Egg Fried Rice

I started making some sort of egg rice around 6 years ago on my co-habitant’s suggestion. The result was this Herby Egg Rice where the herb flavoured egg mix coated the rice and other veggies. I no longer make egg rice this way as it was fussy and over the years I have made egg fried rice the way most people make. Fry some egg and add leftover steamed rice with some Asian flavourings and you have Egg Fried Rice. As simple as that sounds, there are a few things like the use of onions and some sauces that made my egg fried rice even better without much fuss.

Why is Egg Fried Rice suddenly so popular?

Egg Fried Rice has always been popular but it caught the zeitgeist ever since the pandemic began. Everyone started sharing ways of using leftovers from the fridge to make delicious comfort food. It’s been a staple for many Asian and non–Asian home cooks for its simplicity and versatility. But Egg Fried Rice has been having its moment for a while now, thanks to comedian Nigel Ng’s character Uncle Roger roasting celebrity chefs, food bloggers and home cooks on their take on their popular dish.

While Ng has unnecessarily roasted many on their fried rice and other Asian recipes, leaving little room for diversity in the ways cooks do things, the one thing that worked for me (as someone who keeps an eye out for good recipes) is food bloggers trying to impress him. I don’t care much for his character or his sense of humour, but I do believe in powers of MSG and fried shallots.

Simplifying Joshua Weissman’s recipe

In all the noise that ensued after Ng’s roasting of Jamie Oliver and Harsha Patel’s recipes, the one that stood out for me was Joshua Weissman’s Egg Fried Rice recipe. Weissman, a chef, You-tuber and now a cookbook author, shared a recipe that finally impressed the comedian but I found his recipe to be fussy. He is after all known for flexing and making recipes fancier but I am not complaining. It is fine to follow fussy recipes when they are worth it but I felt this dish didn’t need all the flexing and a home cook could manage great egg fried rice without all that extra effort and show off. Having said that, Weismann is an inspiration to many young cooks all over and teaches great technique in his characteristic style.

What do you need for making good egg fried rice?

To make a decent or even great plate of egg fried rice, all you need are eggs, leftover rice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, MSG and shallots or onions. That in my opinion is enough number of ingredients to make for a good no-fuss recipe.

But to make it even better, you could use fried onions, often found in Indian or Asian stores. If you stock these crispy fried onions or shallots in your pantry, you can use them in Biryani, shorba and pulaos. I recently tested a recipe for vegetarian Yakhni pulao to put these fried onions to good use. If you don’t find them easily, they are not that difficult to make at home. See recipe notes below.

You may seem daunted by the number of ingredients in my recipe below but let me assure you that most are pantry staples. I started stocking sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and hot sauce in my kitchen because I do make this recipe very often. So some of these Asian staples are well worth stocking if you don’t already because trust me, you will end up making this fried rice again!

What’s the best kind of rice to use here

We eat rice very often so there’s always some leftover steamed rice lying around in the fridge. The most common kinds of rice in our Indian kitchen is long grain Basmati, medium grain Sona Masoori and the short grain Kerala Matta rice. If you stock Jasmine Rice in your kitchen, nothing like it for this recipe! But I don’t, so I have tried Egg fried rice with both Basmati and Sona Masoori and both work fine. But I found Sona Masoori really shines in any kinds of fried rice recipe, be it Tomato Rice or Tamarind Rice or this one. Use what is easily available to you.

If you don’t have leftover rice, then I recommend cooking the rice and letting it cool down on a sheet tray while you prep other things for this recipe. It works just fine.

Use whatever is in your fridge and pantry

As for the long list of ingredients, let that not deter you since this is an increasingly forgiving and riffable recipe. Most of the ingredients used are staples like onions, eggs and rice. If you don’t stock soy sauce, rice vinegar or any kind of hot sauce, it might not be a bad idea to start stocking them. Trust me, this recipe or non-recipe is something you will make again and again, thereby using these ingredients. You may not use all the sauce ingredients every time. Rice vinegar and Soy sauce finds a place in many Asian style recipes be it stir fries, marinades and salads so you will end up using those. And the hot sauce, if you haven’t tried it yet, what are you doing my friend?

Having said that, just soy sauce, brown sugar or honey and hot sauce together make for a pretty decent fried rice sauce, so there is no fuss. Start small and build your way up.

Make a vegetarian Egg-free version

If you do not eat eggs, you can still make this fried rice using onions, vegetables and the sauces. Just skip the step of making the Egg scramble. Proceed with the rest of steps as mentioned and enjoy this flavourful Fried Rice.

