I love a theme night, so if I’m going to commit to a theme, I’m going all out. And that means I’m going to get fancy and have fried rice. And this fried rice right here? It’s perfect.
I’m a big fan of rice. Usually, if we’re eating Chinese food, I’m a purist and I want white, steamed rice. Sticky plain goodness. But, luckily, I’m married to someone who is not a purist and will order fried rice so I can have, you know, a bite or two… or fourteen. (Because sharing food is a huge perk of marriage, right?! I get to order what I want but also eat the other thing I wanted because that’s what he ordered! Thanks, honey!)
But I love a theme night, so if I’m going to commit to a theme, I’m going all out. And that means I’m going to get fancy and have fried rice. And this fried rice right here? It’s perfect.
This is technically a one pot deal too. I cook this fried rice in phases, but I’m really only using one pan, so that’s minimal dirty dishes and I’m all about that. I start with scrambling the eggs in the wok with butter. I did two at first, but then I added a third at the last second because we like it with more egg. Totally your preference.
Once the eggs are scrambled, I take them out and put them on a cutting board and run a knife through them just to break up the chunks a little bit. Then I throw the remaining butter in the wok and get the onions and garlic going. I want them to be softened and transluscent before we start throwing the rest of the rice and veggies in there. I’m just not into raw (or raw-ish) onion. I’m also a cheater and use my baby food processor to chop things into small pieces because it’s easier. And I’m all about making things easier for myself.
Once the onion and garlic are looking good, that’s when I throw the frozen veggies in. I let those sweat it out for a minute (because I threw them in while they were so frozen), and then I throw the rice in. The thing about the rice is that I always, always, always use leftover rice. When I’ve used rice I just made, it just is too mushy. So I made this rice in my steamer the day before knowing I was going to be making this, especially since I plan out my meals for the week in advance. (See? I’m always looking out for Future!Katie.)
Oooooh, yes, everything is looking real nice. Now it’s time for the sauce and letting everyone in the pot become good friends. I use a little bit of my homemade teriyaki sauce and some soy sauce. That’s it. Honestly. Well, then you have to add the eggs back in, and the chopped scallions.
The hardest part is waiting for everything to heat through and become friends. But I know that it’s a necessary step because I want to let it hang out and get some crispy bits. So let it cook and get the fried part of fried rice. Then, finally, the very last step is when I drizzle on some Sesame oil. That’s the secret. It just adds this special taste and just adds a really nice finish on each bite. I suppose it could be optional, but since I started doing it, I’ve never looked back. I’m telling you, you won’t regret it.
When I’m doing a hibachi or Asian theme dinner, I serve this with teriyaki chicken or steak and my favorite hibachi veggies.
Copycat Take Out Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups white rice leftover works best
- 2 tbsp butter divided
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 sweet onion small dice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp teriyaki
sauce - 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat wok or skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and scramble eggs. Once scrambled, set aside.
- Add remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until translucent and softened.
- Add frozen peas and carrots to onions and garlic. Cook the carrots and peas with the onions until softened, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Add rice and stir to combine.
- Stir in soy sauce and teriyaki sauce.
- Add eggs and scallions to rice mixture.
- Allow the rice to heat through, stirring occasionally. Extra bonus if you can handle letting it sit long enough to get roasty toasty and become fried.
- Once rice is warmed through and "fried," remove from the heat and drizzle sesame oil over rice; stir to mix it in.
- Serve immediately.
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to see how it turned out!
Snap a photo and tag @glimpseofgrace on Instagram!
