In this chicken fried rice recipe, crispy bacon, eggs and vegetables combine with chicken breast and white rice to make a wonderful dish that’s better than take out.
The ingredients for the fried rice are affordable and easy to find, plus you can turn one pound of chicken breast into dinner for the whole family. Try this ham fried rice and special fried rice to mix things up.
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Recipe tips
Don’t add too much salt to this fried rice. Add a little to season the chicken and the eggs but other than that wait until the end to taste and add more if needed.
For best results use low-sodium soy sauce. If you are sensitive to salt, use low sodium bacon and cut down the amount in the rice and chicken and eliminate it from the eggs.
Things move quickly in this recipe. Prepare all the ingredients for the fried rice and have them ready to go before you start cooking. There will be no time to stop and prep something once you start.
Use cold rice for the best fried rice. Refrigerate it until completely cold and firm or use leftover rice. The grains of just-made rice are soft and when mixed will get mushy and ball up. When the rice is chilled the grains become firm and separate easily.
Ingredients
- Cooked long grain white rice – Use cold rice, get step-by-step instructions on how to make white rice.
- Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken breast (chicken thighs will work too) trimmed of any fat.
- Bacon – Crispy bacon adds flavor, plus the bacon drippings are used to cook the remaining ingredients.
- Eggs – Scrambled eggs are a must for fried rice. They add color, flavor and nutrients.
- Frozen Vegetables – Use vegetables that will hold up to cooking and will not get mushy. Ingredients like carrots, peas, corn, and green beans will all work. We use a frozen carrot and pea mix.
- Soy Sauce – Use low sodium soy sauce to control the salt.
- Herbs and spices – Garlic, ginger powder and green onions will add plenty of flavor.
Prep work
- Cut the bacon into roughly ½-1 inch pieces. Using kitchen scissors to cut the bacon makes it quick and easy.
- Trim any fat off the chicken. Cut it into small cubes.
- Slice the green onions. Scissors work well for this too, just snip them right into a bowl.
- Mince the garlic.
- Add the eggs to a medium bowl, add ¼ teaspoon of salt and beat.
- Cook the frozen vegetables to package directions using the lowest recommended time on the package.
- Gather and measure the remaining ingredients.
Make white rice if not using leftovers: Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add 1½ cups of white rice and 1 teaspoon of salt, stir. Lower the heat to medium and boil, uncovered, until most of the water has cooked out and you can see the rice on the surface (approximately 5-7 minutes). Stir, lower the heat to low and cover. Cook the rice on low for about 25 minutes until done. Uncover and fluff with a fork. Let it cool some, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until it’s chilled.
Instructions
Scramble the eggs – Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs to the skillet and cook 2-3 minutes while stirring until they’re fully cooked. Remove the skillet from the heat and reserve until you’re ready to add them to the fried rice.
- Cook the bacon in a large, deep, non-stick skillet (or wok), over medium heat until crispy (7-10 minutes). Stir the bacon occasionally at first. As it gets going, stir it more often to prevent it from burning. Take the skillet off the heat and remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve for later. Do not wash the skillet.
- Place the skillet, along with bacon drippings, back over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and sprinkle with the salt and ginger powder. Stir well and then arrange the chicken into one layer.
- Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes. Flip/turn the chicken in sections so that the browned side is up and cook another 3-4 minutes or until cooked through. Make sure it is no longer pink in the middle by cutting one of the larger pieces in half. If there is any liquid left in the skillet let it cook out before proceeding. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic to the chicken. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the white rice to the skillet. Cook the rice 2-3 minutes until hot and steamy, stir constantly.
- Add the eggs, bacon and vegetables, give everything a good stir. At this point stir the fried rice almost constantly.
- Slowly add the soy sauce while stirring constantly to coat the ingredients completely. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.
Finally, sprinkle in the green onions, stir well. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low and cook the chicken fried rice for 3-5 minutes to let the flavors come together.
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📖 Recipe
Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 Bacon Slices cut into ½ – 1 inch pieces
- 1-1¼ pound Chicken Breast boneless and skinless and cut into small cubes
- 1¼ teaspoon Salt divided
- 1 teaspoon Oil for the scrambled eggs use a neutral oil or light olive oil
- 3 Large Eggs scrambled
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves finely minced
- ½ teaspoon Ginger Powder
- 4-5 cups Cooked White Rice OR 3 cups Water 1½ cup Long Grain White Rice and 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1½ cup Frozen Vegetables carrots, peas, green beans, etc. use vegetables that will stay firm and not mush up cooked to the lowest recommended time on the package
- 6 tablespoons Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Green Onion sliced – plus extra for garnish if desired
Instructions
Instructions to make white rice if not using leftovers
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil over high heat. When the water is boiling add 1½ cup of white rice and 1 teaspoon of salt, stir well. Lower the heat to medium and boil, uncovered, until most of the water has cooked out and you can see the rice on the surface (approximately 5-7 minutes). Stir the rice, lower the heat to low and cover. Cook the rice on low for about 25 minutes until done.
- Take the rice off the heat, uncover and fluff with a fork. Let the rice cool. Once it has cooled some, add it to a bowl and refrigerate until it’s chilled.
Scramble the eggs
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and ¼ teaspoon salt, cook 2-3 minutes while stirring until they’re fully cooked. Remove the skillet from the heat and reserve until ready to add to the fried rice.
Cook the Bacon
- Cook the bacon in a large, deep, non-stick skillet or wok over medium heat for 7-10 minutes or until crispy.
- Stir the bacon occasionally at first, but as it gets going stir more often to prevent it from burning
- Take the skillet off the heat and remove the bacon with a slotted spoon. Do not wash the skillet.
Cook the chicken
- Place the skillet, along with bacon drippings, back over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and sprinkle with the salt and ginger powder. Stir well and then arrange it into one layer.
- Cook the chicken for 3-4 minutes. Flip/turn the chicken in sections so that the browned side is up and cook another 3-4 minutes or until cooked through. Make sure the chicken is no longer pink in the middle by cutting one of the larger pieces in half.
- The cooking time will depend on the size of the pieces. Stir well, if there is any liquid left in the skillet let it cook out before proceeding.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic, stir to combine and cook for 1 minute.
Finish the fried rice
- Add the white rice to the skillet and stir well to combine. Continue cooking, while stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes until the rice is hot and starts to steam.
- Add the eggs, bacon and the vegetables, stir well and continue stirring to prevent sticking and burning.
- Slowly add the soy sauce while stirring constantly to coat the ingredients completely. Lower the heat to medium low and continue cooking and stirring until all the liquid is absorbed, about 2-3 minutes.
- Finally, sprinkle in the green onions and stir. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 3-5 minutes to let the flavors come together.
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