Easy Fried Rice with crispy bacon, fluffy eggs and a nice kick of garlic. Better than take out and so easy to make!
Why go out when you can have the best fried rice right at home, fresh and steaming hot right that tastes just like Chinese fried rice. Perfect for when you have leftover rice OR make it quick from scratch! Use a skillet or a wok!
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FRIED RICE
Possibly the most ordered meal or side on the menu at any take out restaurant, Fried Rice is loved by people all around the world. Adding crispy bacon to it makes it so good, you won’t want to order in after trying it out!
Most recipes stick to just soy sauce as a flavour base, but through the years of making it, I have found the BEST flavour combination to be made of just four extra ingredients:
- Oyster sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Sesame oil
- Butter — YES!
HOW TO MAKE FRIED RICE
There’s no need to feel intimidated making fried rice. It’s so easy, even I can do it! With a few simple tips and ingredients, you’ll be cooking it up in your kitchen like a pro!
Fry your bacon first to get it all nice and crispy.
Scramble your eggs in the same pan. You can choose to scramble them right in the leftover bacon grease or wipe the pan over first with paper towel before adding in your eggs.
Throw the eggs on the same plate your bacon is on and proceed to make your fried rice stress free for the next 5 minutes.
INGREDIENTS FOR FRIED RICE
You are a handful of ingredients from making the best rice!
- Bacon (you can also use ham if you have any leftovers)
- Eggs
- Peanut oil (optional — brings out a delicious authentic Asian flavour and is great for frying at high-heat)
- Veggies: onion, carrots and peas — you can also add in diced red peppers/capsicum and corn.
- Garlic — there is a good kick in this recipe which sets it apart. Omit if you don’t like garlic.
- Rice
WHICH RICE IS BEST?
Day old long grain or Jasmine rice (white or brown) is ideal, BUT you don’t need to have pre-cooked rice in your refrigerator waiting to be turned into fried rice. You can cook rice as you normally would: usually 4 cups water to 2 cups dry rice over stove top OR use a rice cooker following manufacturers instructions.
Spread rice out evenly on one or two large baking sheets, pans or trays, cover loosely with paper towel and refrigerate for 30 minutes. For an even faster option, throw it in the freezer for about 15 minutes until chilled (not frozen)!
WHY CAN’T WE USE FRESH COOKED RICE?
Fresh rice does not fry well and instead turns into mushy, sticky rice. Not what you want when serving it for dinner.
What to serve with fried rice?
Sesame Beef
Teriyaki Chicken
Honey Garlic Pork Chops
Kung Pao Chicken
Sesame Salmon In Foil
Mongolian Beef
Roasted Asian Glazed Chicken
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Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 4 ounces (125 g) bacon, diced
- 4 large eggs whisked
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil, divided (or olive oil)
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
- 4 cups cooked and chilled rice (white or brown rice)
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
- Sliced green onions for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Fry bacon in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp and browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate with paper towel. Set aside.
- Wipe pan over with a paper towel and heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add the eggs and scramble until fully cooked. Transfer to the plate with bacon and keep warm.
- Heat remaining oil in the pan. Add carrots and onion to the pan and cook until tender, (about 3-4 minutes). Stir in garlic and cook for an additional minute until fragrant.
- Add in the cold rice and peas and cook for 3-4 minutes until the rice begins to soften.
- Add the eggs back into the pan. Stir in soy sauce, oyster sauce, butter, sesame oil and hoisin sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes to melt butter and heat the sauce through the rice.
- Garnish with green onions and serve.ENJOY!
Loretta Anderson says
Best fried rice recipe I’ve tried. Absolutely fool proof. Love it, I’ll be making this one again
Karen says
All around excellent.
Hey Candy says
Karina, You’ve done it again!!!! That fried rice was ‘da bomb’. I can’t stop thinking about it.😉 The bacon……genious! Thank goodness I have enough for another day. I’m guarding it with my life, maybe I should just hide it!lol
Carol says
I never order “out” EVER!!!
Jeremy says
Awesome recipe. Best fried rice I’ve ever made.
Kimberley De Silva says
Thank you for sharing the info about using day-old rice, that’s always been my mistake with fried rice. Absolutely amazing recipe, my family all commented that it was better than take away from the Chinese restaurant.
Christie says
Hi can you tell me if it’s a 15ml or 20ml tablespoon? Thanks 😊
Caroline says
So great to find an Aussie recipe! I threw in some cocktail prawns for extra umpf! And served with honey soy kebabs. Loved it, thank you.
Carol from Montreal, Canada says
Can’t wait to try it! Karina, I love your recipes. I used to do what you do, but without so much fanfare and flare. Your cooking skills are spot-on, and your videographer and photographer are the best! It’s a photo-video feast as well as a culinary feast. I want to make and watch and taste at the same time! Keep going. You’re the best! Hope you remain safe down in your beautiful country!
