Hong Kong Fried Rice is an easy essential restaurant style Chinese stir fry recipe to make at home with shrimp, egg, vegetables and leftover rice. It’s the perfect clean out the refrigerator recipe. Learn the art of making Cantonese Style fried rice today. Hands down, way better than take out!
Table of Contents
- World’s BEST Comfort Food: Hong Kong Fried Rice
- What is the “The Breath of the Wok” (Wok Hei)?
- Cooking Hacks for Making the BEST Cantonese Fried Rice
- How to Make Egg Fried Rice Cantonese Style?
- Yangzhou Rice vs Shrimp Fried Rice
- 7 Main Ingredient Components
- Order of Operations
- Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
- Fried Rice Recipes from Around the World
World’s BEST Comfort Food: Hong Kong Fried Rice
Chinese shrimp fried rice has to be one of the world’s best comfort food. Carbs, aromatics and vegetables in a bowl is like getting a warm hug from mom just like our recipe for our Golden Spiced Noodle Soup. Most of the day’s problems will melt right away.
The fragrant aromatics of garlic, ginger and onion engulf the individual rice grains that are slightly smokey and savory. In addition, the vegetables are crisp, and the egg is finely incorporated into the rice. The succulent cooked shrimp have that crunchy, firm and addictive crisp texture like in our Clean Eating Shrimp Stir Fry recipe. Each and every bite makes you want more.
Cantonese fried rice is filling, flavorful and easy to make. In addition, it is quite budget friendly as you can use up all the bits and bobs of leftover proteins, vegetables, aromatics and rice in one delicious recipe. We don’t know about you, but we dislike wasting food when there are so many in the world that go without.
What is the “The Breath of the Wok” (Wok Hei)?
Have you ever heard of the breath of the wok “wok hei”? Wok hei is a term referred to describe the slight smokey flavor and taste that comes alive when food, like fried rice, is stir fried in a wok. We learned this process quite quickly while being taught by a little old Cantonese lady. She would beat you on your shoulders with her cooking chopsticks if you did not do it properly. Let me tell you those little wooden sticks sting. It forces you to learn REAL fast the tricks of the trade.
You might not be able to achieve complete breath of the wok unless you are in an industrial commercial kitchen with huge seasoned woks, gas fire and intense heat. However, you can certainly make the BEST healthy shrimp fried rice in your neighborhood with these tricks and tips we are going to share with you today.
Cooking Hacks for Making the BEST Cantonese Fried Rice
Rice cooking hacks
- Use leftover cold rice to make fried rice. Cold rice is less likely to stick together.
- If steaming rice to be used in a fried rice recipe, reduce the amount of water. For example, if your recipe for jasmine rice calls for 1.5 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, reduce to 1.25 cups of water. (If you have just leftover rice made the traditional way, that is A-Ok too. We just like to use our fingers to break it up a little bit before adding it to the wok to cook.)
- We cool the rice in a sheet pan so it less likely to stick together. Rice that has been refrigerated at least 2 hours or overnight works best. Feel free to use jasmine rice, short grain sushi rice, brown rice, basmati rice like in our Hawaiian Luau Rice or any leftover you have on hand. However, Uncle Ben’s converted parboiled rice is not an option as it will have horrible texture results.
Wok Cooking Hacks
- Are you trying to cram everything into one small pan? It would be better to split up into a couple of different batches. Do not over crowd the pan or wok. It is best to cook in batches and use the largest wok or pan you have. The food must maintain a constant temperature. If you overcrowd the pan, you are going to be steaming and not stir frying. The items in the wok must have space to move and stir fry.
- The wok or pan heat needs to be gradually increased until it is a very high heat, almost to the point of smoking.
- Do not add the oil to the wok (or pan) until it is hot. It is best to add the oil just before you add your ingredients.
- If you add too little oil, your rice will stick to the pan. On the other hand, if you add too much oil, your fried rice with taste deep fried. A well-seasoned wok will help with this.
