This restaurant-style Chicken Fried Rice recipe combines brown rice, any vegetables you have around, and tender chicken in a simple, savory stir fry sauce. One pan. 30 minutes. You’ve got this!
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I’ve got the trick for perfect fried rice at home.
If you’ve ever gone to a hibachi restaurant for dinner, you know the secret to good fried rice: they add gobs and gobs of butter. ALL the butter. SO much butter.
I don’t add that much butter to this chicken fried rice recipe (I can’t spin an egg on the tip of a knife like those hibachi cooks either), but what sets it apart from a lot of the other recipes you’ll find online is that it does include butter and I think it really makes a big difference. It adds richness to the flavor and helps the rice achieve that fantastic lightly chewy texture—well, that, and using leftover rice instead of fresh. (We’ll discuss that more below!)
With the added chicken, this fried rice is a complete meal in one skillet, and it’s done in only 30 minutes. And when you’re not in the mood for chicken, you can whip up Pork Fried Rice, Egg Fried Rice, or Shrimp Fried Rice. Can you tell I love making fried rice?!
5 Star Review
“Excellent tasting and healthy recipe!! We loved every bit of it.”
— Susan —
The Best Rice for Making Fried Rice
You can use any kind of rice, including jasmine, basmati, or long grain white rice, but I prefer brown rice. (If you’d like to make fried rice with cauliflower rice, see this Cauliflower Fried Rice recipe. The technique is different!)
No matter what kind of rice you use, for the best, most authentic-tasting fried rice, YOU MUST USE COLD RICE.
In the refrigerator, the rice grains firm up. This causes them to separate more easily when you stir fry them, resulting in a noticeably superior texture. Day-old rice is best for fried rice, but even a few hours make a HUGE difference and will help you avoid sad, soggy fried rice.
Making the Tastiest Sauce for Fried Rice
The first step for making this chicken fried rice is whisking together the sauce. Some recipes keep it simple with soy sauce alone, but we do one better: soy sauce and oyster sauce.
- Soy sauce is the umami king! If you need your fried rice to be gluten-free, opt for tamari over regular soy sauce and check your labels to ensure they do not contain gluten or wheat-derived ingredients.
- Oyster sauce gives fried rice its GREAT flavor and is the secret to restaurant-style fried rice, along with the aforementioned butter. Oyster sauce is intensely savory, thick (in a good way), and does not taste like oysters. It’s a critical part of establishing umami.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Be Ready to Cook Fast. Stir fry recipes move quickly. Be sure to have all of your chicken fried rice ingredients prepped, measured, and near the stove before you begin.
- Get a Head Start. Use Shredded Chicken, Baked Chicken Breast, or rotisserie chicken to streamline the process of making this chicken fried rice recipe.
Chicken Fried Rice
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Ingredients
- ⅓ cup oyster sauce (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce divided, plus additional to taste (swap for tamari if you need gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or grapeseed oil, or peanut oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 large eggs lightly beaten
- 3 cups chopped fresh vegetables of choice (I use 1 red bell pepper plus a small head of broccoli or 8 ounces mushrooms)
- 12 ounces frozen peas and carrots thawed
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 ½ cups COLD cooked brown rice break up large clumps with your fingers
- ⅔ cup green onions chopped (about 4 medium)
- Red pepper flakes or Sriracha, or hot sauce of choice (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the oyster sauce and 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Set aside. Keep a large bowl or plate and a large, flexible rubber spatula near the stove.
- Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 tablespoon butter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the eggs. Cook without stirring until they barely begin to set, about 20 seconds. With your spatula, scramble and break the eggs into little, bite-sized pieces. Continue to cook, stirring constantly now, until eggs are just cooked through but not yet browned, about 1 additional minute. Transfer eggs to the bowl and set aside. With a paper towel, carefully wipe the skillet clean.
- Return the skillet to the heat, and increase the heat to high. Let the skillet warm until it is nice and hot, about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon of the canola oil, and swirl to coat. Add the chicken and the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove to the bowl with the eggs.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add the fresh vegetables and cook until they are crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and peas and carrots. Cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds (do not let the garlic burn!).
- Add the brown rice and the oyster sauce mixture. Continue cooking, stirring constantly and breaking up any remaining rice clumps, until the mixture is heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the reserved eggs/chicken and green onions. Cook and stir until the mixture is completely heated through, about 1 minute more. Enjoy immediately with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes or dash of hot sauce and additional soy sauce as desired.
Video
Notes
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Adapted from my Homemade Fried Rice.
- ABOUT OYSTER SAUCE: Oyster sauce is readily available in the Asian or international food aisle of most major grocery stores. It has a unique flavor and texture, and if you substitute something else for it, your fried rice won’t taste the same. If you’d like to experiment with making the recipe without oyster sauce, you can simply omit it or swap in 1 tablespoon sesame oil to add flavor.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate fried rice in an airtight storage container for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers in a skillet on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze chicken fried rice in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
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I really enjoy chicken fried rice and this is the first time I made it at home. Delicious! My husband and I ate the whole thing. Well, a little leftover for lunch tomorrow. Love throwing in whatever vegetables are in the fridge. Thank you, Erin!
Great to hear, thank you Leslie!
Made this for myself and my mom (who’s Asian and has pretty high standards when it comes to Asian meals) and she said it was one of the best chicken fried rice meals she’s ever tasted! She even insisted we make it again the next day- which we did!
That literally made my day, Elizabeth! Thank you so much!
I am enjoying your recipes. The more I try, the easier it gets. I received a wok for my birthday last week which makes it even easier to cook this. Definitely a perfect meal when you want something tasty without spending too much time!
So glad you enjoyed it, Carla! Thank you and Happy Birthday!
Delish!! Makes the house smell soooo good and the meal is perfect. Hearty and delicious! We now make this every two weeks or so :) We don’t use butter and we don’t use oyster sauce. We use sesame oil instead. Really yummy!! Thanks Erin!!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Becky! Thank you for this kind review!
The recipe itself was delicious but it used so many plates and bowls and made way more dishes than was probably necessary. The egg could’ve been cooked in a well towards the end and the chicken could’ve been cooked with the veggies.
Thanks for the feedback, Dayna.
Can I use leftover white jasmine rice instead of brown?
Hi Alyssa, that should work! Enjoy!
Freaking fire! So good! We are going to make it again!
Thank you Brittany!