This simple, yet wonderful recipe for Chicken Fried Rice will please everyone at your table. It's easy to make and just as tasty as the fried rice you'll get at your favorite Asian restaurant. If you happen to have 'old' rice (leftover from other meals), fried rice is the perfect way to use it up; but even freshly-made rice makes for great fried rice when fried up in the right way and with the right sauces. This recipe will teach you how to do just that, so your fried rice tastes as light and flavorful as it possibly can. The dish also includes vegetables (mushrooms and peas), and is topped off with spring onion. Serve with Thai chili sauce on the side for those who like it extra spicy, and ENJOY!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: SERVES 4
Ingredients:
- 4-5 cups cooked rice, preferably several days old
- 1 boneless chicken breast or 2 thighs, chopped into small bits
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 4 spring onions, sliced, white parts separate from green
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, sliced into thin matchsticks
- 1 red or green chili, thinly sliced (or less for milder rice)
- 5-7 fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 2-3 vegetable oil
- optional: 1 stalk celery, sliced (adds a little crunch to the dish)
- STIR-FRY SAUCE:
- 3 Tbsp. chicken stock
- 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. lime juice
- 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
- 1/4 tsp. sugar
Preparation:
- To prepare leftover cold rice: Pour a teaspoon or so of oil onto your fingers and work through the rice, separating clumps back into grains (for a visual, see: Making Thai Fried Rice. To prepare chicken: Chop into small pieces and place in a bowl. Pour over 1 Tbsp. soy sauce and stir. Set aside.
- Combine all 'stir-fry sauce' ingredients together in a cup, stirring to dissolve the sugar and pepper. Set aside.
- Warm a wok or large frying pan over high or medium-high heat. Drizzle in 2 Tbsp. oil and swirl around, then add the white parts of the onion, garlic, galangal/ginger, and chili. Stir-fry 1 minute, then add the chicken. Stir-fry 2-3 minutes, or until chicken turns evenly opaque on the outside.
- Add the mushrooms and celery (if using), and stir-fry 2-3 more minutes, until mushrooms and chicken are cooked through. If your wok/pan becomes too dry, add 1-2 Tbsp. chicken stock or white wine.
- Keeping heat high, add the rice. Stir-fry everything together using a spatula or other flat utensil to gently lift and turn the rice. After frying for 1 minute, gradually begin adding the sauce you made, 1-2 Tbsp. at a time. Continue stir-frying in this way 6-10 minutes, or until all the sauce has been added. Tip: The idea is to keep the pan as dry as possible throughout the frying process. It's the dryness of the fried rice that makes it light and fluffy (as opposed to heavy and clumpy), and frying it over high heat with a conservative amount of moisture (sauce) achieves this.
- Add the frozen peas and stir-fry briefly to incorporate. Then push everything aside to reveal the center of the pan. Crack in the egg and quickly stir-fry to scramble. Note that the egg will dry out the pan, which is what you want at this stage. Continue stir-frying everything together for 2 more minutes, until rice is light and falls easily into separate grains.
- Switch off heat and taste-test, adding more fish sauce until desired flavor and saltiness is achieved (I usually end up adding an extra Tbsp. fish sauce when frying 5 cups rice). If rice happens to be too salty, add a squeeze of lime juice. Top with reserved green onion and serve hot from the pan. For those who like it extra spicy, serve Thai Chili Sauce on the side, and ENJOY!
If using a stainless steel wok or pan (not non-stick): Non-stick pans make frying easier, as there is more moisture kept in the pan. But if you don't have non-stick (my own wok is stainless steel), the pan can get too dry, especially after frying the egg. Adding a little oil can help - just push ingredients aside and drizzle some into the bottom of your pan, then continue stir-frying. Also, this will give your fried-rice a restaurant-looking 'shine' when served. Avoid adding any more stock or other liquids when frying the rice, or your rice will become too heavy and lumpy. Cheers!
