Hong Kong Fried Rice is an easy essential restaurant style Chinese stir fry recipe to make at home with shrimp, egg, vegetables and leftover rice. It’s the perfect clean out the refrigerator recipe. Learn the art of making Cantonese Style fried rice today. Hands down, way better than take out!

World’s BEST Comfort Food: Hong Kong Fried Rice

Chinese shrimp fried rice has to be one of the world’s best comfort food. Carbs, aromatics and vegetables in a bowl is like getting a warm hug from mom just like our recipe for our Golden Spiced Noodle Soup. Most of the day’s problems will melt right away.

The fragrant aromatics of garlic, ginger and onion engulf the individual rice grains that are slightly smokey and savory. In addition, the vegetables are crisp, and the egg is finely incorporated into the rice. The succulent cooked shrimp have that crunchy, firm and addictive crisp texture like in our Clean Eating Shrimp Stir Fry recipe. Each and every bite makes you want more.

Cantonese fried rice is filling, flavorful and easy to make. In addition, it is quite budget friendly as you can use up all the bits and bobs of leftover proteins, vegetables, aromatics and rice in one delicious recipe. We don’t know about you, but we dislike wasting food when there are so many in the world that go without.

What is the “The Breath of the Wok” (Wok Hei)?

Have you ever heard of the breath of the wok “wok hei”? Wok hei is a term referred to describe the slight smokey flavor and taste that comes alive when food, like fried rice, is stir fried in a wok. We learned this process quite quickly while being taught by a little old Cantonese lady. She would beat you on your shoulders with her cooking chopsticks if you did not do it properly. Let me tell you those little wooden sticks sting. It forces you to learn REAL fast the tricks of the trade.

You might not be able to achieve complete breath of the wok unless you are in an industrial commercial kitchen with huge seasoned woks, gas fire and intense heat. However, you can certainly make the BEST healthy shrimp fried rice in your neighborhood with these tricks and tips we are going to share with you today.

Cooking Hacks for Making the BEST Cantonese Fried Rice

Rice cooking hacks

• Use leftover cold rice to make fried rice. Cold rice is less likely to stick together.
• If steaming rice to be used in a fried rice recipe, reduce the amount of water. For example, if your recipe for jasmine rice calls for 1.5 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, reduce to 1.25 cups of water. (If you have just leftover rice made the traditional way, that is A-Ok too. We just like to use our fingers to break it up a little bit before adding it to the wok to cook.)
• We cool the rice in a sheet pan so it less likely to stick together. Rice that has been refrigerated at least 2 hours or overnight works best. Feel free to use jasmine rice, short grain sushi rice, brown rice, basmati rice like in our Hawaiian Luau Rice or any leftover you have on hand. However, Uncle Ben’s converted parboiled rice is not an option as it will have horrible texture results.

Wok Cooking Hacks

• Are you trying to cram everything into one small pan? It would be better to split up into a couple of different batches. Do not over crowd the pan or wok. It is best to cook in batches and use the largest wok or pan you have. The food must maintain a constant temperature. If you overcrowd the pan, you are going to be steaming and not stir frying. The items in the wok must have space to move and stir fry.
• The wok or pan heat needs to be gradually increased until it is a very high heat, almost to the point of smoking.
• Do not add the oil to the wok (or pan) until it is hot. It is best to add the oil just before you add your ingredients.
• If you add too little oil, your rice will stick to the pan. On the other hand, if you add too much oil, your fried rice with taste deep fried. A well-seasoned wok will help with this.
• Gas stove top vs electric stovetop is preferred as that bit of flame that hits the moisture of the food that mixes with the oil gives this Authentic Chinese Fried Rice its delicious smokey profile.
• Keep that wok moving over high heat. Stir fry quickly so that all the grains of rice have contact with the heat of the pan.

Ingredient Cooking Hacks

• The amount of moisture in your vegetables will make or break your attempts at making homemade shrimp fried rice. Do not choose juicy vegetables like tomatoes to add to your fried rice or it will be wet and gummy. Choose firm crisp vegetables. We chose to add thawed well dried frozen mixed vegetables and quick cooking chopped snow peas for our recipe as they do not require pre-cooking and are very low in moisture.
• If you choose raw firm vegetables like carrots and celery for your Hong Kong Fried Rice, you will need to stir fry these first. Stir fry your vegetables until firm crisp, before adding the rest of your ingredients. These vegetables take longer than everything else to cook.
• When it is time to add the soy sauce, we like to move the rice to the center of the pan and pour the soy sauce around the exterior or the wok or pan. The purpose is to reduce the moisture of the soy sauce quickly. Do not add too much soy sauce as it will make your rice mushy. Use salt and white pepper to finish seasoning to your desired level. Wait, just a few seconds, before stirring to get the temperature of the wok stable. Then, super quickly get that wok moving – FAST. If you have a HUGE commercial sized wok like in a restaurant, there is no need to bring your rice to the center of the wok as there is such a huge cooking surface area.
• Have everything chopped and ready to go before you heat up your wok or pan. Mise en place is big in Chinese cooking. Once that wok gets hot, you will be done cooking in less than 5 minutes.
• Around the Chinese New Year, we love to put a tablespoon of XO Sauce in our fried rice. You can thank us later. If you like XO Sauce, be sure to try our recipe for Beef Noodles with Spicy XO Sauce.