- Gas stove top vs electric stovetop is preferred as that bit of flame that hits the moisture of the food that mixes with the oil gives this Authentic Chinese Fried Rice its delicious smokey profile.
- Keep that wok moving over high heat. Stir fry quickly so that all the grains of rice have contact with the heat of the pan.
Ingredient Cooking Hacks
- The amount of moisture in your vegetables will make or break your attempts at making homemade shrimp fried rice. Do not choose juicy vegetables like tomatoes to add to your fried rice or it will be wet and gummy. Choose firm crisp vegetables. We chose to add thawed well dried frozen mixed vegetables and quick cooking chopped snow peas for our recipe as they do not require pre-cooking and are very low in moisture.
- If you choose raw firm vegetables like carrots and celery for your Hong Kong Fried Rice, you will need to stir fry these first. Stir fry your vegetables until firm crisp, before adding the rest of your ingredients. These vegetables take longer than everything else to cook.
- When it is time to add the soy sauce, we like to move the rice to the center of the pan and pour the soy sauce around the exterior or the wok or pan. The purpose is to reduce the moisture of the soy sauce quickly. Do not add too much soy sauce as it will make your rice mushy. Use salt and white pepper to finish seasoning to your desired level. Wait, just a few seconds, before stirring to get the temperature of the wok stable. Then, super quickly get that wok moving - FAST. If you have a HUGE commercial sized wok like in a restaurant, there is no need to bring your rice to the center of the wok as there is such a huge cooking surface area.
- Have everything chopped and ready to go before you heat up your wok or pan. Mise en place is big in Chinese cooking. Once that wok gets hot, you will be done cooking in less than 5 minutes.
- Around the Chinese New Year, we love to put a tablespoon of XO Sauce in our fried rice. You can thank us later. If you like XO Sauce, be sure to try our recipe for Beef Noodles with Spicy XO Sauce.
How to Make Egg Fried Rice Cantonese Style?
Do you like big egg chunks or flaky bits of egg? Unlike other fried rice versions from around the world, Hong Kong Fried Rice is known for these delicate flakes of egg, instead of egg chunks or egg slices. For a better visual on how to achieve this, be sure to check out our video in the recipe card below.
- After all the ingredients have been added to your pantry fried rice, it’s time to add the egg.
- Make an open well in the middle of the wok or pan by scooping up the rice to the sides of the wok. Add a little extra oil to prevent sticking.
- Pour the beaten egg into the well.
- Stir the beaten egg in the well vigorously.
- In one purposefully movement, pull the rice over the egg with your spatula as this heat cooks the rice.
- Then, in a flash, get that wok moving and toss the rice quickly and effectively. This is the movement that turns the cooked into those delicate egg flakes.
- Practice makes perfect, so cut yourself some slack on the first try.
Yangzhou Rice vs Shrimp Fried Rice
Have you ever had traditional Yangzhou rice (揚州炒飯)? It sometimes called Yangchow fried rice or Yeung Chow fried rice.
The smokey flavor from the wok and delicate sweetness from the BBQ Chinese pork (char siu) is completely addictive. The addition of char siu and NO soy sauce makes this recipe different than our Hong Kong Fried Rice. Grabbing a little BBQ pork from the wet market is so easy to do in Asia and is so delicious. However, getting your hands-on char siu is not so easy elsewhere in the world. This is the reason we intentionally left if out of our Cantonese fried rice recipe. Generally, Yangzhou rice is seasoned with just salt, white pepper and the essence from the wok.
7 Main Ingredient Components
Woohoo, it’s clean out the refrigerator day! We always determine what ingredients we have on hand by doing a little foraging in the refrigerator and pantry. Then, we decide what flavors or aromatics we will be using. Your pantry will determine what kind of fried rice you will be making depending on the things you find during your scavenger hunt. However, these 7 main components are important for any type of fried rice you decide to make.
