Egg fried rice

Name: Egg fried rice
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 13 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 450 g cooked long-grain rice, about 150 g uncooked, refrigerated overnight; 3 large eggs; 3 tbsp neutral oil; 2 spring onions, whites and greens sliced separately; 1 tbsp light soy sauce; ½ tsp salt, plus a pinch for the eggs; ¼ tsp ground white pepper; ½ tsp sesame oil

Cold cooked rice stir-fried over high heat with scrambled egg and spring onion, so the grains stay separate.

China · Tender, Fluffy · Easy · Researched

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 8 min
Serves: 2

Allow extra time: Cooked rice chilled overnight.

Go to the method

Equipment

Wok or 28 cm frying pan · Wok spatula or flat wooden spatula · Small bowl

Ingredients

450 g cooked long-grain rice, about 150 g uncooked, refrigerated overnight
3 large eggs
3 tbsp neutral oil
2 spring onions, whites and greens sliced separately
1 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tsp salt, plus a pinch for the eggs
¼ tsp ground white pepper
½ tsp sesame oil

Method

Break up the cold rice

Rub the cold rice between your fingers to break up the clumps. Cold, day-old rice has dried slightly, so it fries without turning mushy.

Look for: Single grains, with no hard clumps left.

Scramble the eggs

Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the wok over high heat until it shimmers. Pour in the eggs, push them around for 30–40 seconds until just set, then tip them into the bowl.

Look for: Large soft curds that still look slightly wet.

Fry the rice

Add the remaining oil and the spring onion whites. After 10 seconds, add the rice. Spread it out, let it sit for 20 seconds, then toss. Repeat for 3–4 minutes until every grain is hot.

Look for: The grains jump in the pan and start to toast in spots.

Season and return the egg

Add the soy sauce, salt and white pepper and toss for 1 minute. Return the eggs and spring onion greens, breaking the egg into pieces, and toss for 30 seconds more. Turn off the heat, stir in the sesame oil and serve.

Look for: The rice is evenly coloured, with pieces of egg and green onion throughout.

Equipment & heat

Fried rice wants high heat and room to toss. A carbon-steel wok on gas is the classic setup. On induction or electric, a wide flat frying pan works better than a round wok because more of it touches the heat; fry in two batches if your pan is under 28 cm. On electric, preheat for longer, since the ring is slow to recover after the rice goes in.

Nonstick: Works, but don't preheat a nonstick pan empty on high heat. Add the oil first and use moderate-to-high heat.

Troubleshooting

Mushy, sticky rice means the rice was warm or freshly cooked, or the pan was crowded. Rice sticking to the pan means the pan wasn't hot enough before the oil and rice went in. Bland rice usually needs more salt, not more soy sauce.

Food safety: Cool cooked rice quickly and refrigerate within 2 hours. Use it within 3–4 days and fry it until steaming hot all the way through.

About this version

A plain Chinese home-style egg fried rice. Some cooks pour the raw egg over the rice instead, to coat each grain; scrambling the egg first and adding it back keeps larger, softer pieces. Peas, diced ham or shrimp can go in with the rice.

Unless stated otherwise, use large chicken eggs, approximately 60 g in the shell, refrigerated. Timings are starting points: use the visual checkpoints and any stated temperature check.

Sources

This guide was written from the references below. Egg Atlas has not kitchen-tested it.

Illustrations by Egg Atlas. They show the method; they are not photographs of a tested result.