Who needs takeout when Chinese pork fried rice is something you can replicate at home? It cooks in a single pan and is ready to eat in only 25 minutes. I don’t know about you, but that’s less time than it takes me to order and drive to a restaurant!
Our pork fried rice recipe is warm and comforting, and it celebrates a fantastic array of textures. The combination of soft rice, delicate pork, fluffy egg and crunchy vegetables is simply irresistible. We use pork chops because they cook quickly and stay tender when stir-fried.
We take a simple approach to this fried rice recipe, and call upon ingredients most people have on hand. You can make it with leftover rice, and it’s easy to customize with any meat or veggies you have in the fridge. There are many ways to make fried rice, so tailor this recipe to fit your preferences. We’ll offer a few suggestions below to make this Chinese-inspired pork fried rice your own.
Ingredients for Chinese Pork Fried Rice
- Pork loin chop: We recommend using boneless pork loin chops for this recipe. You could use bone-in pork chops, but the boneless chops are much easier to cut into 1/2-inch pieces. (Starting with frozen meat? Learn the safest way to thaw pork chops.)
- Long grain rice: Long-grain rice cooks up fluffy with separate, individual grains, so it’s perfect for fried rice dishes. Rice stir-fries better when it’s cold, so use leftover rice (or plan ahead to give the rice time to chill). Learn more about our favorite rice-cooking techniques in our guide for how to make rice.
- Stir-fry veggies: We use a colorful combination of carrots, broccoli and frozen peas. These vegetables cook quickly and add crunch to pork fried rice.
- Egg: Eggs are essential in fried rice. They add richness, and they become nice and fluffy when scrambled.
- Soy sauce: Soy sauce coats the rice and other ingredients, infusing the whole dish with salty, umami-rich flavors.
Directions
Step 1: Cook the pork mixture
In a large skillet, saute the pork, carrot, broccoli, peas and onion in butter until the pork is no longer pink, three to five minutes. Remove the mixture from the skillet, and set aside.
Editor’s Tip: A wok is the traditional cookware for stir-fries. However, we usually use a nonstick skillet. A wide, flat skillet gives you more room to work with when cooking the eggs, incorporating other ingredients and evenly cooking the rice.
Step 2: Cook the egg
Add a lightly beaten egg to the same skillet. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until completely set.
Step 3: Bring it all together
Stir in the cooked rice, soy sauce, garlic powder, ginger and pork mixture. Heat through. If desired, garnish with additional green onions.
Recipe Variations
- Make it vegetarian: Skip the pork, and use tofu instead. Or simply load the dish with veggies. Choose quick-cooking vegetables, such as mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, sugar snap peas, eggplant and baby corn. Feel free to incorporate leftover roasted vegetables into fried rice. Just make sure they’re not heavily seasoned with any competing flavors.
- Use another meat: You can make fried rice with almost any protein. Swap in chicken breasts or thighs, pork tenderloin, shrimp or quick-cooking beef cuts like beef tenderloin. Fried rice is also great with leftover or precooked meats, such as pork roast, rotisserie chicken, sliced hot dogs and Spam.
- Make it spicy: Stir in Sriracha, chili oil or gochujang (a Korean fermented chili paste) to give this pork fried rice a spicy finish.
- Use oyster sauce: This savory, sweet Asian sauce is used in many Asian and Asian-inspired cuisines. It adds depth and complexity to fried rice. Stir it in when you add the soy sauce.
- Add sesame flavor: Add aromatic sesame oil just before serving, or garnish the finished dish with toasted sesame seeds.
How to Store Chinese Pork Fried Rice
Store leftover pork fried rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator. How long leftover fried rice lasts depends on whether you use fresh or leftover rice. Rice is good for up to four days when cooled properly and stored in the refrigerator. Freeze leftover rice for up to one month.
Reheat rice in the microwave or in a nonstick pan on the stovetop. Avoid reheating rice more than once. Repeated reheating can create the ideal conditions for harmful bacteria growth in the rice.
Chinese Pork Fried Rice Tips
What is the secret to good fried rice?
Taste of Home contributor Michelle Yang explains that rice, eggs and oil are the key components to a good homemade fried rice. In this pork fried rice recipe, we use butter as the fat to help the pork and veggies brown up perfectly. Regarding rice, Michelle says it should be cooked and cooled beforehand. Leftover rice has a lower moisture content than freshly cooked rice, so it stir-fries better.
What is the best type of rice for pork fried rice?
We typically use long-grain white rice in Chinese pork fried rice recipes, but other types of rice also work. Jasmine, basmati and brown rice are all fine choices. Avoid Arborio rice, sticky rice and short-grain rice. Those rices contain more starch and are stickier, so the individual grains don’t stay separated when stir-fried.
What can you serve with pork fried rice?
One of our favorite ways to serve pork fried rice is with hot and sour soup or egg drop soup. Fried rice is also excellent with small bites or appetizer dishes, such as easy egg rolls, crispy crab Rangoon and ginger-pork wontons. For a bit of heat, drizzle pork fried rice with Sriracha or chili oil just before serving.
