Fried rice has long been a staple of Aussie takeaway dinners. And, while we might all have our favourite restaurant that makes Chinese fried rice just the way we like it, satisfying fried rice is a dish that’s surprisingly easy to replicate at home. It’s also a great way to use up any freshly cooked rice that’s been leftover from the night before.

We’ve been making this particular fried rice recipe for more than 20 years, and it’s the version we keep coming back to again and again. Why? It manages to pack in a lot of flavour for surprisingly little effort, and, if you follow our step-by-step tips, you really can create a DIY fried rice dish to rival your local takeaway joint.

What makes this our best fried rice recipe?

In this super simple egg fried rice recipe we use pantry and fridge staples, but the beauty of basic fried rice recipes is that you can always adjust the ingredients based on what you happen to have on hand at any given time.

The real secret here is to use a large fry pan or wok on a very high heat so the rice is fried and golden, rather than steamed or gluggy. Cooking it this way ensures the fried rice still has bite and absorbs the lovely flavours of the bacon and soy, without resembling a risotto!

Easy fried rice: key ingredients

• White, long grain rice. Your fried rice will turn out best if you use cold, long-grain rice (like jasmine rice). It’s really important to properly cool the rice down so if you’re in a rush and just cooked the rice, spread it thinly on a tray, cover loosely with some cling wrap and pop in the fridge until cool.
• Soy sauce. We usually use whatever soy sauce is on hand, but of course you can use gluten-free soy sauce (tamari) or low-sodium soy sauce instead and still create a flavourful fried rice.
• Oil: A good neutral vegetable oil works best for frying, but you can add sesame for added flavour, if you like.
• Bacon: While we do think the bacon really helps the flavours in this dish, if you don’t have it to hand, we have used ham as an alternative.
• Peas: frozen peas that have been thawed beforehand works best.
• Carrot: Adds colour and texture. We prefer grated or very finely julienned in this recipe.
• Eggs: We form an omelette with the eggs to mix through our fried rice, but you could always create a scrambled eggs texture, if you prefer.
• Shallots: Don’t be tempted to skip these. They add colour, flavour and texture. If you’ve got a fussy eater in your household, you can dial them back a touch, but they really do help round out the flavours of the dish.
• Additions: Have some sesame oil and oyster sauce on hand? Brilliant! (We’ve listed vegetable oil here, but sesame oil brings extra flavour to your plate, as does a splash of oyster sauce or fish sauce). A great way to use up leftover veggies and protein, fried rice recipes can be bolstered with plenty of healthy ingredients and can easily be made vegetarian or vegan.

You could also jazz things up with kimchi to make a kimchi fried rice.

If you’d like to make a low FODMAP version of this fried rice, check out our tips in the Notes section of this recipe.

Once you’ve mastered how to cook this simple egg fried rice recipe, why not explore more variations with our easy fried rice recipes collection? And, if you’re after something really lazy, our easy, oven-baked, one-tray fried rice is a great option to try.

Additional recipe notes by Alison Adams – Food Writer and Recipe Tester

How to make our best easy fried rice: get the full recipe below