Chicken Fried Rice
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1pound ground chicken or turkey, preferably dark meat
- 2tablespoons soy sauce, plus more to taste
- 4garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1(3-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 to 1½teaspoons red-pepper flakes, chile sauce or chopped fresh chile (optional)
- 3tablespoons neutral oil, plus more as needed
- 1bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, dark green parts separated
- 4cups cooked, long-grain white or brown rice, preferably day-old (or 1⅓ cups uncooked rice; see Tip)
- ½cup frozen peas (about 2½ ounces; no need to thaw)
- Salt
- 2large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
- Any combination of chile sauce, rice or black vinegar, toasted sesame oil, white pepper, cilantro and MSG (optional, for serving)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
675 calories; 13 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 108 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 29 grams protein; 626 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, use your hands or two forks to mix together the ground chicken, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, half the garlic, half the ginger, and the red-pepper flakes (if using).
- Step 2
Heat your largest nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and the ground chicken, then use a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to quickly press meat into a thin layer (like one giant smash burger). Cook, undisturbed, until meat is browned underneath, 3 to 5 minutes. Break up meat into bite-size pieces and stir until cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, then transfer the chicken to a clean bowl, leaving the juices and fat in the skillet.
- Step 3
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the scallion whites and the remaining ginger and garlic to the skillet. Raise heat to medium-high, scrape up browned bits on the skillet and stir until sizzling and light golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rice, peas, the remaining 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and salt to taste. Stir to coat in the oil and break up clumps of rice. Spread out the rice along the sides and bottom of the skillet. Cook, undisturbed, until the sound shifts from a sizzle to a crackle and the rice is golden at the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. If the rice is burning, add more oil.
- Step 4
Pour the eggs in a thin stream over the rice. When you see some of the egg start to set, 15 to 30 seconds, toss the rice constantly to break up and cook the eggs. Add the chicken and toss to warm through, 1 minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the scallion greens. Serve with more soy sauce and other seasonings as you like.
Tip
- Leftover, cooked rice from the fridge has less moisture, so it will crisp more easily. If you’re starting with uncooked rice, cook it as you would pasta so that the grains are not clumped together: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 1⅓ cups rice and cook until just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes for white rice and 25 to 30 minutes for brown rice. Drain, run under cold water to cool, shake to get rid of any water, then spread out on a baking sheet and refrigerate until Step 4.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
CL Chu
Psst, super secret recipe hack: precooked rice from the supermarket works great in fried rice. Look for the Korean brands in the flat bowls. Don’t microwave the rice, just pop it out of the container into a dish and break it up with moistened hands before frying it.
Half Baked
Instead of using a neutral oil, get a bottle of toasted sesame seed oil. It will take your fried rice to the next level.
Talkinrobin
Made this last night. Of course a few tweaks. I roasted a bunch of veggies - mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, leeks, onions, & fennel. No need to add garlic & ginger to chicken, I just put them in the pan when it was heating up and added the chicken. Easy and delicious.
JB Karpinski
You can infuse leftover cooked chicken with flavor and moisten it a bit by dicing it and steaming in the microwave with the soy sauce plus 1 Tbs water, the garlic, scallion whites, ginger and chili of choice before frying. Drain before frying but reserve the liquid to add with the rice with the eggs in step 4.
Sarah A
This technique of adding aromatics (ginger and garlic) plus soy sauce to ground meat is a game-changer for fried rice! I used what I had on hand, which was ground turkey and brown rice. I have tried a lot of different fried rice, recipes, and this one was by far the most flavorful yet! Served with Sriracha, cilantro, and toasted sesame seeds on top.
JL Webster
I make shrimp fried rice similar to this but cook the egg as a think omelette with scallions and sesame seed oil and then chop it up adding at the end with the frozen peas. It makes it less mushy.
ratspice
I deglazed my pan with sherry following the chicken. And that just takes it from basic ground chicken to something I’d actually want to eat. Makes it taste more authentic. I also made my eggs separately, mixing the eggs with sesame oil. I do not like the taste of eggs and prefer that soft, ribbon-like effect you can achieve with sesame oil and a teaspoon of water. I added the eggs and scallions last and everything came together extremely well. You might actually approach the flavor of takeout!