- Oil is required to get the delicious crunch on the fried rice and prevent sticking. A light flavored oil is best.
- Cold leftover Rice. Chilled rice will turn the rice grains firm and get rid of the excess moisture. They will also be much easier to separate.
- Aromatics like garlic, ginger and onions. Aromatics work by dispersing the flavors and essence into the oil and then that oil coats the rice.
- Seasonings such as soy sauce or tamari, if you need it gluten-free, sesame oil, salt and white pepper. If you like your fried rice spicy, be sure to add in a little Homemade Sichuan chili oil.
- Vegetables – check out your crisper and use up any little bits and bobs of veggies. After all, this rice recipe is about cleaning out the refrigerator. We love adding a little bit of Chinese pickle for that extra spice. However, that is completely optional.
- Protein – shrimp, egg, char siu, tofu, beef, etc. are all fabulous. Clean out the refrigerator!
- Garnishes like green onions are very delicious addition.
Order of Operations
The time frame and sequence that you place the ingredients in the wok/pan to cook matters. After you have all of your ingredient’s mise en place (chopped up and ready to go and organized), heat up the wok or pan WITHOUT oil. Once your wok or pan is very hot and just before it starts to smoke, add the oil.
Then, add the aromatics and fry quickly just until you can smell the lovely flavors touch your nose. If you love garlicky rice, be sure to try our Kimchi Pantry Fried Rice. Add the shrimp, meats or proteins of choice and fry until golden brown and flavor the dish. Remove meats or seafood and set aside.
Next, add your crunchy vegetables first then your softer items later. Use thawed frozen mixed vegetables and chopped snow peas that are quick to cook. Therefore, we did not need to fry them first. Add your cold rice into your wok and proteins back into pan. Quickly stir fry making sure that you separate all the rice pieces so the aromatic oils and flavorings from the proteins have a chance to mingle with each strand of rice.
Finally, add your seasonings. Pour the soy sauce on the outside rim of the rice and let the sauce completely evaporate before stirring around in the rice. It keeps your rice dry. Taste. Adjust seasoning by adding salt and white pepper to taste. If you wish to add sesame oil add now. Next add your egg, if desired. Finally, add your garnishes.
Hong Kong Fried Rice is about one of the simplest last-minute dishes you can make if you have some basic staples in your home. It's fast, easy, cheap and delicious. Come with us and learn how to make fried rice from today’s refrigerator and pantry exploration.
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Fried rice can be reheated in a wok on high heat or in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl.
You can freeze fried rice after you allow the rice to come to room temperature. Place in freezer safe baggies or covered freezer safe plastic ware. Fried rice can be stored in the freezer for 2 months or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To keep fried rice gluten-free, make sure that the rice is manufactured in a gluten free facility. Exchange soy sauce with tamari. In addition, there are gluten free sesame oils on the market from Lee Kum Lee and others.
Fried Rice Recipes from Around the World
Curried Harvest Black Forbidden Rice
Middle Eastern Rice and Lentils
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Hong Kong Fried Rice
Equipment
- Wok or large frying pan
- spatula or cooking chopsticks
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon oil
reserve half of oil for addition of rice and cooking of the egg. - ¼ cup onion
chopped - 1 inch ginger
knob peeled and grated - 2-3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 5 oz shrimp small/medium peeled, vein and tail removed
- 2 cups rice
cooked day old cold rice ( we used Thai Jasmine long grain rice but you can use any kind you desire) - ¼ cup Chinese pickled vegetables optional
- ½ cup mixed vegetables previously frozen but thawed, drained and dried well with paper towels. (carrots, peas, corn, etc.)
- ½ cup snow peas chopped - raw
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari sauce to keep gluten free
- salt
to taste - ⅛ teaspoon white pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 egg
optional - 3 tablespoon green onions chopped as garnish - optional
Instructions
- In a wok or large pan, turn on burner to medium/high heat and slowly heat to a high heat. Once the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil to wok or pan.
