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Here’s how to make fried rice with day-old rice, garlic, ginger, and crisp veggies: it’s ready in 20 minutes and better than a restaurant!
What’s your favorite comfort food? Mac and cheese and pizza can do the trick for some people, but my ultimate is digging into a pile of warm fried rice. There’s something about the chewy clumps of eggs and the savory ginger and soy-infused bites that feels so satisfying.
After years of tinkering and making fried rice on the fly, I finally wrote down my master method. Here’s how to make restaurant style fried rice at home!
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Delicious! It came together so quickly and I loved it with the Tofu Scramble! Thanks for a recipe that is going in my rotation!” -Darlene
Why Day-Old Rice Makes the Best Fried Rice
Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice, eggs, seafood or meat, and vegetables that’s popular in many Asian cuisines: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Cambodian, Indonesian, and more. It’s served in restaurants and made by millions of home cooks. The most basic adage for this classic recipe is: use day old rice. Why use day old rice for fried rice?
- Freshly cooked rice has a lot of moisture. If you use fresh rice, it clumps together and turns out soggy.
- Leftover rice dries out. When you cook it, the grains stay separate and form that signature texture. For the best fried rice, make it using leftovers (stored up to 5 days in the refrigerator) or boil a pot the night before.
- What if you don’t have leftover rice? Keep reading for a shortcut…
No Leftover Rice? Try My Freezer Shortcut
Sometimes I don’t think ahead enough to have rice made up the night before. While that’s the primary path to fried rice, I’ve got a little shortcut if you want to make it on the same day:
- Make the rice. Once it’s finished steaming, proceed to the next step.
- Spread on a tray and freeze 15 minutes: Spread the freshly cooked rice onto a rimmed sheet pan or tray: you’ll notice lots of steam since it’s still hot. Place the tray in the freezer and freeze for about 15 to 20 minutes until the grains become cool to the touch. Some might even become frozen: that’s ok! They’ll heat right back up once they hit the pan.
Ingredients for Easy Fried Rice
The very best fried rice, the kind that impossible to resist another bite, has specific ingredients to get that signature flavor. Here are the ingredients for fried rice:
- Rice: Medium or long grain rice is best, because short grain rice can become clumpy. Basmati rice is a nice option. You can use either white rice or brown rice.
- Sesame oil: For cooking; use the standard variety, not toasted sesame oil.
- Onion and garlic: These aromatic veggies form the base.
- Fresh ginger: Very important for the very best flavor. Find fresh ginger root in the produce section in your grocery.
- Carrots, peas, and green cabbage (optional): Carrots and peas are classic. Green cabbage is optional, but it adds a nice contrasting texture.
- Eggs: Eggs are a must and add protein to make the recipe filling.
- Soy sauce: Essential for the final flavoring.
- Fish sauce (optional): It really amps the flavors to the next level, if you have it on hand. But it’s not necessary!
How to Make Fried Rice Step by Step
Fried rice cooks fast, so get everything prepped before you start. Here’s the basic method (or jump down to the recipe):
- Saute the veggies. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Cook the carrots and onion 2 minutes, then add the cabbage, garlic, and ginger and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add the rice. Stir in the rice, peas, and salt and cook 1 minute.
- Scramble the eggs. Push the rice to the side, add some oil, and scramble the beaten eggs until just set.
- Season and serve. Add soy sauce and stir. You can also add fish sauce for even more umami!
Tips for Restaurant-Style Fried Rice
- Use a big pan. A 12-inch skillet or wok gives enough room for the rice to fry up nicely, instead of steam. If your skillet is too small, cook in batches.
- Let it sit. Let the rice rest for 30 seconds to get crispy, toasty bits on the bottom.
- Season at the end. Soy sauce goes in last so it has the most pop to the flavor.
Fried Rice Variations
Here are some of my favorite ways to change up fried rice, in order of preference:
- Shrimp: Make my Shrimp Fried Rice by adding protein to make a flavorful and filling main dish. Our family favorite!
- Other Protein: Cook up some chicken, beef or pork and add to the mix.
