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This Chicken Fried Rice recipe is surely the PERFECT weekend fakeaway? Not only is it totally delicious and satisfying, it’s also relatively cheap to make AND healthy!
And when it comes to weekend cooking, what can be better than a recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to cook? No need to order a takeaway… just one pan, loads of flavour and a few hungry mouths to feed. Dinner, done. ✅
The takeaway vibes from this homemade Chicken Fried Rice recipe are unreal, but it’s actually a pretty light dish, with a couple of portions of vegetables, and is obviously much cheaper (and probably quicker).
At the time of writing, it comes in at just £1.01 per portion, and aside from the rice cooking, you’re looking at about 15 minutes of effort – I think I can just about manage that, even if it’s midweek!
And did I mention, this is all made in a single pan or wok? Making it an ideal, easy one pan meal too.
Why you’ll love this Chicken Fried Rice recipe
⭐️ Better than takeout fried rice
⭐️ Budget-friendly and healthy
⭐️ So easy to throw together
How we came up with this recipe
Chinese Chicken Fried Rice originates all the way back to the 589-618 AD Sui dynasty, but this style of cooking is now a staple recipe in many other countries around the world, from Asia to the Americas, Europe to Africa.
The combination of meat (or seafood), rice, veggies and egg, have evolved into many different styles of dishes, but for this recipe we’re going for the unmistakable Chinese-style flavours, because if it’s the UK’s favourite takeaway (according to YouGov research), why the heck not?!
This is my interpretation from egg fried rice with chicken recipes I have eaten and loved, bearing in mind convenience, flavour, cost and availability of ingredients.
If it’s Chinese-style fakeaway recipes all made in one pan or the slow cooker you’re after for ultimate hands-off effort, try my Beef and Broccoli, Sweet and Sour Chicken or Beef Stir Fry too.
Notes on Ingredients for Chicken Fried Rice
- Onion, carrots, garlic and ginger – You can use fresh or frozen, pre-chopped for this
- Chicken breasts – I use chicken breast for this as it has a good consistency, but thigh would be fine too. You may just have to slightly adjust your cooking times (cook them a little slower and longer) and be aware that the meat will feel softer. You could always use leftover roast chicken for this too
How to make Chicken Fried Rice
- Put your rice on to cook and prepare and chop all of the ingredients while it’s cooking.
- Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed frying pan, then add your onions, chicken, carrots, garlic, ginger and five spice over a high heat for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the cooked, drained rice and peas, soy sauce and oyster sauce and fry for another 5 minutes.
- Make room in the pan and add your whisked eggs, stirring until cooked through. Give everything a cook stir, mixing the egg through, then sprinkle with spring onion and chillies.
Substitutions
- Microwaveable rice – If you want to make this even easier, you can take the cheat’s option by making this recipe with ready-made packet rice if you prefer. It might not have that ultra fresh taste and it won’t be as economical, but it will be delicious and super easy
- Beef – You can make this in a similar way using beef mince too. See how in my Beef Fried Rice recipe
Storing and reheating leftover Chicken Fried Rice
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. 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).
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.
Top tip
If you don’t have a pan or wok big enough to do it all together
If your pan isn’t very big, I would suggest pan frying the eggs BEFORE cooking everything else, because doing them while your rice is also in the pan relies on having space to do so.
So, while your rice is simmering but before you start cooking your chicken and veggies, do the eggs then instead.
Heat the oil, pour in the whisked eggs and let them fry, stirring them a bit, until they are solid. Remove from the pan and then add them back into your fried rice at the same stage as you would have cooked them in the pan.
FAQs
To say this tastes so flipping good, rest assured that this is a lighter recipe than a takeaway would usually be. It also includes plenty of fresh veggies and protein. One portion is roughly a little over 500 calories.
I use chicken breast for this as it has a good consistency, but thigh would be fine too. You may just have to slightly adjust your cooking times (cook them a little slower and longer) and be aware that the meat will feel softer.
This fakeaway fried rice is a full meal in itself, so you could have a bowl on its own or with some sides like prawn crackers or Chinese curry sauce.
If you want to stretch it further though, you could serve alongside a salad, or double-carb with Homemade Chips.
You could also dish it up as part of a banquet-style dinner with Slow Cooker Chicken Satay or Sticky Beef Mince Stir Fry.
I would recommend a large wok or one-pan pan. Read my review of the best family-friendly large pans for one pot meals.
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).
Chicken Fried Rice {Easy Fakeaway}
Ingredients
- 300 g Rice
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- 1 Onion, Finely chopped
- 350 g Chicken breasts (2 large fillets), Cut into small 2cm pieces
- 3 Carrots (300g), Chopped
- 2 Cloves of garlic, Crushed
- 1 tbsp Ginger
- 1 tbsp Chinese five spice
- 200 g Frozen peas
- 2 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 4 Eggs
To serve (optional):
- Spring onions (scallion) , Sliced
- Red chilli, Finely chopped
Instructions
- Rinse your dry rice well in a sieve and then cook in boiling salted water, according to the pack instructions. Drain.
- Heat your oil in a heavy bottomed frying pan or wok.
- Add onions, chicken, carrots, garlic, ginger and five spice and fry over a HIGH heat for 5 minutes.
- Pour in your cooked rice, peas, soy sauce and oyster sauce fry for a further 5 minutes.
- Whisk your eggs, make a space in the pan, clearing the rice to one side. Add the eggs, leave them to cook in the space for a few minutes, and then keep stirring until cooked (approx 5 minutes).
- Give everything a good stir to mix the egg through.
- Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and chillies.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
(Just a note to say, the video for this recipe was sponsored by a brand but for the sake of clarity, this post is not! Thanks as always for your support.)
Very tasty!
All the family loved it, I used packet cooked rice for quick, turned out great. Thank you for all your lovely recipes Sarah
Made this tonight / delicious fake-away / will definitely be making again / thanks Sarah 😊
Family loved it – clean plates all around! And enough for lunch the next day, win win!
Yum yum all family loved it
This was lush…a few tweaks according to what I had in the veg box! I used leeks and baby corn (sliced up) instead of onion and carrots and replaced the chicken with quorn chicken to suit the vegetarian in the family. Clean dishes all round 😋
I’ve recently found your socials and this is the second recipe I’ve tried and yet again it was amazing! My teens are fussy and loved it thank you. We didn’t have oyster sauce so I just used a little more soy and a slash of Worcester. Thank you x
Made this for dinner. My twins devoured it in no time. Very quick and tasty. Thanks
Really enjoyed this- quick to do and makes lots. A good recipe for my 17 year old to cook (although I may be slightly frazzled from the experience!). We didn’t have the oyster sauce but I reckon you could add what you want or just more soy. We had some sweet soy in so used that (called something specific but can’t remember!).
Hi, do you know if this would this work with microwaveable rice? X
I was thinking the same, maybe it will, I’ll try it, I’ll microwave the rice first and pop that in, I found the using normal rice it went stodgy, still tasted good , but using the microwave rice could be much better