Cheater fried rice is my take on Chinese fried rice.
I have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of recipes online for fried rice. I have read many tips and tricks for the “perfect” fried rice. If memory serves me correctly and it might not, I am getting a touch older every day, they all start with cold leftover rice.
I can never seem to remember to make rice the day before. I have used boil-in-the-bag rice before on days when I could remember to at least cook it early enough in a day to refrigerate it for 6 hours or so first. Those tactics seemed to work OK, but that too required more pre-planning than I care for some days.
Then, one day I was looking for creamed spinach. I’m picky about which brand I like. I stumbled over frozen rice. I just knew I had to try to turn that into fried rice. You know what, it was actually pretty good. Now, I keep a healthy supply of frozen rice with vegetables and plain white or brown frozen rice.
If you are lucky, you can catch them on sale for $1.
You can add more vegetables or meat if you want, or buy just plain rice and keep it vegetable free for picky eaters. You can also adjust the amount of soy sauce and molasses you put in to suit your own taste.
Personally, I add any mushrooms I might left, fresh beans sprouts, and even fresh green beans. Cheater Fried Rice is a great way to use up produce you have no other use for. Rice is a nice way to hide vegetables. Mexican Riced Cauliflower is another great hiding spot for vegetables.
I prefer my eggs cooked before I add them to my fried rice. I scramble eggs in a bowl, add the into the pan like I would an omelet, allow it cook slowly to avoid browning and then flipping for a minute or so, just until the eggs are set in the same pan I am making the rice in.
I set the eggs aside until they are cool enough to handle and then cut the eggs into small pieces to be added at the end. But if you prefer, feel free to add your eggs last. Just push the rice to the sides of your pan and put the eggs into the middle and cook them just like you would cook scrambled eggs.
I guess you could even just mix the eggs in with the rice and cook it, but I want to see what ever it is in my rice.
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The real secret to Cheater Fried Rice is have a screaming hot non-stick skillet. That link goes to the pans I currently have for making fried rice in and just about everything else that needs a skillet.
I have tried it in my cast iron skillet, but clearly mine is not as seasoned as I thought because it sticks, every single time. I do use my cast iron skillet for fried foods, but it just isn’t the right pan for fried rice.
An electric skillet also works, it will not get as hot as a pan, but it will get the job done. I probably use my electric skillet about half of the time. It’s also my favorite tool for making home fries. aka fried potatoes.
PrintCheater Fried Rice
A quick stir fried rice dish using frozen rice and vegetable mix.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stir Fried
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 6 large Eggs, beaten
- 1 large Onion, diced
- 3 tablespoon Soy Sauce, divided, more if desired
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
- 1 can Water Chestnuts, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground White Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Molasses, not black strap
- 2 10 ounce bags Frozen Long Grain White Rice with Vegetables
- 1 10 ounce bag Frozen Long Grain White Rice or Whole Grain Brown Rice
- 1 bunch Green Onions, sliced thin
Instructions
- Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet. Heat over medium high heat until oil starts to shimmer.
- Carefully pour eggs into skillet and swirl pan to cover the cover the bottom with eggs. Let cook until the center starts to set. Reduce heat to low.
- When egg is mostly set around the edges of the pan, carefully flip the eggs. Turn off the heat and let egg finish cooking in residual heat.
- Transfer eggs to a cutting board and allow to cool. Cut into small strips once cooled and set aside.
- In same skillet, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of addition olive oil and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Set heat to medium high. Add onions and cook until onions just begin to sizzle. Add the diced chestnuts, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper. Stir to combine then turn off heat and allow to set for a minimum of 5 minutes. You want the onions to soften slightly, but not overcook.
- Turn the heat to medium-high, closer to high. Add rice and stir frequently. Add 2 tablespoons soy sauce. 2 tablespoons of molasses and sliced eggs. Stir and cooked until rice and eggs are heated through. Turn off heat. Add sliced green onions, reserving a few for garnish.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 337
- Sugar: 7.2 g
- Sodium: 538 mg
- Fat: 16.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.5 g
- Fiber: 2.6 g
- Protein: 10.3 g
- Cholesterol: 538 mg
Other Asian Inspired Dishes:
This recipe sounds great! I have one question for you. How many eggs do you use. I’ve read the article and recipe twice and I can’t find the number of eggs used anywhere.
Hi Charlotte!
Thanks for catching that recipe error! Apparently when I changed recipe plugins, I somehow missed the eggs and a few other ingredients. It has been corrected and updated. I use 6 eggs when I make it, but feel free to use more or less eggs. Here are a few other ingredients that may have been missed in the version you currently have.
4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 large Eggs, beaten
1 large Onion, diced
3 tablespoon Soy Sauce, divided, more if desired
1 1/2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
Thanks again for pointing this out!
Have a great Sunday!
Beth
Thanks for your quick reply! With the added ingredients, this recipe sounds even more amazing!
If you decide to make this, let me know how it turns out for you!