseats.com__images__2016__01__20160206-fried-rice-food-lab-45-1500x1125-f4e6db91bb1849d796f30b0c02250b85.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Image detailsAdding soy sauce to fried rice in a wok.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt · Easy Fried RiceDev reference %3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%3Aformat(webp)%2Feasy-vegetable-fried-rice-recipe-step-02-Collage-e13fc3bd6f754798bbc994c763b1c183.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Image detailsA four-photo collage showing: making space in the center of the wok, filling this space with vegetables, tossing everything together with a wooden spoon, then the final dish.Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg · Easy Fried RiceDev reference Checks1
TimingInfoTimingabout 1 minute
Target: 1 minute
Expected state: Add onion, carrot, scallions, and garlic and cook, stirring gently, until lightly softened and fragrant, about 1 minute.
Inputs and tools12
Uses
- Kosher salt and ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) soy sauce
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons; 5g)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced (1 ounce; 30g)
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into small dice (3 ounces; 85g)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (4 ounces; 115g)
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable or canola oil, divided
- 2 cups cooked white rice (12 ounces; 350g; see note)
Techniques
Why and source
This step has reviewed source-backed guidance.
- Source: Easy Fried Rice
Step 3
Push rice to side of wok and add remaining 1/2 tablespoon (7ml) oil. Break egg into oil and season with a little salt. Use a spatula to scramble egg, breaking it up into small bits. Toss egg and rice together.
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Image detailsFried rice and scrambled egg tossed with a spatula in a wok.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt · Easy Fried RiceDev reference %3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%3Aformat(webp)%2Feasy-vegetable-fried-rice-recipe-step-03-Collage-a807c5265d864652922d648c0fd53fe8.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Image detailsA two-image collage showing the fried rice pushed to the left side of a wok, with an egg being added and then scrambled on the right side.Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg · Easy Fried RiceDev reference Inputs and tools3
Uses
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable or canola oil, divided
- 1 large egg
- Kosher salt and ground white pepper
Step 4
Add frozen peas and continue to toss and stir until peas are thawed and every grain of rice is separate. Serve immediately.
Serve%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%3Aformat(webp)%2Feasy-vegetable-fried-rice-recipe-step-04-Collage-3d9d9c43c30947e0937c97e979a87c3d.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Image detailsA two-image collage showing peas added to the wok, and then incorporated into the plated fried rice.Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg · Easy Fried RiceDev reference Checks1
ServiceMain recipeSource service instruction
Add frozen peas and continue to toss and stir until peas are thawed and every grain of rice is separate. Serve immediately.
Inputs and tools3
Uses
- 2 cups cooked white rice (12 ounces; 350g; see note)
- 4 ounces (115g) frozen peas
Techniques
Why and source
This step has reviewed source-backed guidance.
- Source: Easy Fried Rice
Learn More
Extra cooking notes, tests, and source details kept out of the step-by-step method.
Testing notes
Useful tests and side-by-side notes after the method is clear.
Rule #2: Plan in Advance if You Can, But Don't Worry if You Don't
Presumably these batches would get both dry and stale.
None of the very tightly wrapped batches worked, which indicates that dryness is an essential factor for fried rice. The batches that were stored loosely wrapped for times ranging between one hour and around six hours actually became more difficult to fry properly.
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Rule #4: Break Up the Rice
Best to break up the rice by hand and leave the oil for the wok.
Fried rice is more forgiving than most stir-fries (unlike meat or green vegetables, it's not easy to overcook rice), but it's still a fast process.
Rule #6: Keep Things Hot. Very Hot.
Our Western burners typically have around one-tenth the heat output of wok burners.
The second trick is to cook in batches, adding no more than about a cup of rice at a time to the wok, stirring and tossing it as soon as it goes in to get it nicely coated in oil.
Rule #7: Go Easy With the Add-Ins
Just as a plate of pasta is really about the pasta itself, not the sauce, fried rice is all about the rice.
Rule #9: Season Rice With Salt
That teaspoon of soy sauce will add some salt to the mix, but it's not enough to season the whole wok-ful.
Rule #10: How to Add an Egg
Okay, this one technically isn't a rule, but eggs are so common in fried rice that it may as well be.
Rule #11: Add Fresh Green Elements
Just as I add herbs to my tomato sauce before tossing it with pasta, I like to add fresh green elements to my fried rice before serving it.
This can be anything from thinly sliced scallion greens to chopped cilantro, basil, mint, chives, or, in this case, that steam-table Chinese classic: green peas. I use frozen peas straight out of the freezer.
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Rule #12: Toss Well
This is fried rice that actually tastes like rice, not just a mushy vehicle to transport sauce into your mouth.
This is fried rice the way it's meant to be.
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Recipe structure
Components and intermediate outputs created by the method.
Main recipe
Recipe card ingredients and steps.
Serves 2 to 3
Extra useful notes
Short source-backed recommendations and facts that do not need a step.
For the best results, use Chinese-style medium-grain rice, jasmine rice, or sushi rice.
For the best results, use Chinese-style medium-grain rice, jasmine rice, or sushi rice. Rice should either be cooked fresh, spread on a tray, and allowed to cool for five minutes, or, alternatively, transferred to a loosely covered container and refrigerated for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days.
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Source and Origin
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Adapted from source
Imported from the Serious Eats page for dev review.
Copy risk: Unchecked
Easy Fried Rice
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