How To: Cook Rice For Fried Rice | Marion's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

How do you prepare rice for fried rice? ›

Precook the rice at least 30 minutes, but preferably one day, before making fried rice and keep it uncovered in the fridge. Place the rice into a fine sieve and wash with water to remove excess starch. Drain the water and place the rice into a saucepan.

A typical recipe for cooking long-grain white rice uses a 1-to-1.5 ratio, which means you would add 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water. You'll frequently find fried rice recipes calling for cold cooked, previously chilled, or leftover cooked rice.

Fresh-cooked: So long as you spread the rice out on a plate or tray while it's still hot and give it a few minutes to allow some surface moisture to evaporate, you can make excellent fried rice with fresh rice. Day-old rice: Day-old rice tends to clump, so you'll need to break it up by hand before stir-frying.

1) Use cold rice: You've gotta plan ahead and use thoroughly-chilled cooked rice. A fresh batch of warm (or even lukewarm) rice will not fry well when it hits the hot pan, and will result in soggy and sticky clumps — no good. So leftover refrigerated rice is ideal!

For tender grains of rice that easily separate, such as in a pilaf, use 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice. You can also use another liquid like stock in this 2:1 ratio. For slightly chewier, fluffy white rice, use 1 1/2 cups of water for every cup of rice, or a 1.5:1 ratio.

Here's what goes in Fried Rice Sauce: Chinese cooking wine or Mirin (secret ingredient!) – this is the secret to a really great fried rice that truly stacks up to your favourite Chinese restaurant.

To give your dish that signature fried rice taste, you'll need to drizzle in sesame oil and soy sauce, but feel free to use as much or as little as you wish. You can even mix in things like garlic powder, ginger root, or Sriracha sauce and chili pepper for a bit of a kick.

Add the rice and break up and incorporate the rice with the other ingredients. Add the soy sauce mixture and stir-fry until well combined. Toss through the sea salt and spring onion. Turn the heat off and toss through the sesame oil and white pepper.

Making sure to use cold rice (warm rice will stick to the wok), stir-fry the rice in oil until it's hot. Use 2 wooden spatulas to pull the rice from the bottom to the top and the side of the pan, tossing it all around, so all the rice is evenly coated with the oil and cooked, about 2 minutes.

Let the rice stand for one to two hours until it's cooled to room temperature. Resting and cooling your rice allows excess moisture to evaporate, which also helps keep grains from clumping. If you want to do this a day or two ahead, let the rice cool completely, then refrigerate it in an airtight container.

Should I rinse rice for fried rice? ›

If you're looking for fluffy, separate grains, you'll want to rinse your rice regardless of the variety you use. Rice for pilafs, fried rice, and salads all benefit from washing.

Thirdly, the right order is to pan fry eggs, then followed by rice. Many people make the mistake to put in rice first, then pour in whisked eggs. This would make the rice soggy and mushy by absorbing the egg mixture.

How do you rinse rice? Start by placing your rice in a large bowl and cover the grains with water. Using your hand, gently swirl the rice around until the water becomes cloudy. Pour out the water—but make sure the rice remains in the bowl—and repeat until the water is clear, about three to four rinses.

To give your dish that signature fried rice taste, you'll need to drizzle in sesame oil and soy sauce, but feel free to use as much or as little as you wish. You can even mix in things like garlic powder, ginger root, or Sriracha sauce and chili pepper for a bit of a kick.

Unlike freshly cooked rice, which forms soft, mushy clumps when stir-fried, chilled leftover white rice undergoes a process called retrogradation, in which the starch molecules form crystalline structures that make the grains firm enough to withstand the second round of cooking.