Egg Fried Rice

About this recipe

Egg fried rice is the Indo-Chinese staple that defines casual home cooking—lightly beaten eggs stirred into hot oil form ribbons of soft scramble that coat the day-old rice, creating an emulsion that feels richer than oil alone while staying light and clean-tasting. This is the dish you make when you have leftover rice and want dinner on the table in 15 minutes. The eggs do most of the work: they create a binding medium that distributes oil evenly while adding protein and richness without heaviness. Day-old rice is non-negotiable here—freshly cooked rice is too moist and will steam into clumps in the wok. Refrigerated rice dries out slightly and resists clumping, so each grain stays separate when tossed at high heat. The eggs are lightly beaten with salt but not cooked separately; instead, they're poured into screaming-hot oil where they form soft, silky curds. These curds coat the wok and are broken into fine pieces before the rice is added, creating a base that allows the rice to stay distinct and separate. Vegetables are diced fine—peas, carrots, capsicum, green beans—so they cook through in seconds at the wok's high temperature while staying crisp and bright. Spring onions are treated in two parts: the whites cooked early with garlic and ginger to build aromatics, the greens scattered raw at the finish for freshness. Soy sauce and vinegar create a light, savoury-sour sauce that coats rather than floods, while white pepper contributes heat that builds quietly. Sesame oil is drizzled in at the very end, off heat, so its distinctive nutty aroma isn't cooked away. Eat egg fried rice immediately straight from the wok—it loses its magic as it cools. Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated in a hot wok with a splash of water, but the texture won't quite match the fresh version. This is a meal that comes together in 15 minutes flat, making it the answer to hurried weeknight dinners. High in protein from the eggs, naturally vegetarian, and endlessly customisable with vegetables.