Easy Fried Rice with Egg

This Easy Fried Rice with Egg is SO good, and will quickly become your go-to recipe for fried rice! This simple version is packed with garlic, carrots, peas, and plenty of scrambled eggs. 

For more fried rice recipes, check out this Quinoa Fried Rice (Super Healthy!), this Kona Grill Copycat Fried Rice, and this Breakfast Fried Rice. 

Easy Fried Rice with Egg

If a meal takes 20 minutes to throw together, is loved universally by my family, somewhat healthy, AND delicious. Well, I’m all in. Easy Fried Rice with Egg checks all of those boxes.

Honestly, everyone should have a perfect fried rice recipe in their back pocket. This is ours. It’s packed with plenty of veggies, sticky white rice (but you can totally use brown!), juuust enough oil to cook the veggies, and slightly crisp up the rice without adding a million calories, and the perfect ratio of soy sauce to rice. Also, when it comes to fried rice, plenty of scrambled egg is a must for me, so I always include at two, sometimes three eggs in my recipe. You can of course, adjust to your taste. 

I love this for some many reasons. It’s delicious, it’s easy to throw together, and I especially love that it’s a lot healthier and more flavorful than any other takeout fried you can pick up. 

Tricks to perfect fried rice

• Use cold rice. It’s essential you don’t use hot or even warm rice. This applies to both white rice and brown rice. When the rice is hot or warm, it sticks together (which is great when you’re just serving rice), but when you’re cooking fried rice, you want the individual pieces of rice to separate so they cook evenly. 
• Don’t use too much soy sauce. I used to think, the more soy sauce, the better. Not the case. You really only need a little bit to flavor the rice. 
• Make sure you have a large surface to cook the rice on, so the rice “fries” and doesn’t steam too much. I like to use a large griddle to cook the rice. It can get a little messy, but it’s worth it. If you don’t have a large griddle, you’re largest wok or non-stick pan will work fine. 
• Work quickly. Fried rice should be a quick process. Use a super high heat, and keep the veggies and rice constantly moving with a spatula. 

What kind of rice should you use for Fried Rice??

In this recipe, I used white rice made in my rice cooker. It makes PERFECT fried rice every time. I then spread the rice out on a baking sheet and chill in the fridge until it’s cooled off. You could also use brown rice, or just pick up a box of steamed white rice from your local Chinese restaurant. Sometimes I also like to use Trader Joe’s frozen rice. 

Ingredients 

• onion
• garlic
• sesame oil 
• canola oil 
• white long grain rice (or brown rice)
• soy sauce 
• garlic powder
• egg
• frozen peas and carrots

How to make Easy Fried Rice with Egg

Can I make fried rice in advance? 

Yes! This is actually SO good leftover, so feel free to make it one or even two days in advance. Just plan in a large bowl or plate, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave until hot, about 1-2 minutes. You can also re-heat it on the griddle if you want to crisp the rice up again. 

Do I have to use white rice? 

No, I use brown rice all the time. It just takes a little bit longer to cook brown rice. 

 

Substitutions and Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success

• Feel free to swap out whatever veggies you want. Water chestnuts, baby corn, or shiitake mushrooms would be lovely additions. 
• If you want to make it a little bit more hearty, add in shredded or diced chicken. 
• Swap out brown rice for white rice. 
• Use Tamari instead of soy sauce. 
• Add in a little bit of grated ginger to the onion and garlic. 

What to serve with Easy Fried Rice

• Crispy Honey Beef with Snow Peas
• Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Sweet and Sour Baked Salmon