I could eat this breakfast fried rice all day, every day. It’s one of my favorite things that Tim makes. He’s been making this for me since we started dating years ago. When I was working in an office, he would send me off with a big batch. It was the perfect combination of carbs, protein, and veggies to kick off my day.
Since then, we still have breakfast fried rice at least once a week. Not only is it delicious, but it’s an easy way to use up vegetables about to go bad in the fridge. We’ve thrown all sorts of veggie combinations in our fried rice, but my favorites are peas, broccoli, green beans, and carrots.
Tip one for making the best fried rice; make your rice ahead of time and throw it in the fridge overnight. If you’re going to let the rice sit for longer, we throw ours in the freezer. We typically make a big batch of white rice early in the week and put it in the freezer. Before cooking your fried rice, you can either thaw it out on the counter for an hour or you can microwave it for a few minutes. This method provides the perfect texture for the rice.
Tip two for making the best fried rice; mix your eggs into the rice before it all goes into the pan. This way the eggs coat each grain of rice. This provides a more delicious fried rice with egg throughout the entire dish versus occasional bites of the egg.
When making the breakfast fried rice, start by getting your pan hot. Tim typically likes to use our wok for this but it’s not necesary. Start the cooking process by adding oil to the pan. Then, add the sliced garlic and green onion. Cook these for roughly thirty seconds then remove them from the pan and set them aside. This step flavors the oil and adds depth to the dish. Then, add your raw vegetables, like broccoli and carrots.
Next, add the egg-covered rice. Make sure to spread the rice evenly across the skillet to ensure an even cook. Allow it to sit and cook for two minutes, stir, then then it cook an additional minute. Then, push the rice to the edges of the pan to create an opening in the middle. Add your soy sauce to the opening. Slowly count to five to let some of the moisture cook off, then stir it into the rice. Stir in the frozen peas and allow them to cook for thirty seconds. Again, move the fried rice to the edges of the pan.
In the open middle, add half a teaspoon of oil and crack an egg over it. Gently stir and scramble the egg until it begins to thicken. When it cooks to a wet scramble, stir it into the fried rice and finish cooking, roughly one minute. Stir back in the cooked garlic and green onion. Finally, turn off the heat and add in the cilantro.
Serve the breakfast fried rice hot and fresh, garnishing with the remaining green onion and sesame seeds.
Ingredients
- 1 cup/150 g cooked white rice, refrigerated overnight
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 tbsp high-heat oil, either avocado oil or vegetable oil
- 1 medium clove of garlic, sliced
- 2 green onion stalks, thinly sliced (stalks separated)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 cup vegetables (I prefer broccoli, peas, and carrots) **see notes
- additional 1/2 tsp high-heat oil, either avocado oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp cilantro, diced
Instructions
Take out leftover white rice that was refrigerated overnight.
In a large bowl, mix one of the eggs into the rice so that the rice is completely covered in the egg.
Meanwhile, preheat a nonstick 10-inch (or larger) skillet over medium-high heat. Once preheated add the oil, then the sliced garlic and sliced green onion. Sautee, stirring constantly until the garlic is lightly golden, roughly 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove the garlic and green onions from the pan and set them aside. (This step flavors the oil, giving the fried rice an extra delicious flavor.)
Add the rice to the oil. Make sure to spread the rice out evenly so that it can fry evenly. Let it sit and fry for 2 minutes. Stir it again, let it sit for another minute. Push the rice to the edges of the pan to create an opening in the middle.
Add the soy sauce to the middle of the pan. Allow the soy sauce to sit, slowly count to 5, then stir it into the rice. Let it cook for 30 seconds. Add the frozen peas and stir them in. Allow them to cook for 30 seconds. Again, move the rice to the edges of the pan
Add 1/2 tsp more of the oil, crack the other egg into it. Scramble the egg in the middle until the egg begins to thicken. When it's still a wet scramble, stir in the scrambled egg with the rice that was sitting around the outside of the pan. Cook with the eggs for 1 minute. Add back in the sauteed garlic and green onions. Stir it all together.
Turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro.
Serve hot, garnish with additional green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Notes
**If you're only adding peas, follow the recipe above. If you're adding broccoli and carrots, add them to the skillet before you add the rice. Cook them for two minutes before adding the rice.
