Description
You'll love how simple and easy this house fried rice recipe is, and it's ready in 30 minutes or less! This recipe tastes just like what you'll find at your local Chinese restaurants, sometimes called "Cantonese Fried Rice", "Special Fried Rice", "Chicken Fried Rice", or even "Pork Fried Rice".
Ingredients
Units
- 5 cups leftover cold rice (preferably cooked in chicken stock) (800g)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil (80g)
- 3 ounces diced Chinese ham, Char Sui, Chashu, or cubed pancetta (90g)
- 3/4 to 1 cup chicken thigh meat diced (175-225g)
- 1/2 cup Argentinian red shrimp (about 8 shrimp) peeled, deveined, diced (115g)
- 4 eggs lightly beaten (200g)
- 1 large carrot, diced (about 5 ounces) (130g)
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas (150g)
- 1/2 of medium zucchini (4 ounces), diced (115g)
- 3 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced (white and green parts separated)
- 1 shallot, diced (sub 2 tablespoons regular onions)
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine separated into 2 prep bowls (30g)
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (for marinating chicken) (15g)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (15g)
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional but recommended) (1-2g)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
- 1 to 3 whole spicy chilis (optional non-traditional ingredient - dried bird's eye, facing heaven, or other chile)
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper (0.25g) (optional)
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken. Add the diced chicken thigh meat to a bowl and combine it with 1 tablespoon (15g) of hoisin sauce and set aside. Add the sugar to the soy sauce, stir to combine, and set aside until ready to use.
- Stir-fry the shrimp. Heat the wok to high heat, drizzle just a little oil (about 1 teaspoon) and add the diced (or whole shrimp), sprinkle with salt to taste, and stir-fry just until opaque and cook for 1 1/2 minutes and drizzle 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine over the shrimp tossing to coat. Continue cooking for about 30 to 45 seconds more, or until the shrimp are just cooked through and opaque. Remove to a plate.
- Stir-fry the ham (pancetta) & chicken. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the oil into the wok and add the pancetta (char siu, chashu, or ham), and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the chicken, sprinkle with salt to taste, and stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Add 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine to deglaze the wok and stir-fry for 1 minute. Remove the chicken and ham to a platter.
- Stir-fry the vegetables & aromatics. Add about 2 tablespoons of the oil to the wok, add the garlic, ginger, scallions, shallots, and chilis (if using) and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini, add salt to taste, and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable mixture to the platter with the chicken and ham and add the peas. Set aside while you fry the egg and the rice.
- Stir-fry the egg. Once the wok heat has recovered, add about 2 teaspoons of oil, and when it sizzles add the eggs and let them cook without touching them for about 45 seconds, or until the sides are fluffy and bubbly. Start to break up the eggs using the spatula and cook for another 45 seconds, or until cooked through. Add the eggs to the platter with the vegetables and meat while you cook the rice.
- Stir-fry the rice & finish the dish. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok, add the rice tossing well to coat, and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the meat and vegetables (except for the shrimp) and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the soy sauce mixture, toss well to combine, and stir-fry for 3 more minutes until some of the rice on the bottom is crispy, toss in the shrimp to warm through, add salt to taste if needed, remove from heat, and serve immediately, Enjoy!
Notes
- Substitute the raw chicken and pancetta in this recipe with cooked chicken and ham for an even quicker fried rice. Skip the sautéing step and toss it in after you sauté the vegetables to heat through. Continue with the remaining instructions.
- I recommend using a 14 to 16-inch wok to make this fried rice, but you can use a large stainless steel, carbon steel, cast iron, or non-stick skillet (so long as it has a non-stick coating that allows it to reach high temperatures without leaching out toxic materials). If your pan or wok is on the small side, cook the fried rice in 2 batches.
- Use any type of sweet shrimp or prawns you have available if you can't access Argentinian red shrimp.
- Use low-sodium store-bought chicken stock if you're short on time.
- If you can't find Shaoxing wine, use dry sherry in a 1:1 ratio or just omit the ingredient altogether. If you're thinking about using mirin, it's acceptable if that's all you've got (but it really has a totally different flavor than Shaoxing wine, and it's also a bit sweet, which would still taste nice in this dish).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dim Sum
- Method: Wok Stir-Fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 362
- Sugar: 4.5g
- Sodium: 523mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 37g
- Fiber: 2.6g
- Protein: 17g
- Cholesterol: 144mg
