A guide to making Chinese rice that’s better than takeout
Chinese fried rice is a delicious rice recipe that can be fairly to simple to make, once you practice and get the hang of it. The main ingredients usually consist of rice, soy sauce, and chopped vegetables such as onions, peppers, and broccoli. All of these ingredients are then sauteed in a large skillet or wok. With a basic understanding of what the recipe entails, you can begin cooking Chinese rice at home!
Things You Should Know
- Rinse the white rice, add it to a saucepan, and add double the amount of water. Bring the pan to a boil, then simmer the rice for 10-15 minutes.
- Scramble up 4 eggs. Then, chop an onion, red pepper, and broccoli and saute them in vegetable oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the rice, scrambled eggs, and ½ cup (188 ml) of soy sauce to the vegetables. Regularly stir the mixture until the vegetables are fully cooked.
Ingredients
- Eggs
- Milk (optional)
- Butter (optional)
- Rice
- White onions
- Red bell peppers
- Vegetable Oil
- Soy sauce
Steps
Part 1
Part 1 of 4:
Cooking the Rice
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Rinse the rice. Measure out the amount of rice you would like to use with a measuring cup. Place the rice in a bowl or saucepan and place the it in your sink. Run cool water over the rice until it is one inch above the rice line. Stir the rice with your hand or a wooden spoon. Drain the water from the saucepan and repeat until the water is clear.
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Add rice to a saucepan. If you did not already use a saucepan to rinse the rice, add the rice to a 3-quart saucepan. It should be large enough to accommodate the rice plus double the amount of water. For example, if you measured out one cup of rice, you will use two cups of water. If you used three cups of rice, you will use six cups of water, and so on.Advertisement -
Bring the rice to a boil. Stir occasionally as you wait for the rice to boil. Once it boils, turn the heat down to the lowest heat possible and cover the pan with a lid.
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Simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes. There is no need to stir or open the lid. Doing so will allow steam to escape, thus affecting how well the rice will cook. Check the rice sparingly or use a pan with a clear lid to check its progress. [1] X Research source
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Set the rice aside. Once the 10-15 minutes are up, open the lid and use a fork to fluff up the rice. Place the cooked rice in a bowl until you are ready to use it later.Advertisement
Part 2
Part 2 of 4:
Preparing the Vegetables
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Chop up an onion. Chinese rice generally uses white onion, as it has a mild flavor that blends well with rest of the ingredients. Grab a cutting board and sharp chef’s knife to cut up your vegetables. When you are finished chopping the onions, set them aside to use later.
- Slice half an inch off the top of the onion and discard it.
- Rest the onion on the flat surface you just created and cut it in half vertically.
- Peel and discard the papery skin. You may also discard the outer layer if need be.
- Lay the onion half flat on the cutting board and hold the root end, which will face away from you. Make vertical cuts into the onion, taking care to leave half an inch near the root. You can make the cuts wider since Chinese rice generally uses larger bits of onion.
- Rotate the onion and begin cutting through it again, perpendicular to the first lines you sliced. As you cut, you will see that the pieces are perfectly chopped and the root end is holding the slices intact, thus making chopping easier. When you get close to the root end, simply discard it. [2] X Research source
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Slice the red bell peppers. It is important use red bell peppers, as they have a distinct flavor profile that resonates well with fried rice. Rinse off your cutting board and grab your chef’s knife to begin cutting the red bell peppers that will be added to your rice.
- Cut off the top of the pepper. Pull out the seeds and the fibrous white bits.
- Lay the pepper on the cutting board with the cut top down. Slice through the middle.
- Cut the pepper into thin strips lengthwise. You can make these strips about half an inch thick for Chinese rice or whatever is your preference. [3] X Research source
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Cook the broccoli. If you would like to add broccoli to your Chinese rice, you may need to saute it in a pan until it is slightly soft. Broccoli takes a bit longer to cook than onions and peppers. This will ensure that the broccoli is soft when you are ready to cook with it and that your other vegetables won’t burn while you wait for it to soften.
- Place a skillet on medium heat. Add enough vegetable oil so that it lightly coats the bottom of the pan. Avoid using more than what will simply coat the surface of the pan.
- Add broccoli and stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. When it has softened a bit, add to a bowl and set aside.
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Combine all of the chopped vegetables in a bowl. Set the bowl aside until you are ready to begin sauteing them.Advertisement
Part 3
Part 3 of 4:
Cooking Scrambled Eggs
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Beat egg mixture until smooth. Combine 4 eggs, ¼ cup of milk, either full fat milk or 2% (it will thicken the mixture more effectively than skim milk), and salt into a small or medium-sized bowl. Use a fork or whisk to beat the mixture until it is blended and smooth. Adding milk is optional. This is suggested for thickening the mixture but is not necessary.
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Heat 2 tablespoons of butter. Place a medium to large size skillet on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Let the butter melt as the skillet heats up.
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Add the egg mixture to the hot skillet. Allow the eggs to set until you can see that the bottom of the mixture is a bit more solid. Use a wooden spoon to break up the mixture into pieces and stir the eggs around.
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Set the eggs aside in a bowl until you are ready to use them. The eggs will no longer be runny when they are finished cooking. After they have cooked, scoop them into a bowl and set it aside.Advertisement
Part 4
Part 4 of 4:
Sauteing the Ingredients
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Turn your stove burner to medium. You do not want it to be too hot or else you will burn your ingredients before it has a chance to cook.
