A super fast and easy way to make pork fried rice and get dinner on the table quickly. This fried rice dish is super bold and rich. It hits all the right notes with great flavors and textures and tastes better than takeout. {Gluten-Free adaptable}
Many people think that ordering Chinese takeout on a hectic night is a quick way to solve the dinner problem. But soon, those same people are forced to wait patiently for their order to be delivered. It could take 45 minutes or longer for that order of pork fried rice to arrive! But with my simple recipe, you can prep it and cook it super fast. So fast that you’ll have eaten it all up before that delivery guy would have ever shown up.
Ingredients for pork fried rice
The best rice for fried rice
- To have the best fried rice texture, you should choose a medium grain or long grain rice. My favorite is jasmine rice. Short grain rice contains more starch and as a result, it will make your fried rice less crispy.
- The older and more stale the rice, the better. Once the rice has been sitting in the fridge, or even better – in the freezer – for a few days, the grains will have lost moisture and become separated. When making fried rice, dried out rice will be less likely to stick together and will create a crispier result.
Tips for creating “leftover” rice for fried rice
- If you have leftover rice from Chinese takeout, this is the perfect kind to use. Usually stored in a paper container, the rice will become quite dry after a day or two in the fridge. Sometimes I serve my takeout dinner with homemade rice (so I can make brown rice or mixed grains), and save the takeout rice for fried rice the next day.
- Another great way to create more leftover rice is to make a big batch of rice and store a portion of it in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Make sure to spread the rice into a thin layer, maybe about 1” (2.5 cm) thick, in a gallon-size bag. In a thin layer, thawing will be faster. And you can break off the part you plan to use at the time.
- If you’ve just made fresh rice and cannot wait a few days – spread the rice into a thin layer on a big plate and wait until it has cooled completely and the surface is slightly dried out. You can even place the plate in the fridge (after the rice is not steaming hot) to speed up the process. It dries out the rice a bit and helps with the final texture.
What pan to use?
You don’t need a wok for the best pork fried rice. The key is to use enough oil and cook the rice long enough so that it’s fully toasted.
I prefer a carbon steel pan (that’s what’s in my photos) but you can use a nonstick skillet or cast iron pan too. For a healthier version that involves less oil, go with the nonstick skillet. If you want that perfect crispy texture for your pork fried rice, though, use a cast iron or carbon steel pan. For either of those two, you’ll need several extra tablespoons of oil to keep the food from sticking to the pan.
Of course, feel free to pull out your wok if you prefer. The smoky wok hei will make the pork fried rice even more irresistible!
Ingredients
Why frozen veggies?
You’ll also notice my recipe below calls for a cup of mixed vegetables. You can use whichever kind you like but I urge you, if you want the cooking to be fast, to use your frozen veggies here. For pork fried rice, frozen veggies work the best because there’s no thawing or chopping. You can simply toss them in. While I love fresh veggies for my stir-fry dishes, when it comes to fried rice, you use what you’ve got and frozen veggies blend seamlessly into the recipe.
Mise en place
Your table should have these items when you’re ready to cook: Rice (fluffed), frozen veggies, ground pork, aromatics, beaten eggs, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
I usually do not measure out soy sauce and sesame oil, but directly pour them from the bottle instead. But do measure them out if you’re unsure about the quantity to use. For oyster sauce, make sure to pour it out in advance because it is usually in a glass bottle and it can be extremely difficult to pour out!
Cooking pork fried rice
Cooking pork fried rice is super easy:
- Brown the pork. I prefer to spread out the ground pork and let it brown, then break it apart, leaving some bigger clumps for a better texture.
- Cook with the aromatics and 2/3 of the oyster sauce.
- Add the soy sauce and the rest of the oyster sauce. You want to use a lower heat since the sauce might char too quickly. It’s important to toast the rice well to get it crispy without burning it.
- Cook with the frozen veggies.
- Push everything to one side of the pan and scramble the eggs on the other side.
- Stir everything together.
That’s it!
Get the perfect egg texture
Perhaps the best part of pork fried rice, or any fried rice for that matter, is the bits of eggs mixed in. The best way to get that Chinese takeout texture and flavor is to cook your beaten eggs halfway through before adding the rice. By doing this, you get those great chunks of scrambled egg along with crispy egg-coated rice for all that beautiful flavor.
This pork fried rice really makes getting a takeout-quality meal on the table in no time a delicious experience. I hope you try it tonight!
More fast and easy takeout recipes
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
- 3-Ingredient Egg Fried Rice
- Chinese Beef Chow Mein
- Black Pepper Chicken
- 15-Minute Garlic Noodles
15-Minute Pork Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil) (*Footnote 1)
- 1/2 lbs (225 g) ground pork
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce , divided
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce + 1/2 dark soy sauce) (*Footnote 2)
- 3 green onions , chopped
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 3 eggs , beaten
- 1 cup mixed frozen vegetables (carrots, peas, and corn)
- 3 cups leftover steamed rice
- Salt (to taste)
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the ground pork. Break it apart and cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the green onion, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce. Stir and cook for 1 minute to mix well.
- Add the rice and turn to medium heat. Cook and stir to mix everything together. 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in a bit more oil if the rice looks dry. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oyster sauce and soy sauce. Stir to mix the sauce with the other ingredients.
