# Egg Fried Rice

Restaurant-style egg fried rice is about removing water at every step: cook the rice with equal parts water (1 cup per 1 cup of rice), fluff it and let the steam out, drain the watery egg white through a sieve, fry the eggs first, then the rice in one thin layer on a blazing-hot pan, and run the soy sauce around the hot edge. When the rice starts to crackle, the last moisture is gone — it's frying, not steaming. About 35 minutes with the rice, serves 2.

- **Prep:** 10 min · **Cook:** 25 min · **Total:** 35 min
- **Servings:** 2
- **Difficulty:** Easy
- **Cuisine:** Chinese
- **Category:** Main Courses
- **Video:** [Restaurant-Style Egg Fried Rice](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgtIj5NgiK4)
- **Recipe page:** https://webspoon.world/recipes/egg-fried-rice/

## Ingredients

- 1 cup rice (long-grain)
- 1 cup water (exactly equal parts — less than the package says)
- 3 eggs
- 2-3 sprigs green onions (thinly sliced)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (neutral — olive can't take this heat)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- toasted sesame oil (a few drops — the dark, nutty one)

## Instructions

1. Rinse the rice in a sieve under running water, stirring with a whisk, until the water runs clear.
2. Cook it with equal parts water — 1 cup of water per 1 cup of rice, less than the package says. _(timer: 14 min)_
3. Don't cover the cooked rice — fluff it with a fork and let the steam escape while you prep the rest.
4. Slice the green onions thin.
5. Crack the eggs into a sieve over a bowl and let the watery white drain off; beat with just a few strokes.
6. Heat the pan until a palm above it feels the heat push back, add the oil, and scramble the eggs into soft pieces; remove them before they brown.
7. Crank the heat higher and spread the rice in one thin layer, not a pile. Fry until it crackles — that sound is the last water leaving. _(timer: 4 min)_
8. Run the soy sauce around the hot edge of the pan, let it sizzle a second, then stir it in.
9. Return the eggs, add the green onions and a few drops of toasted sesame oil, toss, and serve.

## Notes from our kitchen

The rice timer in the video reads fourteen minutes because it runs start to finish — the actual simmer is about ten. No thermometer for the pan: hold a palm above it, and when the heat pushes back, it's ready. Rinsing the rice is 70 % of the result, the 1:1 water ratio another 20, the cooking time the last 10.

## Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

- Calories: 580
- Protein: 16g
- Fat: 22g
- Carbs: 74g
- Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 950mg

## FAQ

### Do I really need day-old rice for fried rice?

No — that's the most persistent fried-rice myth. What matters isn't age, it's dryness. Cook the rice with equal parts water (1:1, less than the package says), then fluff it and let the steam escape. Fresh-but-dry rice fries better than old-but-wet rice.

### Why fry the eggs separately from the rice?

A restaurant burner holds its heat even with a full wok; a home burner doesn't. Add everything at once and the pan cools, so the food steams instead of fries. Cooking in stages keeps the pan blazing — and the egg stays in soft pieces instead of coating the rice as a wet film.

### What does the crackling sound mean?

It's the last of the water leaving the rice. Spread the rice in one thin layer on a very hot pan and listen: when it starts to crackle, it's frying, not stewing — that's the exact moment the grains turn dry and separate.

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Source: [Egg Fried Rice — Webspoon World](https://webspoon.world/recipes/egg-fried-rice/)