A quick recipe for takeaway-style chicken fried rice with loads of flavour. I’ve included lots of swaps so you can use up whatever you’ve got in your pantry.
This chicken fried rice is such a great recipe for using up leftover scraps of chicken from your roast chicken dinner.
We hate seeing food go to waste, and will always try to find ways to turn leftovers into further meals or freeze for another day. One thing that has become a ritual after we make a roast dinner, is Chris slicing up any leftover meat and putting it in one box for sandwiches/salads (usually any slices and bigger pieces), then another box for fried rice or soups (usually the smaller pieces), then boiling up the carcass for stock.
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients
📺 Watch how to make it
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- Soften a chopped onion in the wok with a little oil. Then add chopped red pepper, garlic and peas and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add cooked shredded chicken, a splash of sesame oil and cold boiled rice. Turn up the heat to high and keep tossing everything together in the wok until the rice is hot.
- Once the rice is hot, push the rice over to the side of the pan and crack the two eggs in the space, then add a little splash of soy sauce. Stir the eggs, heating through until lightly scrambled, then stir the eggs into the rice.
- Add in more soy sauce, plus salt and a squirt of lemon juice and give everything a good stir.
Pro Tip
To make the best fried rice, it’s really important to get the boiled rice bit right first.
It needs to be boiled (I’ve got a simple tutorial here for how to boil rice in a pan perfectly), then cooled, so the rice dries out a little.
This will help stop the rice from sticking together and will also help it to absorb more flavour.
So, I’m using leftover roast chicken for this recipe, but you can use rotisserie chicken or other cooked and sliced/shredded meat if you prefer.
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
- Why not serve as part of a Chinese banquet with some of these recipes:
- Homemade Crispy Duck with Spicy Plum Sauce
- Sticky Sesame chicken
- Crispy Sesame Prawn Toast
- Baked Cauliflower Wings in a delicious Asian-style sauce
- Oven-Baked Ribs with Crispy Onions
🍲 More fantastic rice recipes
? Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I think reheated fried rice actually tastes better!
Cook the rice, then spread it out in a large dish (so it will cool quickly) cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Don’t leave cooked rice out at room temperature. Bacteria can grow on cooked rice very quickly, so it’s important to:
– Refrigerate it as quickly as possible
– Don’t store for more than 24 hours in the fridge, and
– Thoroughly reheat it.
Reheat in a wok, over a medium-high heat, moving it around the pan with a spatula, until piping hot throughout. You may need to add an extra splash of oil, as the rice will have absorbed the oil whilst in the fridge.
I would also add an extra squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh chopped spring onions (scallions) on top before serving.
Yes, you can freeze this chicken fried rice.
Cook the rice, then spread it out in a large dish (so it will cool quickly) cover and freeze.
As per the instructions above – Don’t leave cooked rice out at room temperature. Bacteria can grow on cooked rice very quickly, so it’s important to:
– Freeze it as quickly as possible
– Defrost in the refrigerator overnight (and don’t store for more than 24 hours)
– Thoroughly reheat it.
Reheat in a wok, over a medium-high heat, moving it around the pan with a spatula, until piping hot throughout. You will need to add an extra splash of oil, as the rice will have absorbed the oil upon storing.
Add an extra squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh chopped spring onions (scallions) on top before serving.
– Swap out the chicken for cooked shredded/sliced pork or beef.
– You could also add ham, crispy bacon and/or cooked chorizo pieces.
– If you want more veggies, add in finely chopped cooked carrots, sweetcorn, small pieces of broccoli, sliced mushrooms, sugarsnap peas or beansprouts.
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Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion peeled and diced
- 1 red bell pepper deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 115 g (2/3 cup) frozen peas
- 250 g (2 cups) cooked shredded/sliced chicken
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
- 800 g (4 cups) boiled and cooled long-grain rice this is about 1 1/3 cups (300g) of dried rice that has been boiled in water
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
To Serve:
- ½ bunch of spring onions/scallions chopped
Instructions
- Add 1 tbsp of the oil in a large wok. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onion starts to turn soft and translucent.2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 onion
- Add in the remaining vegetable oil, chopped red bell pepper, garlic, and peas. Cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring regularly.1 red bell pepper, 2 cloves garlic, 115 g (2/3 cup) frozen peas
- Now add chicken and sesame oil. Stir together, then add in the rice and turn up the heat to high.250 g (2 cups) cooked shredded/sliced chicken, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 800 g (4 cups) boiled and cooled long-grain rice
- Use a spatula to toss everything together and to ensure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Keep moving the rice around so that it's all getting reheated.
- Once the rice is hot (this will take about 5 minutes), push the rice over to the side of the pan and crack the two eggs in the space. Add a little splash of the soy sauce to the eggs.2 eggs, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- Making sure the part of the wok with the eggs in is over the heat, fry the eggs, giving a mix with the spatula until the egg starts to cook and looks scrambled, but is still a little runny.
- Now mix the egg into the rice.
- Pour in the remaining soy sauce, sprinkle on the salt and mix it all together.1/4 tsp salt
- Add the lemon juice, stir and taste. Add a little more lemon juice if required.juice of 1/2 a lemon
- Divide between 4 bowls. Top with spring onions (scallions).1/2 bunch of spring onions/scallions
Video
Notes
1. Can I make it ahead?
Yes! I think reheated fried rice actually tastes better! Cook the rice, then spread it out in a large dish (so it will cool quickly) cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Don’t leave cooked rice out at room temperature. Bacteria can grow on cooked rice very quickly, so it’s important to:- Refrigerate it as quickly as possible
- Don’t store for more than 24 hours in the fridge, and
- Thoroughly reheat it.
2. Can I freeze it?
Yes, you can freeze this chicken fried rice. Cook the rice, then spread it out in a large dish (so it will cool quickly) cover and freeze. As per the instructions above – Don’t leave cooked rice out at room temperature. Bacteria can grow on cooked rice very quickly, so it’s important to:- Freeze it as quickly as possible
- Defrost in the refrigerator overnight (and don’t store for more than 24 hours)
- Thoroughly reheat it.
3. Nutritional information is per serving
– this recipe serves 4Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
This post was first published in April 2020. Updated in March 2025 for housekeeping.
Another lovely quick meal the family loved it thank you 😊
Very nice! Bulked mine out some leftover pork! And, used a fair bit of Magi liquid seasoning,as well as Soy. 👍
We all really thought it was so very good!
You never gave the ingredients!
There’s a recipe card with full ingredients and instructions at the bottom of the blog post (you can jump to it, using the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the page.
Fab!!! A big hit in our house and so quick to make. x