- Add aromatics such as onion, ginger and garlic and fry just until the aroma hits your nose.About 1 minute. Do not burn garlic or otherwise it will have a bitter taste.
- Place prepared shrimp(or other proteins as desired) into the pan. Stir fry shrimp until no longer translucent.If frying meats, cook until just golden brown moving your wok fast. Remove shrimp or other protein products from the pan and set aside.
- If you are cleaning out the refrigerator, add any raw uncooked firm vegetables to the pan first. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes until vegetables are aldente. Keep your vegetables moving in the pan. However, we chose to use thawed and dried frozen mixed vegetables and quick cooking chopped snow peas. You do not need to stir fry these first as they are quick cooking. We will be adding these later in the recipe to keep them crisp.
- Add your rice to the wok or pan and separate so that all rice pieces are coated with the oil and flavorings. Next, only if desired, add in Chinese pickles. (Totally optional but we love that little funky flavor it gives the fried rice. If you wanted to add XO sauce, we would add a tablespoon now.) Keep the contents in the pan moving
- Add thawed previously frozen mixed vegetables that have been dried well and chopped snow peas and stir fry in the rice.
- Move the rice to the center of your wok or pan. Add the soy sauce (tamari) around the exterior edges of the rice and leave it set for a few seconds until it evaporates. Then get that wok moving. Add salt, white pepper and sesame oil to taste. Keep the contents in the pan moving.
- Add the cooked shrimp or proteins back into the wok or pan and toss.
- Move your rice to the sides of the pan to create a well. Add the beaten egg to the well. Let the egg stand sit for just a second. Then, quickly stir the egg well until it starts to pull together. Now comes the fun part. Take your spatula and flip the rice over the egg mixture and really get that wok moving. Your goal is to have little thin strands of egg mixed in with your Hong Kong fried rice.
- Add chopped green onions, give it a quick stir fry and enjoy hot.
Video
Notes
- Use leftover cold rice to make fried rice. Cold rice is less likely to stick together.
- If steaming rice to be used in a fried rice recipe, reduce the amount of water. For example, if your recipe for jasmine rice calls for 1.5 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, reduce to 1.25 cups of water. (If you have just leftover rice made the traditional way, that is A-Ok too. We just like to use our fingers to break it up a little bit before adding it to the wok to cook.)
- We cool the rice in a sheet pan so it less likely to stick together. Rice that has been refrigerated at least 2 hours or overnight works best. Feel free to use jasmine rice, short grain sushi rice, brown rice, basmati rice like in our Hawaiian Luau Rice or any leftover you have on hand. However, Uncle Ben’s converted parboiled rice is not an option as it will have horrible texture results.
- Do not over crowd the pan or wok. It is best to cook in batches and use the largest wok or pan you have. The food must maintain a constant temperature. If you overcrowd the pan, you are going to be steaming and not stir frying. The items in the wok must have space to move and stir fry.
- The wok or pan heat needs to be gradually increased until it is a very high heat, almost to the point of smoking.
- Do not add the oil to the wok (or pan) until it is hot. It is best to add the oil just before you add your ingredients.
- If you add too little oil, your rice will stick to the pan. On the other hand, if you add too much oil, your fried rice with taste deep fried. A well-seasoned wok will help with this.
- Gas stove top vs electric stovetop is preferred as that bit of flame that hits the moisture of the food that mixes with the oil gives this Authentic Chinese Fried Rice its delicious smokey profile.
- Keep that wok moving over high heat. Stir fry quickly so that all the grains of rice have contact with the heat of the pan.
- The amount of moisture in your vegetables will make or break your attempts at making homemade shrimp fried rice. Do not choose juicy vegetables like tomatoes to add to your fried rice or it will be wet and gummy. Choose firm crisp vegetables. We chose to add thawed well dried frozen mixed vegetables and quick cooking chopped snow peas for our recipe as they do not require pre-cooking and are very low in moisture.
