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

FAQs

How to make fried rice 5 steps? ›

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.

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.

Cooking bits of chopped vegetables, seasoning, soy sauce, and oil, seems easy enough. However, when making fried rice at home, there's one ingredient you may be overlooking: Sugar.

The key to delicious fried rice lies in using cold, cooked rice (preferably from the previous day) to prevent it from becoming mushy. Additionally, make sure to stir-fry the ingredients quickly over high heat, use soy sauce for flavor, and add a variety of vegetables and proteins for a well-balanced dish.

The answer: high heat, expert tosses, and something known as 'wok hei. ' As J. Kenji López-Alt writes for Serious Eats, expert cooking with a wok (and the gas range it requires) is one of the main reasons that fried rice from a Chinese restaurant tastes so much better than what you can make at home.

To get restaurant-quality fried rice at home, it's essential to use aromatics, a group of vegetables and herbs that are so named because they lend your dish a distinct aroma. Common aromatics that are used to flavor fried rice are onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and red peppers.

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.

Use COLD day old rice: For best results! Cold rice will crisp up in the hot oil. Warm rice will not toast and can even become mushy. If you are in a pinch make the rice first and spread it out onto a baking sheet in a single layer.

The fine, long grains of jasmine rice with its delicate flavour are perfect for fried rice. Precook the rice at least 30 minutes, but preferably one day, before making fried rice and keep it uncovered in the fridge.

What is fried rice syndrome? ›

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.

If you want an oil with a neutral flavor, go with canola oil. For a mildly nutty flavor, you'll want to pick peanut oil. If you want your oil to infuse your fried rice with a rich flavor, go with avocado oil, macadamia oil, or sesame, depending on what taste you're going for.