Ham Fried Rice

This easy ham fried rice is a to-go at our house. It’s quick, and cheap and everybody likes it. In this recipe, diced ham, eggs, bacon, vegetables, cold rice and soy sauce are combined to make a delicious meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Keyword fried rice

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 391kcal

Author Elizabeth

Ingredients

3-4 Bacon Slices cut into ½ inch pieces
4 Large Eggs beaten
10-12 ounces Cooked Ham diced into ½ inch cubes (we used ham steak, but leftover ham works well too)
2 Garlic Cloves minced or grated
½ teaspoon Ginger Powder
2 cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables defrosted and drained (use plain mixed vegetables like carrots, peas, green beans, etc.)
4-5 cups Cooked White Rice OR 1½ cups white rice, 3 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce plus 1-2 tablespoons if needed
3 tablespoons Green Onion finely chopped – 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.

Cook the bacon

Cook the bacon in a large, deep, non-stick skillet or wok, over medium heat until crispy, about 5-7 minutes.
Remove the bacon from the pan using a slotted spoon. Drain all but 1-2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the skillet and reserve about 1 teaspoon for the eggs. Take the skillet off the heat until you’re ready to make the fried rice.

Cook the eggs

Add the eggs to a bowl and beat until mixed.
Add about 1 teaspoon of the bacon drippings to a small, non-stick skillet. Cook the eggs, stirring and scrambling as you go, for 2½ - 3 minutes until cooked through. Remove the eggs from the heat and reserve for later.

Defrost the vegetables

Cook the frozen vegetables to package directions, using half of the recommended time on the package. Drain well and reserve.

Make the fried rice

Place the large skillet/wok (with the bacon drippings) back over medium-high heat. When the bacon grease is hot, but not smoking, add diced ham and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the garlic and ginger, stir and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the mixed vegetables and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Lower the heat to medium and add the rice. Cook the rice until it warms up and starts to steam about 3-5 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
Next, add the ¼ cup of soy sauce and continue stirring until the rice is coated.
Add the eggs and keep stirring, add another 1 or 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce to get everything completely coated, if needed (as a reference we added a little less than 1 tablespoon to ours).
Lastly, stir in the bacon and green onions and lower the heat to low. Cover the skillet and let the ham fried rice sit for 5-7 minutes to let all the flavors come together.

Notes

Don’t add salt to the fried rice. Use low-sodium soy sauce and, if you’re sensitive to salt, use low sodium bacon, low sodium ham and cut the salt on the white rice.
Things move quickly in this recipe. Have all of the ingredients prepped before you start cooking.
For the best fried rice, use cold rice. Refrigerate the rice until completely cold and firm, or use leftover rice.
The cook time included does not include making white rice (which will take about 30 minutes). Chilling the rice will be a couple of hours at least.

Nutrition