Leftover Chicken Fried Rice

Put your leftover roast chicken to good use and make this delicious Leftover Chicken Fried Rice! This classic Chinese-style recipe is very easy, delicious and takes just 20 minutes to make.

Don’t you just love a roast chicken dinner on a Sunday? I most certainly do!

I have to admit that I look forward to the leftover chicken almost as much as the roast dinner!

leftover chicken recipes

There are so many different ways you use up leftover chicken meat – I often make creamy chicken and rice soup, or I’ll make this creamy chicken pasta which is always a winner. I also make Coronation chicken with leftover chicken to make sandwiches or for a baked potato topping.

But the most requested, most popular recipe that uses up the remains of a roast chicken in my house is chicken fried rice.

Don’t leave those chicken leftovers sitting unused in the fridge – make this simple but delicious fried rice for a quick, economical mid-week meal!

ingredients

• The first step to making chicken fried rice is, of course, cold cooked rice!  You’ll need about 400g of rice for 4 people.
• vegetable oil
• garlic and ginger puree – I use the pre-prepared jars for ease
• spring onions (scallions)
• variety of vegetables, such as mushrooms, peas, sweetcorn, diced bell pepper
• two eggs

recipe tips

• A simple tip, but make sure your pan is nice and hot before you add your ingredients.

• Keep stirring everything so you don’t get burnt bits at the bottom of the pan. Rice is a devil for sticking and burning, so you need to keep an eye on it.

• Frying the chicken at the start rather than adding it near the end and heating through gives amazing flavour to the fried rice.  The chicken turns beautifully golden, crispy and I’ve burned my mouth a few times because I can’t resist sneaking some straight out of the pan!  Adding a few shakes of soy sauce to the chicken will give it that Chinese takeaway-style flavour. 

• I make the rice a good few hours before I need it so it has a chance to dry out properly. After cooking, drain the rice in a large sieve and try to get it as dry as possible  Spread the cooked rice out evenly on a baking dish or tray to cool. As soon as the rice is cold, place it in the fridge until you’re ready to start cooking. Never leave cooked rice at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.

• I use frozen sweetcorn and peas for fried rice – it’s tempting to just chuck it straight in the pan, but please don’t. The moisture from the veg will make the rice claggy. Cook in boiling water for 3-5 minutes or until just tender before adding to the rice. You can also a can of drained sweetcorn.

how to make leftover chicken fried rice

keep scrolling to find ingredient amounts and detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post

Step one – heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable or sunflower oil in a wok.  pour 2 beaten eggs into the pan and cook until scrambled, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a small plate.

Step two – add the garlic and ginger puree to the wok and cook for a few seconds, but be careful as it will splatter. Add the shredded chicken pieces to the pan and fry until the chicken is golden and starting to crisp up – about 5-10 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the pan with a slotted spoon and place it in a bowl. 

Step three – add the cooked rice and stir fry for about 5 minutes before adding the cooked peas and sweetcorn, mushrooms, sliced spring onions and the scrambled egg, along with a little soy sauce.

When everything is piping hot, golden and crispy, remove from the heat and serve.  I like my fried rice with lots of spicy Sriracha sauce or sweet chilli sauce. 

variations

I always use Basmati or long-grain rice when making fried rice, but if you are really pushed for time you could use a couple of packets of microwave rice. You don’t need to cook it first – just add it straight to the pan.

You can pretty much add whatever veg you like to fried rice, but I think it’s best to keep it nice and simple.

This recipe will work brilliantly with leftover pork, ham or beef. I also love prawn fried rice!

This chicken and egg fried rice recipe is quick and easy to make, better for you than takeaway and so much cheaper!  So what are you waiting for?  I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

Continue to Content

Leftover Chicken Fried Rice

Yield: Serves 4 people

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Put your roast chicken leftovers to good use and make this Leftover Chicken Fried Rice! This classic Chinese recipe is easy, delicious and is ready in 20 minutes.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable or Sunflower Oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic puree
• 1 teaspoon ginger puree
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 400G Cold Cooked Long Grain Rice
• 250g Leftover Roast Chicken, cut into small pieces
• 4-5 Spring Onions, sliced
• 50G Frozen Peas, cooked in boiling water for a few minutes or until just tender
• 50G Sweetcorn, Frozen or Canned
• 25g Mushrooms, sliced thinly (optional)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce, or to taste
• Sriracha or Chilli Sauce for Serving

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large wok. Pour in the beaten eggs and cook, stirring, until scrambled. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Add the garlic and ginger puree and cook for a few seconds (be careful, it might splatter) then add the chicken. Add a few shakes of soy sauce and fry for about 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is starting to turn golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Add the cooked rice to the pan and stir fry for about 5 minutes. Add a few shakes of soy sauce and add the drained cooked peas, sweetcorn, mushrooms if using, spring onions, egg and the chicken.
4. Stir fry until the rice is starting to turn golden and crispy and everything is piping hot. Remove from the heat and serve with chilli sauce, Sriracha or soy sauce.

Notes

Feel free to change up the vegetables according to what needs using up - finely diced bell peppers, cooked carrots, broccoli, sugarsnap peas or baby corn.

Swap the chicken for leftover cooked beef, pork or ham. Prawn fried rice is also good!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 411Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 752mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 25g

Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.

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