How to Make Egg Fried Rice Cantonese Style?

Do you like big egg chunks or flaky bits of egg? Unlike other fried rice versions from around the world, Hong Kong Fried Rice is known for these delicate flakes of egg, instead of egg chunks or egg slices. For a better visual on how to achieve this, be sure to check out our video in the recipe card below.

• After all the ingredients have been added to your pantry fried rice, it’s time to add the egg.
• Make an open well in the middle of the wok or pan by scooping up the rice to the sides of the wok. Add a little extra oil to prevent sticking.
• Pour the beaten egg into the well.
• Stir the beaten egg in the well vigorously.
• In one purposefully movement, pull the rice over the egg with your spatula as this heat cooks the rice.
• Then, in a flash, get that wok moving and toss the rice quickly and effectively. This is the movement that turns the cooked into those delicate egg flakes.
• Practice makes perfect, so cut yourself some slack on the first try.

Yangzhou Rice vs Shrimp Fried Rice

Have you ever had traditional Yangzhou rice (揚州炒飯)? It sometimes called Yangchow fried rice or Yeung Chow fried rice.

The smokey flavor from the wok and delicate sweetness from the BBQ Chinese pork (char siu) is completely addictive. The addition of char siu and NO soy sauce makes this recipe different than our Hong Kong Fried Rice. Grabbing a little BBQ pork from the wet market is so easy to do in Asia and is so delicious. However, getting your hands-on char siu is not so easy elsewhere in the world. This is the reason we intentionally left if out of our Cantonese fried rice recipe. Generally, Yangzhou rice is seasoned with just salt, white pepper and the essence from the wok.

7 Main Ingredient Components

Woohoo, it’s clean out the refrigerator day! We always determine what ingredients we have on hand by doing a little foraging in the refrigerator and pantry. Then, we decide what flavors or aromatics we will be using. Your pantry will determine what kind of fried rice you will be making depending on the things you find during your scavenger hunt. However, these 7 main components are important for any type of fried rice you decide to make.

1. Oil is required to get the delicious crunch on the fried rice and prevent sticking. A light flavored oil is best.
2. Cold leftover Rice. Chilled rice will turn the rice grains firm and get rid of the excess moisture. They will also be much easier to separate.
3. Aromatics like garlic, ginger and onions. Aromatics work by dispersing the flavors and essence into the oil and then that oil coats the rice.
4. Seasonings such as soy sauce or tamari, if you need it gluten-free, sesame oil, salt and white pepper. If you like your fried rice spicy, be sure to add in a little Homemade Sichuan chili oil.
5. Vegetables – check out your crisper and use up any little bits and bobs of veggies. After all, this rice recipe is about cleaning out the refrigerator. We love adding a little bit of Chinese pickle for that extra spice. However, that is completely optional.
6. Protein – shrimp, egg, char siu, tofu, beef, etc. are all fabulous. Clean out the refrigerator!
7. Garnishes like green onions are very delicious addition.

Order of Operations

The time frame and sequence that you place the ingredients in the wok/pan to cook matters. After you have all of your ingredient’s mise en place (chopped up and ready to go and organized), heat up the wok or pan WITHOUT oil. Once your wok or pan is very hot and just before it starts to smoke, add the oil.

Then, add the aromatics and fry quickly just until you can smell the lovely flavors touch your nose. If you love garlicky rice, be sure to try our Kimchi Pantry Fried Rice. Add the shrimp, meats or proteins of choice and fry until golden brown and flavor the dish. Remove meats or seafood and set aside.

Next, add your crunchy vegetables first then your softer items later. Use thawed frozen mixed vegetables and chopped snow peas that are quick to cook. Therefore, we did not need to fry them first. Add your cold rice into your wok and proteins back into pan. Quickly stir fry making sure that you separate all the rice pieces so the aromatic oils and flavorings from the proteins have a chance to mingle with each strand of rice.

Finally, add your seasonings. Pour the soy sauce on the outside rim of the rice and let the sauce completely evaporate before stirring around in the rice. It keeps your rice dry. Taste. Adjust seasoning by adding salt and white pepper to taste. If you wish to add sesame oil add now. Next add your egg, if desired. Finally, add your garnishes.

Hong Kong Fried Rice is about one of the simplest last-minute dishes you can make if you have some basic staples in your home. It’s fast, easy, cheap and delicious. Come with us and learn how to make fried rice from today’s refrigerator and pantry exploration.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

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