Thai Chicken Fried Rice(Khao Pad Gai) easy weeknight meal
My mother made this for me since I was little. It started simple, just eggs and a little chicken, and grew as I grew. I used to pick out the vegetables. Now they are just part of the dish, part of the whole, the way everything eventually becomes part of the whole when it has been around long enough. She made this in Thailand and she made it in Maryland. The wok was different, the stove was different, but the smell of the rice and the garlic and the soy sauce was the same in both places. Some things just stay with you no matter where you go. Make this tonight and you will understand exactly what I mean.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of cooked jasmine rice best if left overnight in the fridge
- 1/2 pound chicken breast thinly sliced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 tomatoes chopped into wedges (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- Optional: cucumber slices and lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the minced garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir continuously to prevent burning.
- Push the garlic to one side of the pan to create space for cooking the chicken. Add the sliced chicken breast to the skillet in an even layer. Allow it to cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes until the bottom turns golden brown. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking.
- Continue cooking the chicken until it is fully cooked and no longer pink in the center, about 5-7 minutes. Use a spatula to break up any large pieces of chicken. Once cooked, transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside.
- In the same skillet or wok, heat the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion, bell pepper (red or green for color contrast), carrots, and peas. Stir-fry the vegetables for about 3-4 minutes until they are tender-crisp. Stir frequently to ensure even cooking and prevent sticking.
- Push the vegetables to the side of the pan to create space for scrambling the eggs. Pour the beaten eggs into the cleared space. Let them set slightly for a few seconds, then use a spatula to scramble the eggs until they are fully cooked and broken into small pieces.
- Add the cooked jasmine rice to the skillet, breaking up clumps with the spatula. Stir-fry the rice with the vegetables and eggs for 2-3 minutes. This allows the rice to absorb the flavors of the vegetables and eggs while ensuring it is evenly heated.
- Return the cooked chicken and any juices accumulated on the plate to the skillet. Pour in the soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and sprinkle with sugar. Stir-fry everything together for another 2-3 minutes until all ingredients are combined and heated. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding more soy sauce or fish sauce if desired.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and garnish the Thai Chicken Fried Rice with fresh cilantro leaves. Serve hot with lime wedges on the side for squeezing over individual servings. Enjoy this flavorful dish as a complete meal or as part of a larger Thai-inspired feast!
Notes
The rice must be cold. This is the instruction that every fried rice recipe on this site begins with because it is the instruction that matters most for every fried rice recipe. Freshly cooked rice is too wet and too soft to fry properly in the wok. Day-old refrigerated rice has dry, separate grains that absorb the sauce and take the heat of the wok without clumping. If you do not have overnight rice, spread it on a baking sheet and refrigerate uncovered for two hours before using. Cold and dry is what the wok needs.
The egg goes in before the rice, not after. Push the chicken aside, pour the beaten egg in, scramble until about sixty percent set, then add the rice immediately on top. Break everything apart together so the egg coats the rice grains from within as it finishes cooking. This is the step that makes Thai chicken fried rice feel rich and cohesive rather than rice with a scrambled egg sitting on top. The egg is inside the dish, not on it.
Mix the soy sauce and fish sauce together before the wok gets hot. This is a fast dish and the sauce needs to go in as one motion, hitting the hot wok evenly and coating every grain of rice in the same moment. Soy sauce and fish sauce added separately produce uneven seasoning. Mixed first and poured together produce the even, glossy coating that makes the rice look and taste the way it should.
The vegetables that go in are yours to decide. Tomato and white onion are the most traditional. Green onion is always there. Whatever the refrigerator holds alongside those is also correct. My mother put in what was available. The dish is flexible in a way that few Thai recipes are. It has always been the rice and the chicken and the egg and the sauce that are constant. Everything else can move.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupCalories: 350kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 25gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 950mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5g
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