You haven't had great fried rice until you've tried this authentic Chinese fried rice recipe made with just a few fresh ingredients and no soy sauce. It's the absolute best!
I always thought of fried rice as that brown, hard-grained, oily, super salty stuff you get at most Chinese restaurants. I discovered this ham and egg fried rice recipe in a Chinese cookbook and was stunned by the deliciousness - something wonderful and entirely different from any fried rice I'd ever tried.
Here's why this simple fried rice with no soy sauce is so good:
- Firstly, the rice is rinsed which gives it a wonderful chewy texture and a clean delicious taste so the flavors of all the other ingredients can shine through, including the great flavor of the peanut oil used to stir fry the rice.
- Secondly, the harmony of flavors in this fried rice is simple but spectacular. Chopped scallions, sweet ham, peas and scrambled eggs are folded in with the fluffy, lightly salted rice. Each ingredient imparts its unique and delicious flavor, texture and color to this simple wonderful dish.
How To Make Chinese Ham and Egg Fried Rice
Rinse and drain the rice several times. This is a key step in this recipe. It gives the rice a great taste and texture. Cook the rice according to package directions and cool completely. The rice can be prepared the day before. In fact this dish is best made with chilled cooked rice. Once the rice cooked this dish comes together in 15 minutes or less.
Set out all of the ingredients in small bowls near your frying pan or wok for easy access when stir frying.
Start by scrambling the eggs in a little peanut oil. Set them aside.
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Next stir fry the rice, tossing and separating the grains. Add the ham, peas and salt and finally add the cooked eggs and scallions. Toss for 20 seconds or so until everything is hot and your dish is ready to go.
I adapted this recipe from a wonderful cookbook called The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking by Barbara Tropp. The book is filled with tempting Chinese recipes, some extremely complicated with exotic ingredients.
I was attracted to this one because of its simplicity and quite frankly because I was surprised and a little skeptical that fried rice with no soy sauce could be good. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. It is so good!
If you're a fan of delicious hearty rice dishes, here are a few more favorites from Panning The Globe:
Ham and egg Chinese fried rice is a great side dish with simple grilled or broiled fish, meat or chicken. Or a big bowl of this fried rice makes a delicious satisfying main dish. This recipe makes enough for 4-6 as a side dish or 2-3 as a main.
Here's the recipe for Chinese Ham and Egg Fried Rice. If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and comment. I'd love to know what you think!
PrintRecipe
Chinese Ham and Egg Fried Rice
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
This authentic Chinese ham and egg fried rice recipe has only 5 ingredients, plus oil to stir-fry and salt to season, and no soy sauce. You haven't tasted great fried rice until you've tried this recipe. It's the absolute best! Adapted from The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking by Barbara Tropp
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups of cold cooked medium grain or short grain rice. (see important instructions below for rinsing rice before cooking)
- 4-5 ounces honey or maple ham, cut into ¼-inch dice (see if your grocer can cut you a ¼ inch slice)
- ½ cup frozen peas, defrosted
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Peanut oil for stir-frying (3-4 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 scallions, sliced crosswise (1 cup)
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Instructions
- Rinse, cook and cool the rice: For optimum texture and taste, it's very important to rinse the rice in several changes of cold water before cooking. To rinse, put raw rice into a fine mesh colander and immerse it in a large bowl of water. Swish rice around to release excess starches. Lift colander. Pour out water. Repeat until water is mostly clear. Cook the rice according to package directions. Cool it before using.*
- Cook The eggs: Heat wok, cast iron skillet or heavy frying pan over high heat until hot. Add 1 ½ tablespoons peanut oil and tilt pan to coat it. Pour in beaten eggs. Let them cook for a few seconds, then gently push them to one side of the pan, tilting the pan to get uncooked egg to slide onto the pan and set. Cook just until the eggs are soft-cooked. Transfer them to a dish and set aside.
- Stir-fry the Rice: Add 2 additional tablespoons of oil to the skillet. When hot, add the cold rice and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, stirring to coat and separate the grains. When the rice is hot, add the salt, ham and peas and cook, tossing, for about 30 second. Add the eggs back to the skillet and, using your spatula, break them apart a bit. Add scallions and toss everything for another 15 -20 second until the eggs are hot. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
*
*The rice in this recipe works best if it's cold, so great if you can cook it the day before. If you need to make this dish in a hurry, spread the hot rice out on a baking tray and set the tray in the fridge for a half hour or until the rice is cool.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Side dish or main course
- Method: Stir-fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
J
This was “traditional” when I worked at a fine dining restaurant that specialized in cuisine from the Shandong province. The only thing yours is missing is White pepper. It is so worth adding!
Judi
This is a great recipe that is easily changed to add or subtract ingredients. We do like a little soy sauce with ours and we also add pineapple. If it’s leftover we add so grated cheddar and eat it cold.
candice M
This is so simple and easy to make! I've made it twice so far and it's abig hit with the kids.
Sharon Dwinell
I have Barbara tropp’s book, the Modern art of Chinese cooking, and make this recipe all the time. I haven’t made it in a while though, so I was going to check out my book and brush up on the sequence of events. Lo and behold, I can’t find my book! So thank you for posting this recipe. I don’t actually have any ham on hand, so I’m going to cook up some pork sausage in little balls and see how that works.
Lisa
Hi Sharon. I'm hope you find your cook book but glad I could help 🙂 I bet the pork sausage balls will be delicious!
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass
Hi Lisa! So interesting about rinsing the rice first, also an important first step in making quinoa. I have never made fried rice and I didn't realize how easy it is. Sounds irresistible with the maple ham!!!!
foodie@foodieportal.com
I love your pictures and recipes, they are mouth watering. Would love for you to share them with us at foodieportal.com. We are new but at foodieportal.com we are not photography snobs, we are just foodies.
Lisa Goldfinger
Thanks so much! I would love to share my recipes with fellow foodies on foodie portal. I'll pay your site a visit and see what I need to do to start sharing. Lisa
Rachel @ Bakerita
This looks so delicious and easy! My kind of meal 🙂