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Place a large skillet with high edges or a wok onto the burner. A wok is the best choice for cooking Chinese rice since its curved shape and high sides allow food to be cooked more evenly. This is because any food that takes longer to cook can go at the bottom of the wok where it is the hottest before adding the rest of the food that doesn’t take as long to cook. [4] X Research source
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Add vegetable oil to the pan or wok. If you’re using a wok, you won’t need to use as much oil. A skillet will require more oil, as it has a wider surface at the bottom compared to a wok.
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Add in the vegetables. As the wok or skillet is heating up, add onions, peppers and broccoli. Stir the vegetables frequently so that they do not end up burning.
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Pour in the eggs and rice. After the vegetables have been browning for about two minutes, add the eggs and rice. Stir it around as soon as you add it and stir the mixture frequently.
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Add soy sauce. After you have poured the rice in the pan, pour about 1/2 a cup of soy sauce and mix everything up. You may need to adjust how much soy sauce you add depending on the amount of rice you used and your taste preferences. Generally speaking, you may add a quarter cup of soy sauce for every cup of cooked rice you are adding to the pan.
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Stir frequently. Keep mixing everything together until you see that the rice has gone from white to a brownish color, due to the use of soy sauce, and that the onions and peppers have fully cooked.
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Serve the Chinese rice. Some people put it into a small round bowl, then flip the bowl upside-down onto the plate so the rice is served in a neat mound. You can serve this dish with either a fork or chopsticks, which can be found at grocery stores. Try serving Chinese rice with stir-fried vegetables or cooked chicken dishes, like kung pao chicken or General Tso chicken.Yotam Ottolenghi, Chef and Restaurateur
Be openminded in the kitchen. "I'm a firm believer that the world should be your oyster when you're cooking. People should open themselves to other cuisines – there are a lot of hidden secrets all over the world."
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionDo you have any other fried rice tips?Jason Mayer is a Personal Chef based in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a part of the United States Personal Chef Association, Indianapolis Business and Brews, and the New Jersey Chef Alliance. Chef Jason’s specialties include Asian Fusion, French, Greek, and various European cuisines. By working with farmers in the area, Chef Jason is determined to offer the freshest and best ingredients that he can for his clients in the Tri-Cities area of Indianapolis, Louisville, and Cincinnati. He offers a variety of services, including Private Home Dining, Cooking Classes, Weddings, Event Catering, and Restaurant Consulting. Before starting his personal chef business, he worked throughout the culinary world, including in fromageries, fine dining restaurants, in-home private dining, and 5 Diamond Hotels.Simplicity is key. Begin by choosing your preferred vegetables, or you can opt to skip them entirely. I typically keep it straightforward with ingredients like green onions, scrambled eggs, salt, and garlic. A crucial tip is to use day-old rice. It's the secret to achieving the perfect texture and preventing the fried rice from becoming mushy. Freshly cooked rice tends to be too moist, while day-old rice has a drier texture that works exceptionally well for fried rice. Ensure you have a well-seasoned wok to prevent sticking. Heat the wok adequately before adding the ingredients, allowing them to cook quickly and evenly. The combination of using a day-old rice and a well-seasoned wok ensures that your fried rice turns out deliciously fluffy and perfectly textured. Experiment with ingredient ratios to suit your taste preferences, and you'll have a delectable fried rice dish every time.
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QuestionDo I have to add soy sauce?Community AnswerNo. You do not have to add soy sauce, but if you do, it will give it a good flavor. It will still taste good without it though.
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QuestionWhat particular ingredient makes this Chinese rice?Community AnswerThis is really a name that's based on the Americanized "Chinese" rice often served at Chinese restaurants, which generally includes these same basic ingredients.
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Tips
- Some Chinese rice may be short grain, in which case you will want to use a slightly different method to get perfect results.Thanks
- If you are attempting to cook Chinese rice for the first time, do not worry if it doesn’t come out the way you wanted it to. Just like with learning how to cook other dishes, it will take some practice.Thanks
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Warnings
- Avoid moving too quickly while cooking and accidentally burning or cutting yourself. Take your time and move around the kitchen carefully.Thanks
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Things You'll Need
- Large pan or wok
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about cooking, check out our in-depth interview with Jason Mayer .
References
- ↑ https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/videos/techniques/how-cook-rice
- ↑ https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/preparation/chop-peel-onion
- ↑ https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cut-a-bell-pepper-23579665
- ↑ https://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/802834/healthy-cooking-with-a-wok
About this article
Article Summary
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To make Chinese rice, start by cooking rice in a saucepan or rice cooker and setting it aside while you prepare the other ingredients. Then, beat a few eggs and scramble them in a large skillet with melted butter. When the eggs are no longer runny, remove them from the pan and set them aside. Next, heat vegetable oil in a skillet or wok and add chopped onions, peppers, and broccoli. After two minutes, add the rice and eggs to the wok, along with some soy sauce. Finally, continue cooking and stirring the rice until it’s brown and the vegetables are cooked. For tips on how to perfectly steam your rice, read on!
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Reader Success Stories
- "Great pictures and directions make this Chinese rice recipe easy to make. I added a half pound of bulk sausage. We had it for dinner and it was delicious. I had enough leftovers for a couple more meals for the two of us. Thanks for the advice." ..." more
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"Great pictures and directions make this Chinese rice recipe easy to make. I added a half pound of bulk sausage. We had it for dinner and it was delicious. I had enough leftovers for a couple more meals for the two of us. Thanks for the advice."
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"This was a perfectly-constructed article. Thank you. I followed the directions carefully and added a little chopped cooked chicken at the end. My rice was delicious. Very happy. "
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