Jump to:📋 What do we need? ❓ MSG or no MSG? 🔪 How to make egg fried rice 🍽️ What to serve it with 📺 Watch how to make it 🍲 More fantastic rice recipes Egg Fried Rice 💬 Reviews
Once you get the knack of remembering to boil a pan of rice in the morning, so you can have cold rice - which is really important for making the tastiest fried rice - this recipe will become a staple for serving up with any of your Chinese fakeaway dinners (or just eat it on its own for lunch!).
Alternatively, I often cook a batch of boiled rice and freeze it. Then I can just let it defrost overnight in the refrigerator, ready for frying it up with dinner the next day.
MSG is a flavour enhancer. It’s naturally found in some foods, but the MSG I’m talking about here is the stuff that looks like tiny thin longish strands of salt. It’s often associated with Chinese cookery and it helps to give dishes that lovely umami flavour.
There have been many studies done on it, so it’s worth doing some research if you’re unsure.
From my own experience, we grew up with a packet of MSG always in the cupboard. My dad always added it to fried rice, and I’ve made fried rice MANY times both with and without MSG.Personally I haven’t got a problem with it. BUT I rarely use it. Why?Well we don’t live close to any good Asian grocery shops here. Also, I don’t think that fried rice NEEDS it. I add salt, garlic salt and soy soy sauce to my fried rice for the same umami flavour.It’s worth noting that some garlic salt and soy sauce contains MSG anyway (I’ve just checked mine and they don’t, but it’s not something that I look out for when buying).
If you do want to use MSG, you can replace the ¼ tsp garlic salt with ¼ tsp MSG.
👩🍳PRO TIP Be sure to use cooked cold rice - rather than warm rice. Rice dries a little as it cools, and then dryness will help stop the fried rice going sticky and claggy. Rice that has cooled and dried a little will also absorb more flavour.
Fry onion in a little oil in the wok, then add minced garlic and cook for further 30 seconds.Add the rice, knock up the heat to high and drizzle over a little sesame oil. Toss everything together with a spatula. Note: Using a spatula is important as it allows you to get underneath the rice and toss it, rather than break up the rice grains (if you were to stir with a spoon for example).Once the rice is hot, push the rice over to the side of the pan and crack in two eggs. Cook the eggs over the heat, stirring together with a splash of soy sauce, then stir the eggs into the rice.Add more soy sauce, plus a sprinkle of salt and garlic salt and a drizzle of lemon juice. Toss everything together, then serve.
Serve up with your favourite Chinese dish or even on its own.
Ingredient Swaps
Add chopped bell peppers, peas, finely chopped mushrooms and/or carrots Add cooked, shredded chicken for Chicken Fried Rice or add in any leftover shredded/chopped meat from your Roast Dinner.
How to scale up and scale down this recipe
You can halve or double the recipe, sticking to the same ingredient ratios. If doubling the recipe, be aware that you’ll need a LARGE wok, and it will take longer to heat the rice through. Stay updated with new recipes!Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos). 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.
