Our chicken fried rice recipe is an excellent choice for a fuss-free and satisfying main course for the entire family.
The versatility of fried rice allows you to customize the dish to your liking. In this recipe, we pair the rice with chicken thighs, bacon, carrots, peas, and corn. These ingredients are easy to find, cook, and eat, so nothing is keeping you from trying out this dish.
Is Chicken Fried Rice Healthy?
Yes, we believe this chicken fried rice is healthy.
Chicken thighs, eggs, and peas combine for 31.8 g of protein in each serving of this dish. Also, there are only 463 calories and 4 g of saturated fat per serving, so chicken fried rice is an excellent choice for a healthy diet.
There is 601 mg of sodium in each serving, which is a reasonable number for a dish with soy sauce, fish sauce, and bacon. And don’t worry – it’s still within the limits of our nutrition guidelines.
Carrots and corn also provide you with multiple nutrients and antioxidants.
Ingredients for This Recipe
- Rice: The star of this humble dish isn’t the protein or vegetables. Every ingredient of this recipe plays a supporting role to the rice. Before stir-frying, we mix rice with eggs, flour, and paprika. Eggs don’t just make rice more tasty and colorful, they also combine with flour to create a barrier around the rice to prevent it from drying and sticking to the pan.
- Protein: Chicken is the main protein of the dish. We use chicken thighs for their tenderness and bolder flavor compared to breasts. We also add bacon to this dish. This widely beloved ingredient packs a ton of flavor, making our fried rice more exciting.
- Vegetables: We have three vegetables with three different colors: orange carrots, green peas, and yellow corn. Aside from the obvious aesthetic reasons, these three make this dish more diverse with their unique tastes and textures.
- Seasoning: Asian cuisine is known to utilize a lot of seasoning in its dishes, but the overall flavor is always balanced. This dish is no exception. We use reduced-sodium soy sauce, fish sauce, pepper, brown sugar, garlic, and scallions. The result is a sweet and savory sauce that adds taste and color to the rice.
Tips for Cooking Fried Rice
- Do you boil rice before making fried rice?
Yes, the rice should be cooked before stir-frying. Don’t fry rice immediately after boiling or steaming. Let it rest for a few hours or overnight then start stir-frying.
- Why is my fried rice not crispy?
This may be the result of clumping. Letting the rice rest after cooking will go a long way since it allows the grains to separate so you don’t end up with clumpy or mushy fried rice.
We suggest using leftover rice but remember to break up the clumps before stir-frying.
Also, make sure you don’t overload the pan. When there are too many ingredients, the pan may not be hot enough, which causes the rice to clump.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Chicken fried rice should last for 3 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer. Transfer the leftover fried rice to airtight containers or freezer bags to store.
You can reheat this dish in a skillet or a microwave. Add a couple of tbsp of water to prevent the rice from drying.
What to Serve With Chicken Fried Rice
We suggest serving chicken fried rice with a refreshing soup or sautéed vegetables to complete the meal.
- Stracciatella Soup
- Stir-Fried Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan)
- Cabbage Potato Soup
- Cabbage Soup
- Winter Melon Meatball Soup
Best Chicken Recipes for Families:
How to Make Chicken Fried Rice
This chicken fried rice recipe brings you an Asian classic, a simple yet delicious fried rice with chicken thighs and multi-colored vegetables.
- cook TIME 25 mins
- prep TIME 15 mins
- total TIME 40 mins
- COURSE Main Course
- CUISINE Asian
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 463 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 16 ozskinless boneless chicken thighs (cut into small cubes)
- 3 ozcarrots (diced)
- 3 ozfrozen peas
- 3 ozcorn
- 2 cupscooked medium-grain rice (from 1 cup uncooked)
- 2 medium eggs (cracked and whisked)
- 1 tbspall-purpose flour
- 1 tsppaprika
- 1.5 ozraw cured bacon (sliced)
- 2 tbspcanola oil
- 2 tbspgarlic (minced)
- 2 tbspreduced-sodium soy sauce
- 0.5 tspground black pepper
- 0.5 tspbrown sugar
- 0.5 tspThai fish sauce
- 0.3 cupscallions (sliced)
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep:
Cut the chicken: Cut the chicken thighs into thin strips, then cut the strips crosswise into small cubes.
Dice the carrots: Peel the carrots with a vegetable peeler, then cut them into segments. Cut the segments lengthwise into slices, cut the slices lengthwise into thin strips, then cut the strips into dice.
Cook the rice: Use a pot, rice cooker, Instant Pot, or microwave to cook rice.
Prepare the eggs: Prepare a small bowl and crack the eggs in it. Whisk them thoroughly.
Slice the bacon: Cut the bacon slices into small pieces.
Mince the garlic: Slice off the root part of the cloves and bash them with a knife. Peel away the skin, then mince the cloves with a mincer or a knife.
Slice the scallions: Bunch the scallions together and slice the scallions into thin rounds.
Cook:
Mix the rice: Prepare a big bowl and add 2 cups of cooked medium-grain rice. Mix the rice thoroughly with 2 medium eggs, 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, and 1/2 tsp paprika.
Stir-fry the bacon: Place a pan over low heat until hot. Add 1.5 oz raw cured bacon and stir for 2 minutes.
Stir-fry the chicken: Turn up to medium heat. Add 1 tbsp canola oil, 16 oz chicken thighs, and 1/2 tsp paprika. Stir-fry for 7 minutes.
Stir-fry the vegetables: Add 3 oz carrots, 3 oz frozen peas, 3 oz corn, and 2 tbsp garlic. Stir-fry for another 4 minutes. Remove the chicken, bacon, and vegetables from the pan.
Stir-fry the rice: To the same pan, add 1 tbsp canola oil and the mixed rice. Stir-fry for 7 minutes.
Add the cooked ingredients: Add the chicken, bacon, and vegetables back to the pan. Stir for 2 minutes.
Add the seasoning: Season the fried rice with 2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/4 cup of scallions, 1/2 tsp brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp Thai fish sauce. Stir for 2 minutes to combine.
Serve and enjoy.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
SaVanna Shoemaker, MS, RDN, LD
Nutrition Reviewer