- Quinoa: Make Quinoa Fried Rice by using quinoa instead of rice.
- Cauliflower: Tiny “grains” of cauliflower in this Cauliflower Fried Rice make it a grain-free spin.
What to Serve with Fried Rice
Sometimes I’m not sure what to serve with egg fried rice to make it filling enough (if I’m not adding shrimp as protein). To make it a full meal, here are some sides that work well:
- Edamame: This veggie adds protein and is just plain fun to eat. Try our Easy Edamame or Spicy Edamame. (You could also try 5-Minute Shelled Edamame, but it’s most fun to serve them in the pods.)
- Tofu: A side of Pan Fried Tofu or Easy Marinated Tofu add a hit of plant-based protein.
- Broccoli: Try Simple Sauteed Broccoli or Pan Fried Broccoli with soy sauce. If you have ample prep time and stove space, serve with Broccoli Stir Fry.
- Cabbage: This Fried Cabbage would use up the rest of that green cabbage.
Vegan Variation
Love eating plant based? The egg is integral to the texture: but we’ve got a substitute for you that makes vegan fried rice:
- Make a tofu scramble! Go to Easy Tofu Scramble. Make sure to get the pieces fairly small so they’ll integrate into the texture like an egg would.
- Make the recipe without the egg, then stir in the tofu at the end.
Storage and Reheating
You can store leftover fried rice refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. To reheat it, warm it in a skillet over medium-high heat; you can add a splash of water to help the rice from becoming dry. Technically, you can also freeze fried rice for up to 3 months (though I usually eat it right away).
Dietary Notes
This fried rice recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, see the notes in the recipe.
Easy Fried Rice (Restaurant Style!)
Here’s how to make fried rice with day-old rice, garlic, ginger, and crisp veggies: it’s ready in 20 minutes and better than a restaurant! Variation: Try Shrimp Fried Rice for additional protein.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stir Fried
- Cuisine: Cheese
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1/2 yellow or white onion
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger (about 1 inch nub)
- 2 large carrots
- 2 cups chopped green cabbage (optional)
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil or untoasted sesame oil, divided
- 4 eggs*
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups cooked rice, at least 1 day old (use How to Cook Rice or Instant Pot Rice), or use shortcut**
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
- Green onion, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Mince the onion. Mince the garlic. Mince the ginger. Peel the carrots, then dice them. If using, chop the cabbage.
- In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil medium high. Saute the carrots and onion for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage, garlic and ginger and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the rice, peas and salt for 1 minute.
- Push the rice to the side. Add 1 tablespoon more oil. Add the eggs and pinch of salt, and scramble them in for 1 to 2 minutes until cooked through.
- Add the soy sauce and fish sauce, if using. Taste and add additional soy sauce or salt if necessary. Heat for a minute or two, stirring, until all rice is coated. Serve hot.
Notes
*For a vegan variation, make a Tofu Scramble first, keeping the pieces fairly small. Make the rice without the egg, then stir in the scrambled tofu in the last step.
**Trick: If you don’t have day old rice, here’s a shortcut. Make the rice. Then spread it onto a rimmed sheet pan and put it into the freezer. Freeze for about 15 to 20 minutes until the grains become cool to the touch. Some might even become frozen: that’s ok! They’ll heat right back up once they hit the pan.
Delicious! It came together so quickly and I loved it with the Tofu Scramble! Thanks for a recipe that is going in my rotation!
We have a sesame allergy in our home. Can I sub olive oil and it will still turn out well?
Yes!
Excellent recipe! Tasty and easy to put together. Thank you!
We Loved this recipe! The ginger was a new twist.
Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed!
A note for those looking for gluten free – make sure your soy sauce and fish sauce are gluten free! Many include gluten products
Follow up question…
If I can’t find sesame oil, I would cook with canola or soybean oil. But how much toasted sesame oil would you suggest seasoning with?
Where do you find non-toasted sesame oil? Kroger only had toasted. (Actually, even the sesame oils that didn’t say “toasted” anywhere on the label were actually toasted)