- If you choose raw firm vegetables like carrots and celery for your Hong Kong Fried Rice, you will need to stir fry these first. Stir fry your vegetables until firm crisp, before adding the rest of your ingredients. These vegetables take longer than everything else to cook.
- When it is time to add the soy sauce, we like to move the rice to the center of the pan and pour the soy sauce around the exterior or the wok or pan. The purpose is to reduce the moisture of the soy sauce quickly. Do not add too much soy sauce as it will make your rice mushy. Use salt and white pepper to finish seasoning to your desired level. Wait, just a few seconds, before stirring to get the temperature of the wok stable. Then, super quickly get that wok moving - FAST. If you have a HUGE commercial sized wok like in a restaurant, there is no need to bring your rice to the center of the wok as there is such a huge cooking surface area.
- Have everything chopped and ready to go before you heat up your wok or pan. Mise en place is big in Chinese cooking. Once that wok gets hot, you will be done cooking in less than 5 minutes.
- Around the Chinese New Year, we love to put a tablespoon of XO Sauce in our fried rice. You can thank us later. If you like XO Sauce, be sure to try our recipe for Beef Noodles with Spicy XO Sauce.
Asmita (@FoodieAsmita) says
Fried rice is a favorite at our place. I would love to try your recipe. looks yummy!
dedy oktavianus pardede says
This is literary my grown up breakfast supper as Indonesian..hehehe
susartandfood says
I always order fried rice when I get take out but haven't found one I'm excited about to prepare at home. This looks great. Will definitely bookmark this for the next time I get out my wok for dinner. Love your pics as always.
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Hehee, I do the same. When I need to clear up my fridge, fried rice, pasta, and Asian style noodle are my choices. The great part is that it doesn't look like leftover or trying to cook with limited ingredients... 😀 Yummy fried rice!
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes says
Fried rice, I love it, any time and with whatever it´s around. I have clean the fridge days, but not often enough! I like the list of spice for the different cuisines you use, and of course the cracked egg is essential. I think it´s my favorite part!
Francesca says
This is such a great informative post, BAM. I bookmarked this page so I can easily refer to it when I feel in the mood of "wok experiment". I have to admit I'm not very good at using it. 🙂
Amy (Savory Moments) says
I love a good fried rice and this one looks great with all the veggies in it!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Hello Amy, thank you. I tried stopping by your site but the comment section is not working properly. Your ramp soup looks amazing. Take Care, BAM
Purely.. Kay says
I am such a fried rice person. No seriously I am. Like today, I'm eating fried rice of course lol. I love this recipe.
lambyknits01 says
I would say you are an expert - there is so much information here, I love it! Who knew fried rice could become a main dish? I know I didn't, but I'm glad you shared all of this. The next time I need to clean out the fridge, I will have to try this for dinner. Thank you, BAM!
GourmetGetaways (@GourmetGetaway) says
Ph I love fried rice, especially when it uses up refrigerator leftovers!! This looks so a scrummy, I am
Sure the kids would
Love it too! 🙂
Tandy says
this is a great way to use up the little bits and pieces in your fridge. I usually do this with pasta for Sunday night supper 🙂
Heather @ Sugar Dish Me says
Your posts don't wanna show up in my Facebook feed because Facebook thinks it knows who I should be friends with all the time. RUDE. This dish is gorgeous! I smash all my leftovers into pizzas and quesadillas but I should be putting them into fried rice! I have parsnips in the fridge. Win!
Promenade Claire says
I love your tips here BAM< spot on! We usually have a fried rice once a week, sometimes more - always veggie and nothing beats it! tasty all the way!
Gourmantine says
I like the look of your fried rice, it's really a good way to clean your fridge. I also like "to clean" it making a good minestrone!
Geni - Sweet and Crumby says
Thanks for taking the time to give us such an extensive fried rice tutorial. I found it very helpful and can't wait to try the ideas you have here.