Chicken Fried Rice

Name: Chicken Fried Rice
Prep time: 13 min
Cook time: 24 min
Total time: 37 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 lb Chicken Thighs; 1 tsp Salt; 3 tablespoons Canola Oil; 3 Large Egg; 2/3 Cup Onion; 2 cloves minced Garlic; 2 tsp Ground Ginger; 1 large Carrots; 2/3 Cup Peas; 4 cups Jasmine Rice; 2 sliced Scallions; 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder; 2.5 tbsp Soy Sauce; 1 tsp Sesame Seed Oil

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Chicken recipe with Chinese flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 75 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 37 min total

1 lb Chicken Thighs
1 tsp Salt
3 tablespoons Canola Oil
3 Large Egg
2/3 Cup Onion
2 cloves minced Garlic
2 tsp Ground Ginger
1 large Carrots
2/3 Cup Peas
4 cups Jasmine Rice
2 sliced Scallions
1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder
2.5 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sesame Seed Oil

Step-by-step instructions

Fried rice is best made with leftover rice that's at least a day old. Otherwise it becomes gummy in the skillet.
If you don’t have any leftover rice from the night before, cook a batch of rice and spread it on a large baking sheet or several large plates. Let the rice dry out for about 1 to 2 hours before using it for fried rice.
Rice sticks to the pan very easily, so make sure to use a wok or pan that doesn’t have a sticky surface. I usually cook stir-fries in my seasoned carbon steel wok, but cast iron or nonstick pans work well, too. You might need to add a little more oil if things aren’t releasing easily.
Prepare the chicken: Chop the chicken into small 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch cubes. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the chicken and mix to combine. Set the chicken aside for about 10 minutes (I usually use this time to chop all the vegetables).
Scramble the egg: Heat a wok or large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Swirl in a tablespoon of oil and add the whisked eggs. Use a spatula to quickly scramble the eggs, breaking the curds into smaller pieces as they come together. Transfer the eggs to a plate.
Cook the chicken: Add another tablespoon of oil in the wok or pan. Add the chicken and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.
Using your spatula, scrape off any chicken bits that are still stuck to the wok so they don't burn during the next step. You can also use paper towels to wipe down your wok or pan.
Cook the vegetables: Swirl 1 tablespoon of oil into the wok over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions and cook them for 1 minute, until they start to soften. Mix in the minced garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the diced carrots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and the peas, and stir to incorporate.
Cook the rice: Add the rice to the wok or pan on top of the vegetables and stir to combine. Using the back of your spatula, smash any large chunks of rice to break them apart. Add the white and green parts of the sliced scallions (save the dark green parts) and five-spice powder. Stir to incorporate. If the rice starts to stick to the pan, stir in a little more oil.
Drizzle the soy sauce and sesame oil over the rice and stir to incorporate. Stir in the cooked chicken, scrambled eggs, and the dark parts of the scallions. Stir briefly to bring it together, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Serve: Taste, and add more soy sauce if necessary. Serve immediately.

Why this works on a weeknight

Chicken Fried Rice lands at about 37 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Stir-Fry collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Chicken Fried Rice actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥢 Stir-Fry Chicken Chinese