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Want dinner to be ready in 15 minutes flat? Try this super speedy Egg Fried Rice recipe! It makes an easy, tasty Chinese fakeaway side dish or a vegetarian family meal on its own.
The key to good homemade Egg Fried Rice is loads of crunchy, sweet veggies, tasty Chinese-infused flavours and making sure your rice doesn’t go mushy!
I’m going to let you into a secret…. We’re using microwave packet rice for this recipe! Shhh.
This is my secret weapon ingredient.
I make sure I always have some in the cupboard so I can whip this dish up when the day calls for it. (I sometimes go one step further and turn this into Chicken Fried Rice or Beef Fried Rice, or add prawns or ham for a non-veggie meal.)
Yes, you can cook the rice the day before and use that instead, but in my experience this requires prior planning, and quite frankly I love this recipe because it gives me the freedom to do the EXACT opposite, so the stand-in trick of using microwave rice works well for this reason.
The end result is maybe 10% better with home cooked rice (and also cheaper) BUT in my opinion the compromise is worth it.
If you DO prefer to use home-cooked rice, simply cook it the day before (or earlier in the day) and leave it in the fridge to cool.
Using cold rice means any extra moisture evaporates and the starches firm up, meaning your Egg Fried Rice won’t steam and turn mushy.
Making sure you cook the rice over a high heat in a wok or frying pan also helps the rice keep its texture and stay intact.
Please make sure you take note of the safety guidelines below when it comes to cooking, cooling and storing rice to avoid bacteria getting in.
Why you’ll love this Egg Fried Rice recipe
⭐️ Throw together dinner or delicious fakeaway side
⭐️ Full of flavour and nutritious
⭐️ Inexpensive, convenient store cupboard ingredients
Reader Comment:
“When my super critical husband says ‘This is good! It tastes like takeaway fried rice without all the oil’, you know you’ve found a regular recipe. Kid approved too. Thank you, from a grateful and tired mum/wife.” – Bronwyn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sarah’s notes
The origins of Egg Fried Rice go way back to China in 589-618 AD, and now it’s a dish eaten in many forms around the world.
My simplified take on this traditional meal involves speed and convenience over authenticity, but it’s still totally delicious.
We’re making this dish all in one pan and you can easily adapt it by mixing up ingredients each time, according to what we have in or fancy. Leftover veggies in the fridge, some store cupboard flavourings and packet rice, we’re AWAY.
This is a perfect quick dinner for 4, but also goes with loads of other mains as a side dish, such as my Slow Cooker Peking Style Duck or Beef and Broccoli.
Egg Fried Rice Ingredients
- Olive oil – You can also use sunflower if you prefer.
- Onion, garlic and ginger – You can use fresh or cheat (jar, frozen or paste) if you like.
- Chinese five spice – This adds a lovely warmth and flavour to the dish and you could always add some chilli flakes if you want the extra heat.
- Veggies – Onions, carrots, peas and red peppers work well. (Or any colour. The type used here are bell peppers). You could also use frozen for these too.
- Microwave rice – For this recipe that serves 4, we’re using 2 x 250g packs. I use wholegrain basmati rice or pure basmati for this recipe.
- Dark soy sauce – This gives a lovely colour and depth of flavour but you can use light soy sauce if that’s what you have in.
- Oyster sauce – You can’t beat this for that unmistakable Chinese flavour.
- Eggs – I use 4 but fewer is fine.
- To serve – Spring onions (scallions) and red chillies.
How to make Egg Fried Rice
1. Fry all of your vegetables and add garlic, ginger and five spice, as per the full recipe below.
2. Add in your rice and sauces.
3. Whisk your eggs, make a couple of wells in the mixture in the pan and them in.
4. Leave to cook for a minute, then stir until cooked through. Sprinkle chopped spring onions and chillis over the top.
Substitutions
- Sesame oil – For a more authentic taste, substitute olive oil for sesame, but don’t buy it especially as olive oil is fine!
Cooking your own rice
Instead of the microwave packet, cook 200g of white rice the day before you plan to make this dish (or earlier in the day) and leave it in the fridge overnight.
Or cook a batch and freeze it in portions! Then you only have to defrost as much as you want in the fridge beforehand.
Just be sure to follow cooked rice food safety guidelines (i.e. do not leave it hanging about at room temperature, cool it very quickly and then reheat fully until piping hot before serving).
