I’m not a “cooking influencer.” OK, maybe just this once. Chicken-fried rice is a dish I’ve been making for myself for 40 years, and I’m pretty happy with it now.
Every recipe promises “you too can make restaurant-quality food at home!” Or maybe “this is the best fried rice recipe!” Not this one. This might well not be the best recipe, but I like it and maybe you will too.
Introduction
I have no star chef credentials. I’ve had a smattering of instruction, and I have a nephew-in-law who’s a chef, but basically I’m an amateur. Like you, hopefully. Especially, if you’re a single guy, either by choice, divorce, or widower-hood, and you’re just tired of eating out or heating up frozen garbage in the microwave.
Don’t expect to find a recipe that you can follow exactly and have it turn out just the way “it’s supposed to.” The way it’s “supposed” to be is that it’s something you’ll enjoy eating. Maybe I wouldn’t enjoy your rendition of it, or your kids wouldn’t, but if you like it, that’s all that matters.
Unlike a Real Chef, you don’t have to produce the same result every time. Sometimes you’ll make this and it’ll be great, and the next time it’ll suck. That’s actually a good thing. Happy accidents are what make life worth living. If it’s really terrible, throw it away and order in a pizza, and try again later. Don’t be hard on yourself.
Food Porn: Forget It
That’s what most published recipes are: beautiful pictures of food that you will never replicate. Did you know there is such a career as Food Stylist? There are people whose job it is to make food look like that. That’s why your food doesn’t resemble the photos; you’re not one of those people.
The Tools
You need a wok. Don’t believe America’s Test Kitchen when they say you can just use a fry pan.
A heavy Chinese cleaver is pretty handy, but you can just use a chef’s knife. I like the cleaver because you can smash garlic, carry things to the wok, or split a head of cabbage with it. But at any rate, you need a big knife.
Chopsticks or tongs to stir the food around in the wok (that’s why they call it “stir fry”).
A medium-sized bowl.
The Ingredients
It used to be that a regular Safeway wouldn’t have all this. I live in a pretty Asian neighborhood, so mine does. Even if yours doesn’t, these are pretty standard nowadays, I think. If your city doesn’t have an Asian market, you can order them online: “Weee!” for example.
The nightmare of the cookbook author is the person who complains that they followed the recipe and it came out terrible. It turns out they didn’t have one or more of the ingredients and used something else, or left it out. Or they used too much or too little of something.
If that’s you: OK, you did your best and got some result. If you didn’t like it, experiment some more. Maybe try my ingredients. No big deal.
Fresh ginger (see note)
Thai peppers (see note)
Chicken breast; boneless tenders, preferably. I know, there are people who’ll tell you to use thigh meat, and that’s actually great, but breast is easier to work with.
One egg
White wine. If it’s something you would actually drink, that’s fine, but I use mirin or cooking sherry, which you wouldn’t want to drink.
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Fish sauce (see note)
Steamed rice (see note)
Peanut oil or vegetable oil. Do not use olive oil.
hot oil, the usual name for a mix of sesame oil and chili. You can add this either as a final step, or at the table. Optional.
Rice
The rice has to be dry. You cannot steam some rice and use it on the spot. Keep it in the fridge at least a day.
As for how to get it: if you’re into Chinese takeout, just get extra and save it. Otherwise: don’t stress about making it on the stove. I would bet you that 95% of the Asian households around here have a rice cooker. Soak and drain the rice a few times to get the surface starch off it, so it won’t be sticky.
Ginger
This is what it will look like on the produce aisle
You don’t need much; just a few thin slices. The rest will go bad if you keep it in the cabinet. If you just put it in the freezer, it’ll be rock-hard when you take it out. So I cut it into little pieces while it’s fresh, and then put those in the freezer. You can thaw one in a hurry by putting it in some warm water.
Does this lose something over fresh ginger? Yes, it probably does. But hey, we’re not selling this to the public. This is home cooking.
Fish sauce
This one might gross you out. I promise, it doesn’t make the dish taste fishy. It just adds umami, which I happen to love. In Italian cooking, parmesan serves the same function.
If you still don’t want it, you can skip it, but give it a try. It adds a certain snap.
Thai peppers
I like some hotness. If you don’t, you can leave these out, or scrape out the seeds. You can also use jalapeňos, or even habaneros if you’re brave.
These will also go bad in the fridge, so I keep mine in the freezer.
Preparing
You could call this a full day’s recipe, since you have to have put some rice in the fridge the night before. But the actual labor time is about 15 minutes.
