Chicken Fried Rice

This recipe makes an easy chicken fried rice that is perfect for those times when you need to make something quick for dinner. The meal includes oven baked chicken that is shredded and added to a stir fry rice made with eggs, baby green peas and a stir fry sauce.

If you have any left-over cooked rice in the fridge and are not sure what to do with it then this meal is ideal. If you don’t then just cook some rice ahead of time and you can make this delicious meal. I have included the recipe to cook the chicken breasts for this chicken fried rice but if you have left over roast chicken in the fridge then you can use that instead. Sometimes we have a roast chicken dinner on Sunday and if we do then this is my go-to meal to cook on the Monday with the leftover chicken. If you don’t have any leftover chicken then you can bake some chicken breasts in the oven to slice and use.

This recipe is very adaptable and you can use other protein sources instead of chicken such as cooked prawns, beef, lamb or pork. You can even leave out the meat and make egg fried rice that you can serve as a side dish.

Ingredients for Chicken Fried Rice

• Chicken – I use chicken breasts. You can use skinless, boneless thighs instead if you prefer.

• Seasonings for the chicken – salt which is optional, white pepper, ginger powder and garlic powder.

• Stir-fry Sauce – a combination of light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and optionally some soft brown sugar to slightly sweeten the sauce.

• Fried rice – for the fried rice you’ll need some vegetable oil for cooking, 2 eggs, a spring onion, some fresh garlic cloves, some cooked rice and petit pois. Use rice that has been cooked and cooled ahead of time. You can use any rice you prefer. I use jasmine rice. Petit pois are baby peas that have been picked early and are sweeter than large peas.

How to Make Chicken Fried Rice

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/400^oF/200^oC. Pat the chicken breasts until dry with paper towels then season the chicken breasts with salt, white pepper, ginger powder and garlic powder. Place the chicken on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Once cooked through, remove from the oven and allow to completely cool then shred the chicken longways using a knife.

2. Make the stir fry sauce by combining the light soy sauce, dark sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and brown sugar in a bowl then set the bowl aside. Whisk the eggs together and also set aside.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a wok or a large frying pan and allow to heat on a medium - high heat. Pour in the whisked eggs and allow the eggs to set. Once they have set, begin to break them up into smaller pieces to resemble scrambled eggs. Remove from the pan and set aside on a small plate.

4. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan and allow to heat then add the chopped spring onions, chopped garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add in the cooked rice and continue to stir fry then add in the chicken and petit pois. Continue to stir fry for 1 minutes then add in the stir fry sauce and combine. Add the eggs back to the pan and continue to stir fry until all the ingredients are combined. Remove from the heat and allow to stand for 2 minutes then serve.

Recipe Tips

• Optionally, you can add finely chopped carrots. If you do then cook them with the garlic and spring onions.
• If you prefer, you can chop the chicken, season, then cook the chicken in a frying pan with a little oil.
• If you have left over roast chicken; you can use that instead.
• Ideally, you should use left over rice but if not then cook the rice and allow it to completely cool before using. Using freshly cooked rice will turn the rice mushy.

Nutrition

Nutrition based on 1 serving - Calories: 508kcal | Fat: 16.0g | Saturates: 2.6g | Carbs: 63.0g | Sugar: 8.5g | Fibre: 3.1g | Protein: 29.7g | Salt: 3.77g.

Storage

Ideally, you should consume the meal once cooked. It is not advisable to reheat rice more than once. If using leftover rice then it will be reheated when make the chicken fried rice so really should not be reheated again.

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