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days.
In the freezer You can freeze this, however sometimes rice dishes are not at their best afterwards. Just wait until it’s totally cold and then put it into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating in the microwave or or the hob. It may need a little extra water.
Recipe Tip
Cooking the egg
If you like chunky pieces of egg in your stir fry, allow the eggs to cook in the wells for a while longer before stirring.
For smaller pieces of egg, and to get a more sticky rice mixture, stir the eggs more quickly. Say, after a minute or so.
Make sure to use cold rice
If your rice is still warm, it may go mushy when stir fried because there will still be moisture in it. Allowing it to cool helps to dry it out a little, which helps it to stay intact with a more solid texture. It will also taste better.
Use frozen veg
I use a variety of vegetables in my Egg Fried Rice, depending on what’s in the house or needs using up. I also sometimes keep a bag of frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer, so I can use it for last-minutes recipes like this one. Works brilliantly!
Serve this with…
Family Dinner Ideas
Easy Pork Yuk Sung {Chinese Lettuce Wraps}
Chicken
Sweet and Sour Chicken
Slow Cooker Chicken
Slow Cooker Salt & Pepper Sticky Chicken
Under 15 minutes
Sticky Beef Mince Stir Fry {15 Minute Meal}
FAQs
A large wok or another large pan would be ideal. Make sure you have enough room for all of the ingredients and to give them a good stir. Read my review of one pot pans here to see what kind of large family pans are out there.
If you don’t have a pan big enough, I would suggest frying the eggs before you do everything else, then adding them back in later.
Yes, you can cook your own rice beforehand instead of using microwave rice. Either let is cool completely and refrigerate until you’re ready to heat it again, or allow it to cool slightly before adding it into your stir fry pan.
Yes! It’s low in fat and high in vitamins and protein. Get as many colours in there as you can with your veggies for a bigger nutritional impact. The calories come in at less than 350.
It’s a serving for 4 as a main, but it may go further if it’s a side dish to a bigger meal.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Quick Egg Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- 2 Garlic cloves, Crushed
- 1 tbsp Ginger, Paste or fresh
- 1 Onion , Finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Chinese five spice
- 1 Red pepper, Sliced
- 1 Orange pepper, Sliced
- 2 Carrots, Chopped
- 150 g (1 cups) Peas, Frozen
- 2 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 500 g (18 oz) Microwave rice
- 4 Eggs
To serve (Optional):
- Spring onions (scallion), Sliced
- Red chilli, Finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat your oil: In a heavy-bottomed frying pan.
- Starting frying: Add onions, garlic, ginger, Chinese five spice, the vegetables and fry over a high heat for 4 minutes.
- Rice and sauce in: Pour in your rice, oyster sauce and soy sauce and fry for a further 3 minutes.
- Time for the eggs: Whisk your eggs, make a couple of wells in the mixture and add the eggs. Leave them to cook in the wells for 1 minute, and then keep stirring until cooked, approx 4 minutes.
- To finish: Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and chillies.
Did you make this recipe? Click here to let us know how it went and give it a ⭐️ rating! Your feedback helps us to make more recipes you really want.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on April 25th, 2019. It was updated on July 30th, 2025 to add additional tips and step-by-step videos.
I have found that using 2tbsp soy sauce and 2tbsp oyster sauce makes the meal almost black,that puts me off.
This recipe says it’s vegetarian but uses oyster sauce. Is there a substitute for this?
Had this tonight and it was delicious and very simple to make. Thank you!
When my super critical husband says “This is Good! It tastes like takeaway fried rice without all the oil” you know you’ve found a regular recipe. Kid approved too. Thank you, from a grateful tired mum/wife
Just made this – so easy and tasty!
Quick and easy to make a winner all round for the family!!
My husbands favourite meal (with added prawns). He could eat this everyday. Thank you for another quick and hassle free meal.
Hi Sarah
The recipe doesn’t say when to add the chopped veg. Could you confirm? Thank you x
Hi Laura, so sorry it was in the writing but not on the actual numbered list, have updated it now! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Thanks Sarah. Looks like a great recipe. Going to try it this week x
It also doesn’t say when to add the rice.
I think I could eat a bowl of this every single day and not get bored. It looks so good! x
Silly question but do you microwave the rice first then add it?
Thank you x
I don’t, I just heat it through in the pan. But you could microwave and it would speed up the frying time 🙂