EASY 20-Minute Fried Rice Recipe - I Heart Naptime (2024)

FAQs

How to make fried rice if you don't have day-old rice? ›

To get that perfect day-old rice without waiting 24 hours, the process is actually fairly simple. Just rinse and drain fresh, raw rice and sauté in oil. Add a little less water than you normally would to the pan, and bring to the boil before covering and simmering.

Draining and Drying: If your rice turns out too wet or mushy, start by draining any excess water. You can use a strainer or colander for this purpose. Then, spread the rice on a baking sheet and put it in an oven preheated to 350°F for a few minutes. This helps dry out the rice and improve its texture​​​​.

You can also use day-old brown rice, however it will create a less-authentic taste and texture, even though it's still delicious. Sesame oil. I do not recommend omitting or substituting the sesame oil in this recipe. It is key to the authentic flavor of this dish.

The mirin will not only deglaze the pan, picking up the savory bits left by the chicken, but it will also impart a gentle, sweet undertone to the pan-fried vegetables. Of course, you can always add mirin directly to the rice as you're frying the rice. This would be akin to adding salt, soy sauce, or MSG.

To make instant rice—like Minute Rice—manufacturers take parboiled rice and “puff” it, which creates pockets in the rice that allow “water to easily soak in without additional boiling,” according to Armstrong. That's why you only need to boil your water and wait for the rice to soak it up when using instant rice.

Fried rice syndrome is caused by a bacterium called Bacillus cereus, which is present in these types of starchy foods prior to cooking. Bacillus cereus is a heat-resistant bacteria, so even recooking foods that have not been appropriately refrigerated can result in food poisoning.

To give your dish that signature fried rice taste, you'll need to drizzle in sesame oil and soy sauce, but feel free to use as much or as little as you wish. You can even mix in things like garlic powder, ginger root, or Sriracha sauce and chili pepper for a bit of a kick.

Rinse Your Rice Before Cooking

Giving your rice a quick rinse before cooking allows it to shed some starch and leads to less clumpy cooked grains. All the good egg bits and other tasty seasonings will then mingle well with the rice, evenly distributing flavor throughout the dish.

What can I use in place of soy sauce in fried rice? ›

Toasted sesame oil, on the other hand, is 100% non-negotiable. It is my favorite smelling ingredient in my kitchen, and tastes wonderful in fried rice. (Also note that sesame oil is meant as a finishing oil, not a cooking oil, so remove the pan from the heat and then stir it in.)

You could make fried rice from freshly cooked rice, but it's not likely going to have the right texture because it will be too moist. Leftover rice is ideal because it's drier and therefore, cooks great right in your skillet along with the other ingredients.

Unlike freshly cooked rice, which forms soft, mushy clumps when stir-fried, chilled leftover white rice undergoes a process called retrogradation, in which the starch molecules form crystalline structures that make the grains firm enough to withstand the second round of cooking.

In a container in the fridge. For longer periods, freeze it. I've been storing rice in a bowl covered with saran wrap for as long as I can remember. You want the rice to be pretty dried out so it doesn't get mushy while frying it.