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The perfect egg fried rice has “light, individual grains of rice with just the right balance of chewiness and tenderness, fluffy and fragrant eggs, and the subtle aromas of cooked soy sauce and scallions.”

I stole this description from Serious Eats. I couldn’t resist because it sounded so good.

I agree that fried rice is all about texture. Texture is the reason we would want to manipulate plain rice at all.

It’s also about enhancing its nutritional value.

In this recipe, we’ll use green peas to add vegetarian protein, as well as some additional chewiness, into the dish.

For vegetarian cooking, texture is always key to enjoyment.

Authentic flavor

You might not have tried a fried rice at home before. It’s something you buy from a Chinese restaurant when you have a hankering perhaps.

Have you ever wondered what is the secret to getting that Chinese restaurant taste?

The answer is high heat and plenty of vegetable oil.

Chinese restaurants use flame burners with BTUs far exceeding our home kitchens. That’s how they get the high heat, and that’s why no matter how hard we try, we’ll never get the same taste.

That’s okay. We can get close, and create a much healthier version at home.

The fact that we will use lower heat supports an Ayurvedic approach to cooking. We will still use our highest heat though, so we will need to be cautious.

I recommend cooking with ghee, which is safe for temperatures up to 485 degrees Fahrenheit. The drawback of ghee is the flavor it adds, which doesn’t exactly scream Chinese.

Or, you can make an exception and use a good quality organic sesame oil or sunflower oil that’s safe for high heat cooking.

Sesame oil is generally safe up to 410 degrees Fahrenheit.

Another option is to use half ghee and half sesame (or another oil).

The essential steps for the rice

Use your highest heat setting and a large wok or non-stick skillet (more on that below).

Add oil and heat until the pan is on the verge of smoking before adding in any ingredients.

Cook smaller quantities of rice at a time so that more grains of rice touch the surface of your pan and have a change to turn toasty golden-brown.

You might want to stir-fry in 2-3 batches if you really want to achieve this.

Be patient until you see the browning of the rice take place. That’s giving you the desired chewy texture and taste.

The essential steps for the add-ins

In this recipe, we are going to add in eggs, ginger, green peas, green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little salt and pepper.

It all starts with the ginger and rice. Once the rice is nice and toasty, we’ll season it around the edges with soy sauce and sesame oil.

After that’s mixed well, sprinkle with salt, pepper, thawed frozen peas, and those chopped green onions.

A final mix and toss for 1-2 minutes, and the rice is done.

Next up, the egg

I’ve decided to cook the egg separately and as a last step, to give us more options, and also because I like the taste of fried rice without the egg mixed in, and taking over.

It gives you the option to not use egg at all, or even to use chicken or maybe some other leftover meat you need to use it. 

So we’ll set that rice aside for just a minute, and heat up a small skillet with a bit of ghee.

Once that’s good and hot, add whisked and seasoned (salt and pepper) egg.

Let the egg cook, then run your spatula through the egg, starting from the outside edges. You want to keep the egg in a single layer, like an omelette.

Once the bottom is browned to your liking, flip the whole thing and cook the second side.

Serve the egg on top of the rice.

You may also place the egg on top of your fried rice, break it up with your spoons and mix it in.

Optional add-ins

Garlic, onions, celery, green beans, carrots, bell peppers, etc., are easy to add-in at the very beginning. You would want to get them cooked before adding in the rice.

For those of you who enjoy oyster sauce, fish sauce, or other Asian sauces, go for it.

A little sriracha or another hot sauce? Why not.

Which rice?

The signature chewy texture of fried rice comes from using the right rice and using high heat to toast the individual rice grains.

The ideal rice is a medium-grain white rice. A shorter grain on rice means it’s going to be more plump and chewy, and the individual grains will stay more separate.

Thai Jasmine rice is a close second, and offers a little more stickiness that give you little clumps, making it easier to eat the fried rice with chop sticks.

Jasmine has that floral, aromatic flavor too, which will shine through when you keep the seasoning very light.

Fresh or day old?

Thank goodness for serious eats, which is a website dedicated to the scientific perfection of food.

Based on experimentation, it was determined that freshly cooked rice, spread out onto a plate or tray for a few minutes to allow from some evaporation, worked well.

The second option is day-old rice. Leftover is drier and harder than fresh rice, and it clumps. So when you add it to your wok or skillet, you need to break it up with your hands.

Before cooking the rice, it helps to give the raw rice a rinse in cold water for 30 seconds. Drain the rinsing water, add fresh cold water, and cook.

Wok or skillet?

Between a wok or a skillet, you can use either.

If you have a gas range, and a wok, then use your wok. The wok is superior because it has different zones of heat that allow you to push ingredients away form the center when adding new ones.

It also makes it easy to toss and flip.

If you have an electric or induction range, use a large non-stick skillet. You can still flip in a skillet with a good flip of the wrist.

If flipping is a skill you haven’t mastered yet, a spatula or a couple spoons will also work just fine.