How to make egg fried rice at home: the takeaway method that actually works

The rice matters most

• Use cooked, cold rice: rice cooked the day before and chilled in the fridge has dried out a little and firmed up, so the grains separate in the pan instead of turning to mush. Freshly cooked rice is too wet and steams into a paste.
• Long-grain or jasmine rice is the usual choice. Short-grain sticky rice works but clumps more easily.
• No leftovers? Cook rice with slightly less water than usual, spread it out on a tray to let the steam escape and cool it quickly, then chill it before frying.
• Break up any clumps with your fingers before cooking, so you are not attacking them with a spatula in a hot pan.

Ingredients for two

• 2 bowls of cold cooked rice
• 2 to 3 eggs
• 2 to 3 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts separated
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil with a high smoke point (vegetable, rapeseed, groundnut)
• Light soy sauce, salt and white pepper
• Optional: a few drops of sesame oil to finish

Method

1. Get everything ready first. Once the pan is hot, it all happens in a few minutes, and there is no time to chop.
2. Heat a wok or the largest frying pan you have over the highest heat until it is very hot. A wide pan matters: crowding the rice makes it steam rather than fry. If your pan is small, cook in two batches.
3. Add the oil and swirl it round.
4. Cook the egg: beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and pour them in. Stir for a few seconds until they are about half set and still soft.
5. Add the rice straight on top of the soft egg and toss it through, pressing and folding so the egg coats the grains. Some cooks scramble the egg fully and take it out, then add it back at the end; that gives distinct pieces of egg rather than a coating. Both are good.
6. Keep it moving: spread the rice out, let it sit for a moment to toast, then toss. Repeat for a few minutes until the rice is hot through and some grains are starting to jump in the pan.
7. Season: add the white parts of the spring onion, a splash of soy sauce around the edge of the pan (so it sizzles rather than soaks in) and salt and white pepper to taste. Go easy on soy; too much turns the rice brown and soggy.
8. Finish with the green spring onion and a few drops of sesame oil if you like. Serve straight away.

Add-ins

• frozen peas and sweetcorn (straight from frozen is fine)
• diced cooked ham, leftover roast chicken or prawns
• chopped garlic or ginger, cooked for a few seconds only so it does not burn
• for heat, chilli oil or a little chilli sauce at the end

Common mistakes

• Using fresh, warm rice: the single biggest cause of mushy fried rice.
• Too low a heat: the rice sweats instead of frying.
• Too much in the pan: same result; cook in batches.
• Too much soy sauce or oil: you want seasoning and a light coating, not a puddle.
• Burnt garlic: add it with or just before the rice, not on its own in smoking oil.

Food safety with leftover rice

• Cool cooked rice as quickly as possible, ideally within an hour, then put it in the fridge.
• Use refrigerated cooked rice within about a day.
• When you fry it, make sure it is steaming hot all the way through.
• Do not reheat rice more than once, so fried rice is a dish to eat, not to reheat again.
• If you do not know how takeaway rice was cooked and stored, it is best not to reuse it.