Chinese Chicken Fried Rice (2024)

My version of chicken fried rice features jasmine rice, marinated chicken, fluffy eggs, peas, carrots, shallots, garlic tossed in a savory sauce!

It's very similar to the kind that you'll find at the Chinese restaurant and if you own a steel wok, this is to your advantage as it'll create that smoky flavor! But if you don't own one, don't worry, a large pan will work too.

I’m a huge fan of fried rice as it's such a comforting dish that brings a lot of childhood nostalgia for me. Whenever my parents didn’t know what to cook for us on busy weeknights, it would be this because we'd use up any leftover ingredients and it was a fast meal to feed a large family.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.

• Cold Day-old Jasmine Rice:Or substitute with any cooked leftover rice like long grain white rice or brown rice. Day-old rice is the key to making a great fried rice. If you've made fresh rice for this recipe, read below on how to dry it out.

• Boneless skinless chicken thighs:or substitute with chicken breasts.
• Shallot: or substitute with onions
• Garlic
• Carrot
• Frozen Peas
• Eggs
• Neutral oil:like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils.

Chicken marinade

• Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce.If you’re gluten-free, substitute a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
• Shaoxing Cooking Wine:or sub with Dry Sherry Wine if you can't find Chinese cooking wine. If you're looking for a non-alcoholic version, feel free to omit completely.
• Cornstarch:this helps lock in the moisture in the chicken.
• Neutral oil:This adds moisture to your chicken and also makes them slippery so when they fall into your hot pan, they won't stick together.

Sauce

• Regular soy sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• Toasted sesame oil: or substitute with sesame seeds. Omit if you're allergic.
• Chicken bouillon powder: it gives extra depth of flavor as it contains some msg.
• White pepper:or sub with black pepper

Can I use different vegetables?

Yes, feel free to substitute or add any veggies with low water content, such as bell peppers, broccoli, snap or snow peas, cauliflower, or edamame.

What to serve with chicken fried rice?

I recommend serving chicken fried rice with Chinese takeout dishes such as Mongolian Chicken, Honey Sesame Chicken, Chinese garlic green beans, or Garlic Bok Choy.

Can I substitute the chicken with another protein?

This recipe is pretty versatile and you can substitute the chicken with shrimp, pork, beef or even tofu.

• 4 ½ cups cooked jasmine rice day old, see Notes for amount of uncooked rice
• ½ lb skinless boneless chicken thighs thinly sliced
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• ¾ cup carrot finely diced
• ½ cup peas frozen
• 3 eggs beaten
• 4 teaspoon vegetable oil or any neutral tasting oil

Chicken marinade:

• 1 teaspoon regular soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or sub with Dry Sherry Wine
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
• ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (aka chicken stock powder)
• ⅛ teaspoon white pepper or sub with black pepper

• Marinate your sliced chicken with Chicken Marinate ingredients as listed above for 5 minutes. Set aside.

• In a small bowl, pre-mix Sauce ingredients as listed above. Set aside.

• In a hot wok set on medium high heat, add 1 teaspoon oil. Once oil is hot, fry chicken until fully cooked. Remove and set aside.

• Add 1 teaspoon of oil and fry garlic and shallots for 10 seconds or until softened. Quickly add peas and carrots and fry for another 10 seconds or until softened. Push everything to the side of the wok.

• Add 1 teaspoon of oil into empty space of wok. Pour in eggs and scramble before mixing with ingredients in wok.

• Add remaining oil along with rice and toss with ingredients. Toss back in chicken.

• Pour sauce around your rice along the edges of the wok (the heat + sauce creates more flavour vs. pouring on top of rice). Mix until all rice granules are coloured brown. Remove off heat. Serve and enjoy!

How much uncooked rice should I use?

This is 1 ½ measuring cups of UNCOOKED jasmine rice made the night before and refrigerated.

Can I cook my rice on a stovetop?

Yes! Follow these steps:

Rinse uncooked rice under cold water a few times until water is clear.

In a large saucepan, pour in your washed rice.

Next fill the saucepan with cold water. To know how much water to add, place your palm on top of the rice and as you fill the pot with water, stop when the water reaches your knuckles (where your fingers end).

Bring this to a boil and cover with a lid. Immediately reduce to the lowest heat possible and let this cook over low heat for 17-20 minutes until most of the water has evaporated and the rice is fluffy.