Marinating the Chicken
When I bring chicken breasts home from the store, I freeze meal-size portions in bags or foil. Take one of those out.
When you hear “marinate” you might imagine a full day of marinating ribs in some complicated solution. This is nothing like that. Chicken doesn’t need nearly as much time as beef or pork: an hour or two. And that will also thaw the chicken if you just took it out of the freezer.
The marinade
Just two of the ingredients above: the wine and the soy sauce. I dilute it with water if necessary to cover the chicken.
When you take the chicken out of the freezer, also take out some ginger and Thai peppers.
I’ve occasionally tried ginger or garlic in the marinade. I don’t actually know if it helps.
The egg
Beat the egg and set it aside, near the wok.
The rice
Put the rice on a dinner plate, also near the wok. Break up any clumps.
Dicing the chicken
Using your big knife, cut the chicken into little rectangles, maybe 1/2 - 1 inch. If you got a whole breast instead of fillets, you may want to split it lengthwise so the pieces aren’t so thick. Slice the ginger.
(I didn’t have any Thai peppers at the moment, so I sliced a jalapeňo.)
Put the chicken in the bowl, after having drained off the marinade. We’re going to use the bowl in a second.
The sesame oil and fish sauce
Put those near the wok too.
Here We Go!
You’re engaged now. Do not leave the kitchen. All your materials should be right there. Turn on the fan over the stove. Open the kitchen window, if there is one and it’s not too cold out. There will be a lot of steam, but hopefully no smoke.
Heating the oil
Put a small amount of oil in the wok, along with the ginger slices and peppers. Turn the heat all the way up. The ginger and peppers flavor the oil, and also show you how hot it’s getting.
I used to think the ginger had to turn brown for the oil to be hot enough. Now I just wait for it to sizzle.
In goes the chicken!
Throw in the chicken. The moisture in it will cause more sizzling.
Keep stirring it. You don’t have to go crazy with the stirring, but you don’t want it to burn or stick.
When it starts getting brown (a couple minutes) scrape it out into the bowl again, being sure to leave as much oil in the wok as you can.
Now the egg
Put in the beaten egg. Stir it around so it scrambles. As soon as it’s solidified, scrape it out, into the bowl with the chicken.
Then the rice
Now throw in the rice. There will be very little oil left, or none, so you could burn the rice very easily here. You can put in a little more oil first, but I just swirl the rice around for a few seconds, and then…
Back in goes the chicken & egg
Turn the heat all the way down, and put the chicken & egg from your bowl back in. There will be lots of moisture in them. Note that the ginger and Thai peppers are still there. This is good; they help flavor the rice.
Splash in some sesame oil and fish sauce. Note I said “some.” I don’t have an exact measurement for you. Real cooks don’t measure.
Stir it around, and let it sit on very low heat, while you get the rest of dinner together.
And That’s It
You can pick out the pieces of ginger and peppers before eating, unless you’re adventurous.
Rinse out the wok and leave it in the sink with soapy water in it. Don’t listen to those people who say you should never wash your wok. Before you go to bed, scrub it (there will still be food on there, but the soapy water will have loosened it) and put it away. No one wants to wake up to dirty dishes in the sink.
Keep some soy sauce and hot oil on the table if you want to add it. Congratulations! You’re a home chef.
Other Things to Try
It doesn’t have to be the same every time. You’re at home, not in a professional kitchen. As I said: if it turns out terrible, dump it out and order a pizza. There’s no master chef to yell at you, and no Yelp reviewers to ruin your career.
Taste and Correct
I didn’t do this on the above batch, and I should have. It had a slightly sweet taste, probably from the mirin, and a little vinegar or lime juice would have fixed it.
Quite often with other dishes, you’ll discover it needs more salt, or hotness. You just never know how a dish is going to turn out, so trying it is the only solution.
Other Ingredients
Other fried rice recipes you’ll see call for some ham, peas, carrots, scallions, or something else. Sure, if that’s what you want.
Other Seasonings
“Hot oil” (a mix of sesame oil and chili) is a great thing to splash on, either in the wok or at the table.
Some vinegar with hot peppers marinating in it is good to put on at the table.
Lime juice squeezed over the rice can be good.
I gave up on SnB because I think they changed the recipe. It’s not as good anymore. Anyway, I’m having the fried rice tonight with a little stir fry veg and some homemade egg rolls…one of the family favorites. Thanks again for sharing.
Thanks for this recipe. I make this also, and my son (an actual chef) always likes it. Sometimes I cheat and use Sunbird, but you are right, fish sauce (and sesame oil) gives it the best flavor. Wok on!