Catha says
I made this Fried Rice and we fell in love . It’s so easy to make and delicious too .it is a favorite go to meal. I will definitely be making it my go to recipe for Fried Rice. 5+ stars.
rick c says
So many cooking shows here in Australia (and there are so many cooking shows on T.V) call for browning the un-cooked rice and then adding stock. Doesn’t work for fried rice, more of a pilaf. I always rinse the boiled / steamed rice under cold running water to remove the starch (same with pasta).
I make my fried rice in much the same way as this recipe except I use diced chicken, diced leg pork chop, bacon and sometimes small prawns or shrimp. Also peanut oil, sesame oil (very small amount) a pinch of 5 spice powder (it really is strong and can destroy a dish). Can’t forget the shrimp paste that smells really rank when raw but is ok when cooked out, and oyster sauce, fish sauce and soy for colouring.
gbc says
Time consuming but delicious!
How much sodium per serving does the rice contain?
Thanks.
Anthony says
I’ve made fried rice quite a few times, and have always used just soy sauce for flavoring. I came across this recipe looking for a way to kick it up a notch. The soy, sesame, oyster, hoisin & butter combination is perfect. Just reheated some leftovers for lunch and it was even better the second time around – not like Chinese restaurant fried rice that is very dry after reheating.
Oh, and for those that didn’t know when to add the bacon – if you follow the instructions, you will put the bacon on the plate with the eggs. So when you add the eggs, you are thus adding the bacon…. 😉
Chris seckler says
I made this tonight with your Honey Soy Chicken Thighs! Loved it!! You were right Karina “ Better than take out!” I used frozen peas and carrots! Perfect! Definitely will make again! Thank you !
Jane says
This is just like I have been making for years, only haven’t tried it with hoisin sauce. I prefer using basmati rice. It doesn’t usually get sticky if you use it straight from rice cooker if you don’t have time to put it in the fridge. Sometimes add chopped button mushrooms too !
Lisa says
I made a slightly more low fat version of this using table spread instead of real butter and middle bacon which isn’t as delicious as crispy bacon but is still yum and a lot less fattening. It came out really well even though I had no onions left or hoisen sauce I just used more oyster and soy sauce and more green onion since I had that. It was really good. I forgot to add white pepper to this but in the past I’ve found white pepper is really good in fried rice.
Nikki says
Made this on Sunday, huge hit with my family!
Lorie Anderson says
Jasmine Rice is spectacular by itself ! The flavor is truly outstanding; but in this dish it is mind boggling LOL. Thank you for the BEST EVER Fried Rice recipe we have had. I have to pass on a rice cooking tip from an English friend who is a dream. He cooks his rice just as he does pasta; with lots of water. I have used his tip for years as there is no chance of the rice sticking, and it always comes out beautifully fluffy after it drains for just a few minutes. Extra perk is the water drained off is terrific for making yeast breads. Love your website and really appreciate all the effort you put into sharing your recipes and advice !
Dawn says
Tried it along with the roasted Asian chicken. Family loved it. You left out adding the bacon back to the pot at the end. The veggies were kinda crunchy though. Next time I’ll have to use drained canned carrots and canned peas. Otherwise great recipe.
Ove Nordhaug says
Best fried rice I’ve ever had and I spent 3 years in Japan in my younger days!
Dylan Wittman says
Nice recipe. Followed it and had a great lunch!
Andrew, uk says
Family loved it, thank you. I added chicken breast chopped small. Thank you!
Debra Compson says
I don’t see anything about adding bacon back into the fried rice. ?
Karina says
If you would like the bacon, you will add the bacon at the end. Hope you enjoy! XO
Bentley Phillips says
I love cooking hope your recipes will see me though
Dorothy Donovan says
Allergic to shell fish can’t use oyster sauce is there a substitute you would suggest?
Karina says
You are welcome just to leave it out or use another meat like chicken or pork. Hope you can find some delicious meals that you can eat!! XO
Michelle says
Made this tonight and it tasted great! Quick question, can you then eat leftovers cold the next day? Given that the rice has already been cooked the day before, cooled and then reheated in this dish, and then it would be cooled again and eaten tomo? I know you have to be careful with reheating rice!!
Jeanne says
This recipe looks awesome and I can’t wait to try it out. Is that regular bacon or pancetta? It looks thicker
Karina says
This is regular bacon but you are welcome to try pancetta. That sounds great too! XO
Natalie Ellis says
Fried rice is the best way to use our leftovers xD and it’s also my favourite dishes all the time.
I have cooked almost the same as you did. It’s so good!
Ian says
Great recipe! I didn’t have peas, so i used some chopped asparagus. The family loved it.
Karina says
That sounds great! I am glad that you could make it your own with what you had! Thanks so much for sharing!
Suzy says
Just made this and it was fantastic! Thank you!!
Cat says
Fantastic info about not using fresh rice, thank you. I did not know that and wondered why my last batch of stirfried rice went mushy. So then when we chill the fresh cooked rice, the cold stops the cooking process so it doesnt continue cooking down into mush?
I am very much want ing to try this with bacon, what a fantastic idea!!!