Our easy egg fried rice recipe is quick to make but packed full of flavour. A great side dish to accompany any Chinese meal, or on it’s own for a light, simple meal.
Our easy egg fried rice recipe is a quick and simple dish to prepare. It makes a tasty change to a bowl plain steamed or boiled rice. However, despite its simplicity, it’s a dish that often doesn’t quite make the mark! Which was what led me to creating this recipe, this is my best version of this quick and easy dish.
A good egg fried rice dish should have a nice mix of egg through the rice, together with the right amount of vegetables for much needed crunch and to pack flavour into the dish. There is nothing worse than a soggy bowl of fried rice, the emphasis is on soft, not soggy!
It’s also important to balance the flavours. I like to add freshly grated ginger towards the end of the cook. Some recipes add garlic at this point, however, I think the rawness of garlic can overpower all the other flavours in the dish, which is why I don’t add it. Instead, I add some chopped spring onions right at the end of the cook, for a burst of freshness.
Cooking the egg!
I’ve tried various ways of cooking the egg in egg fried rice. Some recipes require you to cook the egg with some of the other ingredients, however this results in everything being too soggy and the egg too broken up.
Instead, you want to have bites of cooked egg throughout the rice. The best method is to first soften any vegetables that need more cooking, like the leek and celery in this recipe. Remove the vegetables into a separate bowl then add the beaten egg to the wok on its own.
Next scramble the egg, breaking it up and cooking it till it is a nice golden brown colour. At this point you can then add back in the rest of the ingredients.
Recipe steps:
Serving as a side dish:
Chinese egg fried rice is a delicious addition to any Chinese meal. It is great served alongside meat, fish, seafood, tofu, or vegetable based dishes.
Try this egg fried rice with other Chinese dishes as part of a Chinese banquet style meal. I love the informality of a Chinese banquet, it’s sociable eating. All the individual dishes get placed in the middle of the table then everyone helps themselves to a little of everything.
Turning a side dish into a meal on it’s own:
Egg fried rice is delicious served alongside other dishes. However, with a little extra thought it can make a delicious meal on it’s own.
Prawns:
Prawns are a great addition to egg fried rice. Add 150g of uncooked, de-veined prawns to the wok and cook along with the celery and leek for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan and add back in with the vegetables just before serving.
Leftover roast meat:
Let’s not forget leftovers. I love to make the best of any leftovers and hate to see anything go to waste. Any leftover meat from the weekend’s roast dinner work great in this dish. I frequently stir leftover shredded roast ham, pork or chicken into this dish.
As the leftover meat has already been cooked just stir it through with the rice as all you want to do is heat the meat up a bit. You don’t need a huge amount of meat either 150-200g of leftover meat will quite easily feed a family of 4 for a main meal.
Tofu:
Don’t limit yourself to thinking only meat, or prawns either. Another great option is to add in some tofu. I often like to add in extra vegetables when making this recipe with tofu, tender stem broccoli, asparagus, baby sweetcorn, mange tout or french beans would all work in this dish.
Just ensure that if serving to vegetarian diners, that you omit the oyster sauce!
Chilli:
Spice this dish up a little and add a couple of de-seeded red chillies. However, don’t be too heavy handed as you don’t want to overpower the rest of the ingredients in the wok. You can either add the chilli with the leek and celery at the beginning of the cook. Or towards the end with the spring onion. It depends on how raw you want the chilli.
Gluten free:
With very little adaptation our easy egg fried rice recipe can be adapted to suit anyone following a gluten free diet. Simply ensure that the soy sauce and oyster sauce that you use is a gluten free variety.
Can you make this rice dish in advance?
As with most stir fried dishes, this egg fried rice is best enjoyed when it has been freshly made. The joy in eating stir fried food is that it is fresh tasting and should be eaten once ready. By re-heating any stir fried food you loose the vibrancy and freshness of flavour, and the egg in this dish can taste a bit rubbery and overcooked.
However, if you do have leftovers, allow them to cool and cover before placing in the fridge overnight. When you want to reheat get the pan nice and hot and ensure that you reheat the rice thoroughly. Do not keep the rice more than a day.
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Additional recipe suggestions:
Our easy egg fried rice works great as part of a larger Chinese style banquet meal served alongside our Stir Fried Beef & Black Bean Sauce; or our Easy Beef Salad with Asian Slaw; our Stir Fry Chicken & Cashew Nuts; or our Pork & Peanut Stir Fry; and our Chinese Steamed Seabass.
As a Chinese side dish it works alongside some of our other Chinese inspired side dishes like our Stir-fry Pak Choy; or our Stir-fry Broccoli.
Easy Egg Fried Rice
Equipment
- Non-stick wok or frying pan
Ingredients
- 300 g white long grain or white basmati rice
- salt
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 medium leek (trimmed, and finely chopped)
- 2 sticks celery (finely chopped)
- 3 medium eggs (beaten)
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 150 g frozen peas
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 4 spring onions (finely sliced)
Instructions
- Cook the rice in a large saucepan of salted water for approximately 12-15 minute. Once cooked, drain and set aside.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large wok and add the celery and leek. Stir fry for 3 minutes then remove from the wok into a bowl and set aside.
- Add the beaten egg to the wok and scramble them until they are golden brown in colour. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to ensure the egg is broken up.
- Add the cooked rice to the wok and stir fry for 1 minute. Now add back in the leeks and celery, give it a good stir and add the peas and grated ginger. Stir fry for a further minute.
- Now add the oyster sauce to the wok along with the soy sauce. Stir thoroughly through the rice to ensure it is all coated.
- Finally stir through the spring onions and serve immediately.
Notes
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
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Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
It’s a classic for a reason! I just LOVE egg fried rice and make it most weeks… the perfect side for stir fries! Eb x
Lesley
Thank you Eb, it’s one of my favourite cooks, like you make almost weekly. Sometimes I have it as a side, at other times I like to bulk up the veg and protein and make it a meal on its own. Lesley x
Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes
Thanks for sharing, this looks easy and yummy 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
Lesley
Thank you Nic, it is such a simple dish and so much tastier when you make it fresh yourselves. Lesley x
Cat | Curly's Cooking
I love egg fried rice and your version sounds absolutely delicious!
Lesley
Thank you Cat, it’s a great quick and simple dish, packed full of flavour. Lesley x