Laurka
This is just yummy and easy. The ground chicken with ginger and garlic add great flavor. I’m wondering how it would be to add oyster sauce next time. And yes, you can toss in any other veggies. Sesame oil drizzled over the top at the end makes it even better (no use to fry anything in sesame oil since it loses its flavor). Thank you, NYT.
Yummy!
I diced up a chicken breast and used it in place of the ground chicken. I also added in a red pepper and zucchini since I had those on hand. Delicious!
Donna Brassard
A good recipe but I did add veggies (sliced red bell pepper, bok choy and carrots), and took the advice and added sesame oil and rice wine vinegar. Topped it with crunchy chow mein noodles.
Primavera
Bland. Needed a lot of doctoring.
AA
Double the garlic and ginger
DandyAnde
I make fried rice regularly but for some reason my son doesn’t like my fried rice. He will, however, eat restaurant fried rice. I was mystified and tried lots of combinations of ingredients. I finally realized that the only difference between my fried rice and restaurant fried rice was texture. Mine at home tended to me more moist whereas restaurants get the rice really dry. This recipe somehow manages to replicate restaurant fried rice texture and now my son will eat my fried rice, amazing!
Jazzy
Loved it. Quick tip, add a little nutmeg powder!
Katie
Loved this, the ground chicken is tender and flavorful!
Beau
I didn’t have fresh ginger so used 1/2 tsp of ground. Used corn instead of peas. Long grain brown rice instead of white, that cooked up nicely and got a nice crunch when I added to the scallions. And instead of plain chili sauce I had a crunchy orange cranberry chili sauce. And at the end of adding my chicken back in I added some sesame oil. This was hands down the best stir fry I’ve had. And I love the fact you can substitute or add your own twist and it doesn’t diminish the flavor.
Squirrel Butler
Beau (or any other knowledgeable poster), how much is "some" sesame oil? I'd like to try that addition but don't want to add too much or too little!
Sabrina
I used half the meat and much more vegetables. Left out the egg (cuz my kids won't eat it), used wild rice, and just changed the whole recipe. And it still worked!! The structure of the recipe is really great - if you use the basic techniques there is a lot of room to adapt to your needs and tastes.
Laurka
This is just yummy and easy. The ground chicken with ginger and garlic add great flavor. I’m wondering how it would be to add oyster sauce next time. And yes, you can toss in any other veggies. Sesame oil drizzled over the top at the end makes it even better (no use to fry anything in sesame oil since it loses its flavor). Thank you, NYT.
SF
Love this recipe! I used frozen mixed veggies instead of frozen peas, and swapped ground chicken for chicken breast, shredded after removing from the pan. More soy sauce sweet chili sauce at the end. My husband and I are very competitive marathoners and this is a weekly staple to get carbs/protein/veggies in
ratspice
I deglazed my pan with sherry following the chicken. And that just takes it from basic ground chicken to something I’d actually want to eat. Makes it taste more authentic. I also made my eggs separately, mixing the eggs with sesame oil. I do not like the taste of eggs and prefer that soft, ribbon-like effect you can achieve with sesame oil and a teaspoon of water. I added the eggs and scallions last and everything came together extremely well. You might actually approach the flavor of takeout!
Squirrel Butler
"ratspice" is absolutely my new favourite nickname. Well done.
Laura
Very good and simple. I used sesame oil and added a bit more red pepper. Also used the suggestion to buy premade jasmine rice, which made things a lot easier! Cook times for meat and rice could be a few minutes longer to get the browning/crisping more spot on
ANDinCDMX
There's nothing wrong with this. And it's not difficult. But i guess i was hoping for something a little simpler/quicker from a fried rice recipe -- maybe that was my fault and my own made-up expectations -- but i felt like it had 1-2 too many steps for what it is. Slightly bland, too. (I often make NYT's kimchi fried rice and i feel like that's a model of what I'm talking about.)
mamasaurus
Made this just as written. Browned the chicken nicely so I got some crunch from the chicken. So good.
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