Egg fried rice is a simple yet delicious side dish. Commonly found on Chinese restaurant and takeaway menu’s all around the world, it is a great recipe to have under your belt! You can make this quickly and easily on a weeknight as a great accompaniment to a range of dishes. Try this with my Char Siu for a great and impressive feast!

The Importance of the Right Wok

You can get this to taste like fried rice you would order with a few methods. Firstly, you really do need to cook this in a wok with high heat. Non-stick woks, however, just don’t do it. You should really consider investing in a carbon steel wok if you are into Chinese style cooking! This will really help you to get that crispiness of the rice developing, and allow you to get a touch of wok hei.

Wok hei is that smoky, charred flavour you get in stir fries. This really requires very high heat that is only achievable in commercial Chinese style kitchens, but high heat on your biggest burner will help to get a hint of this going. You will really want to keep the rice constantly moving though to prevent sticking and burning.

Ingredients For That Classic Flavour

You will also want to be specific about the rice you use! Good fried rice requires the rice to be dry in order to achieve that crispiness and caramelisation. You will get the best results by using rice that was cooked the day before and allowed to dry out. You can cheat this by cooking rice on the day, spreading out on a sheet or tray and leaving to dry. This won’t give quite as good results but it’s a fine solution in a pinch. Alternatively, supermarket microwave rice packets actually work really well too! You will likely find that these are not very cost efficient, but it works.

I would also strongly recommend that you use MSG in this and similar recipes. It is essential for getting that classic flavour. MSG has received an unfortunate reputation in the past for safety concerns, but this are unfounded and untrue. I buy mine in large bags from amazon and it lasts for a good while.

Classic Restaurant/Takeaway Style Egg Fried Rice

Classic restaurant and takeaway style egg fried rice. This comes together quickly, tastes great and can be used as a side for loads of great dishes!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 2 People

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Main Ingredients

• 410 g Cooked Long Grain Rice Cooked the day before
• 2 Eggs Beated and seasoned with salt
• 2 Spring Onions Thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp MSG Optional
• 1/2 tsp White Pepper
• 1 tbsp Neutral Oil Peanut, sunflower, vegetable etc.

For the Sauce

• 2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Light Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Shaoxing Wine
• 1/4 tsp Sesame Oil

Method

 

1. Heat wok over a high heat.
2. Beat your eggs in a bowl and season with salt.
3. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl or, if you have one, a squeezy bottle like me.
4. Thinly slice your spring onions, separating the whites and the greens.
5. Add the oil to the wok and spread it round until the whole surface is oiled.
6. Add in the egg and immediately start stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. They will cook quickly and you want them to scramble but not burn or brown yet.
   
7. Once the eggs have begun forming curds but are still a bit runny, add your rice in and use the spoon to mix and break up clumps. Keep tossing it to stop is sticking or burning.
   
8. Add in the sliced spring onion whites and stir more, tossing the rice to stop the rice at the bottom from burning.
   
9. Season with the salt, MSG and white pepper.
   
10. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring and tossing regularly. You want to realy fry the rice now and start to crisp up some of the grains and get some caramelisation going!
11. Pour your sauce all over the rice and quickly stir and toss to mix it thoroughly.
    
12. Stir fry this for another minute or two to cook off the liquid. You will start to hear the rice frying again at this point.
13. Add the sliced spring onion greens in and mix in. Turn off the heat and serve!