- Add the mixed vegetables. Stir everything together and cook until the vegetables defrost, 1 minute or so.
- Move everything to one side of the pan. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the other side of the pan. Add the beaten eggs. Let the bottom set for a couple of seconds. Then scramble the eggs and use your spatula to cut them into small pieces. Then mix the eggs with the other ingredients.
- Taste the rice and add salt to adjust the seasoning, if needed, then mix well again. If you like slightly crispy rice, let the rice sit on the hot pan for 20 to 30 seconds without stirring.
- Add the sesame oil and mix everything again. Transfer the fried rice onto serving plates. Serve hot as a main or side dish.
Notes
- You might need to double the oil if you’re using a cast iron or a carbon steel pan.
- Dark soy sauce adds an appetizing dark brown color to the rice and it also adds a light caramel taste. It is totally OK to skip it if you do not have dark soy sauce.
Love your recipes! Each one I’ve seen really suits my taste. Whenever I want to make something it always takes ages hopping from one site to another to find the recipe that looks appealing to me but each of your recipes I know I can trust =) Keep up the good work
Love your tips about the frozen vegetables. Also, I am always adding my egg in at the end (not sure why anymore LOL). I’m going to have to try your tips here! Awesome recipe, as usual!
Yummmm! I actually replaced the oyster sauce with doubanjiang, and lemme tell you: delicious! Thanks for this great recipe!
LOVED this very much and so did my guests. Thank you!
I’ve been thinking about this recipe all week and finally made this delicious recipe.
Do you use white or brown rice in this recipe?
A 15-minute dinner! Now that is an idea I love. But what I loved the most was the taste; and the fact that this dish was so incredibly satisfying. With recipes like these, I don’t have to order takeout so often. More of these please!
This was amazing. Such great flavor. I will be making regularly. I followed your recipe and it turned out great. However, can you clarify 1 thing? You mention “The best way to get that Chinese takeout texture and flavor is to cook your beaten eggs halfway through before adding the rice”. Do you just mean before mixing it into the rice/beef? Because in your recipe you add the rice to the dish before the egg and cook in the egg at the end, then mix together.
I bought some pork spare ribs that were reduced in the meat section and bought a bottled Terayki marinade poured over them for a couple days then baked them on low temp for a few hours. Cut this meat off instead of ground pork. It was super decadent! You gave excellent instructions. I ended up using 50% saffron rice from 3 days prior and mixed in the regular rice.
I often make a pork tenderloin roast and think chopped leftovers from this cut would be a great way to put the left overs to work. Enjoying your recipes!!
Best homemade fried rice recipe….and I’ve tried a ton! Key is definitely the aromatics!
I’m eating a bowl of this delicious fried rice as I type this comment. For years now I’ve tried to make fried rice and it never, ever came out tasting quite right. Until now. This recipe is hands down the best fried rice ever. And it makes a large enough batch that my wife and I had it for supper yesterday and lunch today.
All of the various flavors are superb together. I’m so happy to have found your site! Thank you so much for the great recipe. Next I’ll try chicken lo mein. At some point I’ll be making ma po tofu, which is how I found your site to begin with. There are so many great looking recipes here I’ll be trying new ones for a long time, I’m certain. Thanks again for your excellent recipe(s).
Hi Maggie,
This recipe is tasty and easy, with a nice quantity of vegetables. I used your char siu , which i usually have in the freezer, instead of raw pork .
You solved our what to eat for lunch problem very quickly. Fresh, cool orange sections were an excellent finish.
One of the best fried rice recipes I’ve tasted…thanks!! So easy and lots of flavour!
Question: 3 cups cooked rice or 3 cups raw rice to be cooked???
Three cups of cooked rice (it’s about 1 cup raw rice)
How can I print your recipe? I don’t have a PC in the kitchen! Also, what can be a substitute for oyster sauce? I have subscribed to your recipes and look forward to your “crash” course. Due to health issues and limitations I may not be able to do five straight days.
You can use the “Print Recipe” button inside of the recipe card. If you don’t have a PC, you can save the PDF (when you open the printing page, you can select save as PDF instead of printing) and print it out later.
Just replied your question regarding the oyster sauce in a separate comment 🙂
I haven’t found oyster sauce locally, so I was wondering what might substitute. I am sure that “doubanjiang” will not be found near here either. What is it, and what is it typically used for or on? The closest Asian store is probable in Lexington, KY (2 1/2 hours from here).
I think you could increase the soy sauce to 2 tablespoons and add 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce is sweeter, so I wouldn’t use that much. After you mix in the sauce, taste the rice. You can add a bit more soy sauce (or salt), or hoisin sauce as needed.
Doubanjiang is fermented broad bean paste with chili pepper. It is spicy and has a fermented flavor similar to soy sauce. It’s a key ingredient in cooking mapo tofu and other Sichuan dishes. But I don’t think you need it here. If you like spicy taste, you can add a bit of chili garlic sauce in the fried rice and that would be tasty.
Simple, easy and extremely good tasting, make it today!
I made the Pork Fried Rice recipe. It came so delicious. I will make it again for myself and my daughter again.
Easy instructions and delicious.