This chicken and veggie fried rice is one of my favorite dishes to make. This easy recipe has the best marinated chicken, fried rice, and tender vegetables. This meal has everything you need in one dish. Better than take-out, and easily customizable.
I love Asian cuisine. I make various type of Asian inspired dishes, probably at least one a week. Fried Rice is something that is easy to put together and is great for making in big batches. The leftovers are great for lunch the next day, or two.
I often turn the leftovers into "spicy fried rice", with this delicious spicy sauce recipe. If you are a fan of spicy food, I highly recommend trying this fried rice with spicy sauce.
For this recipe, I keep it pretty simple. This is how I make it 9 out of 10 times at home. It may seem like a lengthy recipe, but once you make it you will be able to navigate through it a lot easier the next 1000 times you make it. It's that good!
What is the secret to a good fried rice?
The secret to the best fried rice is using day old rice. Using cold rice allows the rice to fry better, preventing soggy and clumpy rice. This requires prepping ahead but is worth it.
If you just have a few hours before you want to serve it, you can still get it cooling in the refrigerator before cooking. Just spread it out into a thin layer before refrigerating it. I do this a lot when I decide last minute to make it for lunch.
Tips for Making Chicken and Veggie Fried Rice
- Day old rice works best for making fried rice.
- Season your rice when you first cook it, it makes a difference.
- Marinating the chicken adds extra flavor to the dish
- Any vegetables can be used- in this recipe I used broccoli, carrots, onions and mushrooms.
- For egg fried rice, scramble your eggs in the pan after you have fried the rice
- A fried egg is also great topped on fried rice
- Make this a side dish, cook the rice as instructed in the recipe just omit the chicken and veggies.
How to Make Chicken and Veggie Fried Rice
Start by rinsing the rice twice. This will help remove some of the starch. Removing some of the starch will help keep the rice from being too sticky.
Use the 2:1 ratio for your rice. So, if you are using 2 cups of rice you will need 4 cups of water. In this case we are using 3 ½ cups of water and using soy sauce for the remaining ½ cup of liquid.
Season the rice with soy sauce, and butter. Do not skip this step. You want the rice to take on as much flavor as possible.
Cook the rice. Bring the rice to a boil then cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. You are looking for the rice to plump up and for there to be no visible water. This will take approximately 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and vent the lid. Allow the rice to cool until warm. Spread the rice out on a baking sheet, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Marinate and Cook the Chicken
Add the cubed chicken and all of the marinade ingredients to a bag or bowl with a lid and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Cook the chicken in a large skillet over medium high heat with olive oil. Once the chicken is done, remove from the pan and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium.
Cook the Veggies
Cook the vegetables in the same pan, adding in extra oil for sautéing as needed, starting with the mushrooms and onions. Once the mushrooms and onions are browned, remove from the pan and add in the broccoli and carrots, season with garlic powder and a drizzle of soy sauce. Sauté for about 6 minutes then add in the ginger and garlic. Sauté for 1 minute more.
Add in the water, cover with a lid and cook until the veggies are tender. Be sure to cook just long enough that the veggies are just tender, not mushy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Cook the Fried Rice
Add butter and a drizzle of sesame oil to the pan. Add in the cold rice and stir until all of the rice is coated in the oil and the clumps are broken apart. Cook the rice, stirring every few minutes, season with additional salt and pepper.
Add the chicken and veggies. Once all of the rice is heated through add in the chicken and all of the veggies. Stir well and adjust seasonings if needed.
Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.
I love spicy fried rice. Here is a great recipe for a Spicy Sauce to add to your fried rice.
Check Out These Asian Inspired Dishes
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📖 Recipe
Chicken and Veggie Fried Rice
Ingredients
Rice
- 2 cups rice rinsed 2x
- 3 ½ cups water
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 1 Teaspoon vegetable or canola oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
Chicken Marinade
- 1 pound chicken cut into bite sized pieces
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Mirin
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 pinches korean red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Vegetables
- 6 ounces broccoli cut into small florets
- 2 medium carrots peeled, cut into thin 1 inch long pieces
- ½ medium onion medium diced
- As Needed button mushrooms quartered or sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- As needed soy sauce
- As needed sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon butter to use when cooking the fried rice
Instructions
- In a medium pot add the rinsed rice, water, soy sauce and butter. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the rice has puffed up and there is not any water visible. Take off of the heat and allow to set until warm. Spread out onto a baking sheet, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- In a bowl or bag, mix together all of the ingredients for the marinade, add the chicken, coat evenly and refrigerate until ready to cook. Preferably overnight.
- Start by preheating a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Remove the chicken from the marinade and add it to the pan. Cook the chicken until it is browned on all sides and cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add 3 tablespoons of olive to the pan. Add in the mushrooms and onions and sauté until browned and tender. Add in the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute more.
- Remove the mushroom mixture and set aside.
- Add in the broccoli and carrots, season with garlic powder and a drizzle of soy sauce. Sauté for about 6 minutes. Add in the water, cover with a lid and cook until the veggies are tender. Be sure to not overcook the veggies. The veggies should be tender, not mushy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add butter and a drizzle of sesame oil to the pan. Add in the cold rice and stir until all of the rice is coated in the oil and the clumps are broken apart. Cook the rice, stirring every few minutes, season with additional salt and pepper.
- Once all of the rice is heated through add in the chicken and all of the veggies. Stir well and adjust seasonings if needed. Enjoy!
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