Here’s how I make a delicious weekday Egg Fried Rice

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 15 Minutes; Total Time 30 Minutes

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• Cooked and Cooled Rice, short or long grain, 2 cups (See Notes)
• Vegetable Oil, 2 tbsp
• Red Onion or Shallots, 2, medium, 1 sliced and 1 chopped
• Salt, 1 tsp
• Green or Red Chillies, finely sliced (Omit if you don’t like your food too hot)
• Eggs, 3-4
• Chilli flakes, 1/2 to 1 tsp (adjust according to taste)
• Black Pepper, 1/2 tsp, freshly ground,
• MSG, 1 tsp
• Any vegetables like green peppers, spring onion, cabbage etc., 1/2 cup or less, sliced (Optional)

For the Sauce

• Ginger Garlic paste, 1 tsp (Alternatively use 1/2 inch of ginger and 2 cloves of garlic finely minced together)
• Soy sauce, 2 tbsp
• Green or Red chillies, 2, finely sliced, divided
• Hot sauce (Sambal, Thai Curry Paste, Sriracha or Tabasco, all work great), 1 to 2 tbsp (You can use more than one hot sauce/ curry paste) (Use 1 tbsp for a less hot fried rice)
• Sesame Oil, 1 tsp (Use the asian variety and not Indian Gingelly variety)
• Rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon (optional, substitute with white vinegar if not available)
• Brown sugar or Honey, 1/4 tsp (optional)

For topping

• Crispy Fried Onions, 2 tbsp (See notes)
• Spring Onions, 3-4, sliced (Use stalks and bulbs)
• Sesame Seeds, 1 tsp (optional)

Please note that the measurements for green chillies, hot sauce, chilli flakes and black pepper can be adjusted to your taste. The greater measurements yield a hot and spicy fried rice.

Method

Cook and Cool the Rice

If you are using leftover rice, you can proceed to the next step. Alternatively if you are cooking them from scratch, start with this step. Measure 1 cup rice and transfer to a bowl. Top with clean water and using your fingers, gently agitate to loosen any dust and debris. Rinse and drain carefully by using your hands at the edge of the bowl to catch any runaway grains. Repeat at least 3-4 times. Transfer to a pressure cooker and add two cups water. Alternatively, you could just top with water till the first crease from the tip on your index finger. Cook till 1 whistle and take off heat. Once the pressure releases naturally, take out the rice on a sheet tray to cool while you prep other ingredients.

Prepare the Fried Rice sauce

Mince peeled ginger and garlic together if not using ginger garlic paste. Finely slice green chillies. In a bowl, add the soy sauce, ginger garlic, green chillies, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey or sugar and your choice of hot sauce. I used sriracha and red Thai curry paste leftover from earlier. You can adjust the amount of hot sauce according to your taste. Mix with a spoon or fork until homogenous and keep aside.

A note on the use of Thai Curry Paste: I have used leftover Thai curry paste (green or red) in the egg fried sauce mixture a number of times and it yields great results. Thai curry paste uses flavourful ingredients like Galangal (a relative of ginger) and lemongrass along with coriander, Thai basil and lots of red or green chillies that lend an authentic Asian flavour to these Egg fried rice. If you have some paste lying around from the last time you made Thai Curry at home, this is a great use for it.

Make the Egg Scramble

Peel the first red onion and chop to a medium to fine dice. Slice both green or red chilli if using – You need only half of the chopped chillies for the egg scramble. While you are chopping these, also slice the second onion and any other vegetables like bell peppers, cabbage etc. that you plan to use in your fried rice. Also slice the spring onion that you will use for topping.

Place a wok or kadhai over medium heat. Once hot, pour oil. Next, tip in chopped onion, chilli flakes and chopped chillies (if using).

Stir and let this cook on medium heat, about 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile break 3 to 4 eggs in a bowl. Season eggs with salt and pepper and beat till homogenous.

Once the onions in the wok are transparent, pour the beaten eggs. Stir to distribute the onions in the egg mixture. When the egg mixture starts setting, scramble by stirring at intervals. Move the spatula from the outside to the middle and tilt the wok to let the uncooked egg flows on the wok and cooks. Or just make this the way you would make any kind of Anda Bhurji. Repeat till most of the eggs are cooked and finally stir. When the curds break up and are not wet, take out the scrambled eggs on a plate or bowl.

Fry the Rice

Place the same hot wok back on the medium high heat and add a few tablespoons of oil. Follow by adding chilli flakes, sliced onions and chillies. Cook on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add any other sliced or chopped vegetables like cabbage, bell peppers next and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook the vegetables. I only added some green onions at this stage, no other vegetables.

Next, add the cooled cooked rice to the wok. Stir to distribute the vegetables all through the rice. Cook for 3-4 minutes stirring only occasionally.

Assemble the Egg Fried Rice

Once the rice and veggies have fried in the wok for a few minutes, proceed to add the cooked egg scramble. Break and mix the scrambled eggs in the rice.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of MSG and stir well to incorporate. Stir and toss the rice as it cooks on high heat, for another 2-3 minutes.

No Salt? Since MSG is a kind of salt and Soy sauce is also salty, you would not really need to add salt to this recipe. Taste after adding the fried rice sauce to see if the egg fried rice is well seasoned. If needed, you can then add a pinch or two or MSG or salt. I’ve never felt the need to add more though.

Next, add the Fried Rice Sauce you earlier prepared. Stir well as you continue to cook the fried rice on medium high heat. After the sauce is incorporated, cook for another minute or two before proceeding with the toppings and optionals. Take off heat.

Add in crispy fried onions, sliced spring onion and sesame seeds.

Give the Egg fried rice a gentle toss and serve in plates or bowls for a delicious weeknight dinner. Top with more green onion, sesame seeds and fried onions if you like.