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.
Delicious and easy! Tastes just like takeout but not as salty. I was afraid I wouldn’t like the oyster sauce so I subbed extra soy sauce. Used left over pork tenderloin and it came out perfect.