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The best Pork Fried Rice is made with tender bites of pork loin, chilled rice, scrambled egg, veggies, soy sauce, and seasonings. Learn how to make it the easy way with this simple, better-than-take-out recipe.
For more delicious Asian-inspired meals, try my Crockpot Orange Chicken and The Best Copycat Bang Bang Shrimp.
Why I Love This Recipe
I have been making this pork fried rice recipe for years, and I’ve learned a few tricks for success along the way.
- Uses Up Leftovers – Fried rice is a great way to use up leftover ingredients, like veggies or proteins. Everytime I make pork tenderloin I save enough to make this recipe! Or use leftover chicken for chicken fried rice and leftover shrimp for shrimp fried rice!
- Comes Together Fast – Be sure to prep all of your ingredients before you start – this recipe cooks quickly.
- Complete Meal in One Pan – Pork, rice, and veggies all come harmoniously together in this easy one pan meal.
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
Ingredients
- Pork – You can use pork loin, tenderloin, even pork chops, or ground pork. Just cut the meat into small pieces, less than an inch.
- Rice – The best rice to use for fried rice is any cooked rice that’s been chilled. You can use brown rice or white rice; even better if you have leftovers.
- Eggs – An extra protein that’s a staple of traditional fried rice. In the recipe card you’ll see that I usually just cook the eggs first, transfer them to a bowl, then add them in later. Sometimes, I’ll just make a well in the center of the pan once I’ve added the rice, and scramble them right there.
- Veggies – Use up leftovers or add some frozen vegetables. I always use onions, peas, carrots and corn.
- Soy Sauce and Seasonings – Any brand of soy sauce is fine, but I prefer to use a low-sodium variety. I also add fresh minced garlic and lots of black pepper.
- Butter and Olive Oil – These 2 ingredients play different roles. I use the olive oil for cooking the pork, and butter for adding flavor to the rice.
How To Make Pork Fried Rice
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
Scramble eggs in a large wok or deep skillet with a little bit of oil or butter. Transfer to a plate or in a bowl.
Add more oil to the pan and saute diced onions until they begin to soften. Add minced garlic and diced pork, season with salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink. Transfer out of the pan onto a plate.
Add the frozen veggies and corn to the pan and cook until heated through. Then add the meat and egg back to the pan.
Add the cold rice to the skillet, breaking apart with a flat spatula. Gently turn the rice to incorporate all of the ingredients together.
To get those delicious crispy bits of rice, press the rice down into the skillet and leave it untouched for a few minutes. Gently stir a few times, then press down again. Keep doing this until you are satisfied with the amount of crispy rice.
Add soy sauce and black pepper and stir one last time. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds and serve piping hot.
Why Chilled Rice?
When it comes to fried rice, chilled rice is better than hot and fresh because it’s had time to dry out a bit. The moisture in hot rice will yield a mushy mess if you try to fry it right away.
If you don’t have any on hand, go ahead and cook the rice in a rice cooker and spread it out on a rimmed baking sheet, then pop it in the fridge. In about 30 minutes to an hour, you’ll have perfect chilled rice that you can fry right up.
Serving Suggestions
Fried rice is typically a meal on its own. But it also makes a great side dish to other Asian-Inspired recipes, like Crockpot Orange Chicken, Black Pepper Chicken, or Korean Short Ribs.
Storage Tips
The Best Way to Store Leftovers
Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Freezer: Freeze rice in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and before reheating.
Reheating: Microwave on high until it’s piping hot, stirring a few times. You can also reheat in a skillet on the stove with a little bit of olive oil or butter to re-crisp those little crispy bits.
Recipe Tips
- Leftover rice: Anytime you make steamed rice to go with a meal, make a little extra so you can save the leftovers. Just put them in a freezer bag and pop it in the freezer. Soon enough you’ll have collected enough leftovers for a whole batch of fried rice!
- Other veggies to add: Try some frozen stir fry veggies, or easy to saute mushroom, snap peas, or bean sprouts.
- Prep ahead: This is one of the best tips I can give for making this recipe, and others like it. Once you start cooking things move quickly because you’re cooking over high heat. Make sure to open cans, chop veggies, and whisk the eggs prior to starting.
More Asian-inspired Recipes
Pork Fried Rice
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 3 Eggs whisked lightly
- 1/2 cup Diced onion
- 1 pound Pork loin diced into small pieces
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 ½ cups Frozen peas and carrots
- 15 ounces Canned corn drained well
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 4 cups Cooked and chilled white rice
- 3 tablespoons Soy sauce
- Black pepper
- Sesame seeds for garnish
- Sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat and add a teaspoon of olive oil.
- Whisk in the eggs and cook, stirring often, until set. Transfer to a bowl or plate.
- Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add onion and cook until translucent; about 2 minutes, stirring often. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet if needed, then add the pork and season with salt and pepper. Cook pork until no longer pink; about 5-6 minutes. Drain and transfer to the plate with the egg.
- Add garlic to the pan, then add frozen vegetables and cook until heated through.
- Add cold rice to the skillet and stir to combine with the vegetables. Stir in the pork, egg and 2 tablespoons of butter. Gently stir to incorporate everything together, then press down into the pan to brown the rice lightly for a couple of minutes, then stir and repeat a few times.
- Remove from heat, then stir in a few tablespoons of soy sauce. Use more or less based on your liking.
- Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Can this fried rice be frozen and reheated later? Two seniors don`t eat a heck of a lot at one time but this recipe sounds really good.
Hi Donald, yes you can freeze fried rice. Thaw it in the fridge then reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.