Chicken Fried Rice

6 Servings
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Chicken Fried Rice is even more flavorful and fresh than takeout. Made in one skillet with juicy chicken, tender rice, and mixed veggies.

This easy dish takes a classic rice recipe is an easy Weeknight Meal. Instead of just Fried Rice, you also get delicious chicken as a protein so it’s filling enough to act as your main dish.

Chicken Fried Rice in bowl with chopsticks on plate

Chinese Chicken Fried Rice is a classic takeout dish. But, you can easily make the delicious meal at home. Start the recipe about a half-hour in advance so that you have time to let the chicken marinate and absorb the amazing flavor from the Asian sauce. Once you start cooking, the recipe will fly by and you’ll have a delicious meal ready to go in practically no time.

Chicken Fried Rice ingredients in separate bowls

With the flavorful meat and rice, Chicken Fried Rice acts as a combination of the main dish and a classic side dish. So, you don’t really have to worry about adding to the meal if you don’t want to. However, if you want some extra Chinese takeout sides, make yourself up some Egg Rolls or Spring Rolls to complete the dish.

Why do I need leftover rice for fried rice?

One of the keys to making perfect Chicken Fried Rice is using day-old leftover rice. If you let the cooked rice sit in the fridge overnight, the cold rice firms up. When you cook the white rice in this classic dish, it won’t become as mushy like fresh warm rice would.

Chicken Fried Rice preparing chicken and rice collage

Asian Chicken Recipes

Key Ingredients

  • Rice: For traditional fried rice, long-grain white rice is ideal. You can use brown rice or other kinds of white rice, but long-grain rice will give you the most authentic flavor and texture.
  • Chicken breast: Using one pound boneless chicken breast is the perfect way to make fried rice into a filling main dish.
  • Vegetable mix: It’s super easy to add flavorful and colorful veggies by using a frozen vegetable mix. Frozen carrots and peas are standard in fried rice. But you can also add other veggies that you like.
  • Sauce: For the tangy Asian sauce, just add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil to the mix. Stir the rice so that it can absorb the delicious flavor around it.

Chicken Fried Rice egg rice mixture with chicken and veggies in skillet before mixing

Cooking Tips

  • Prep time: Start by chopping the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken pieces, cornstarch, soy sauce, and garlic powder to a large bowl, and mix the chicken marinade well. Cover the dish and put it in the fridge to marinate for 20 minutes.
  • Cook chicken: Once it’s marinated, add the vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon sesame oil to a large skillet wok. Set to medium heat, then add the chicken breast and cook on each side for 3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan.
  • Rice mixture: Next, add the remaining 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, and the rice to the skillet. Break the rice apart and mix with the oil as it cooks. Continue the cook time for 3-5 minutes until the rice is cooked through, but not browned. Add 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Stir the mixture quickly to combine. Push the rice to the side of the pan and add the eggs. Stir quickly again, and chop the eggs into small pieces.
  • Finish: Add the cooked chicken and frozen vegetable mix to the pan. Stir the Chicken Rice mixture until warmed through, then serve delicious Chicken Fried Rice.

Chicken Fried Rice in bowl with chopsticks on plate

Variations

  • Fresh vegetables: Along with the frozen veggies, you could try chopping up some fresh vegetables to add to the mix. Green onions, bell peppers, cauliflower florets, white onion, or green beans would all make delicious additions to Chicken Fried Rice.
  • Brown rice: Instead of white rice, you can use leftover brown rice for a slightly healthier fried rice recipe.
  • Beef fried rice: If you prefer, you could make this recipe with ground beef instead of chicken. Brown ground beef until all the pink is gone. Then you can remove it from the pan and cook the rice as usual.
  • Flavor additions: For more flavors, try adding seasonings like black pepper, white pepper, cumin, onion powder, or red pepper flakes. You could also add minced garlic cloves. Or for some heat mix in hot sauce.

Chicken Fried Rice finished dish in a skillet with wooden spoon

Chinese Side Dishes 

How to Store

  • Serve: Don’t leave Chicken Fried Rice at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
  • Store: Once the rice and chicken have cooled, you can put them in an airtight container. Then put it in the fridge to store for up to 1 week.
  • Freeze: As long as it’s properly sealed, you can also freeze Chicken Fried Rice for up to 6 months.

Chicken Fried Rice in bowl with chopsticks on plate

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Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken Fried Rice is even more flavorful and fresh than takeout. Made in one skillet with juicy chicken, tender rice, and mixed veggies.
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Chinese
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

Chicken:

Fried Rice:

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 cups long-grain rice , cold cooked rice
  • 3 large eggs , whisked
  • 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
  • 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

  • Chop the chicken thighs into 1/2" chunks.
  • In a large bowl add the chicken, cornstarch, soy sauce, and garlic powder, mixing well.
  • Let marinate for 20 minutes.
  • Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon sesame oil to a large heavy skillet.
  • Cook the chicken for 3 minutes on each side then remove from the pan.
  • Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a wok or large skillet and add the rice, breaking it apart and mix it into the oil.
  • Cook on high for 3-5 minutes or until rice starts getting a bit cooked through but not browned.
  • Add in the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil and stir quickly to combine then push the rice off to the side of the pan and add in the eggs stirring them quickly and chopping them as you cook them to break them into little pieces.
  • Add the cooked chicken and frozen carrots and peas, mixing the mixture together quickly, and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 799kcal | Carbohydrates: 106g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 873mg | Potassium: 447mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 2410IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 2mg

Chicken Fried Rice in bowl with chopsticks on plate and preparation collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. No more need to get takeout! This was super easy and had awesome flavor! I didn’t even want to put all of the sauces on it like I normally do.

  2. Made this for dinner last night and we loved the way it turned out! So delicious and tasted better than takeout.