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Restaurant Ham Fried Rice tastes just like your favorite take-out, but with simple, wholesome ingredients you already have at home!
Restaurant Ham Fried Rice
This Restaurant Style Ham Fried Rice tastes just like the rice at your favorite Chinese take-out. As much as I love eating out at Chinese restaurants, it’s just as fun to make a big feast at home to share with my people. It’s easy to make, uses simple ingredients and pairs beautifully with oh so many of our delicious Asian inspired recipes.
My family teases me for being so picky about my fried rice. I like it slightly dry, yet tender but not clumpy or sticky. I like simple ingredients, nothing too fancy or complicated. This recipe meets all my expectations! The texture is perfect for picking up with chopsticks without the rice sliding off the end. A perfect Chinese Fried Rice that rivals anything you could get for take-out. The simple flavors combine together creating the ideal side dish for any Asian main course.
Ingredients In Ham Fried Rice
- Rice – A long-grain white rice (like Jasmine rice) works best. Make a fresh batch of rice or use leftover plain white rice. I actually think using day old rice works best because it has had some time to dry out and not be so clumpy.
- Vegetables – onion, carrots, and peas are the perfect veggies for fried rice
- Ham – Cubed ham is best. You can buy it fresh or use leftover ham. Leftover Christmas or Easter ham is perfect!
- Eggs – A perfect egg scramble is a must in all fried rice recipes
- Seasonings – a little garlic, soy sauce, and maybe a little sesame oil is all you need
Putting it All Together
If your rice is pre-cooked you are already halfway done. Here’s what to do:
- Cook the onions in some vegetable oil in a wok or non-stick skillet or pan.
- Next, ham and veggies and cook until tender.
- Add beaten eggs and stir together.
- Finally, stir in the rice and soy sauce (and any other seasonings like salt and pepper if desire) and serve!
Suggestions for Ham Fried Rice
- The beauty of this recipe is there are no fussy ingredients. All you need are things you probably have on hand in your pantry right now. Just some long grain rice, onions and garlic, ham, eggs and a few diced veggies if the mood strikes you and you’re in business!
- Consider this recipe as a “base” recipe that you can add your favorite ingredients to! Feel free to toss in anything, like shredded carrots, pineapple, baby corn, broccoli, bacon or additional meat into the rice mixture.
- If you’re not crazy about ham, this fried rice tastes delicious with any kind of protein such as shredded or cubed pork, chicken or even shrimp. Or omit the meat altogether for a vegetarian dish.
- For a low sodium option, simply use low sodium soy sauce or even liquid aminos.
- Make a big batch of this rice because it stays nice and fresh in the refrigerator for up to a week! You can freeze leftovers too; just use freezer safe bags or containers and push as much air out as possible.
Gluten-Free Fried Rice
Looking for a gluten free fried rice dish? The biggest obstacle in making this one completely gluten-free is the soy sauce. Most soy sauce brands contain gluten so make sure to read the labels carefully! There are some great GF soy sauces out there, I personally love Tamari, so check your local grocery store.
Frequently Asked Questions
Using leftover rice or day-old rice is the secret to the best fried rice. The rice has time to dry out a little so it can absorb the flavors of the seasonings without getting clumpy or sticky when you stir-fry it over the stove top.
There are different rices used for different variations of fried rice. Long-grain white rice works best for Chinese Fried Rice like this recipe. We like using Jasmine rice because it is fragrant and has a nice texture. Japanese fried rice usually uses a short grain rice, and Thai fried rice usually uses a Basmati rice.
Fried rice is usually made with white rice.
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More Fried Rice Recipes
Main Dishes To Serve with Ham Fried Rice
Needing Chinese food ideas to make at home? Pair this delectable rice with some of our Asian inspired recipes and you can have a full-on family style Chinese take-out night for a fraction of the price of going out.
How to Make Ham Fried Rice
Ham Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (sesame oil can also be used)
- 1 small onion or green onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1-2 cups ham diced
- 1 cup carrots and peas diced, frozen works great
- 3 eggs
- 3 cups long-grain white rice cooked (leftover rice works best)
- soy sauce to taste
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil (or sesame oil) in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions to the hot oil and stir until clear and light brown. Stir in garlic.
- When garlic is lightly browned, add ham and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add carrots and peas and cook until they are tender.
- Beat eggs together in a small bowl and add eggs to the skillet. Cook until eggs are scrambled and firm.
- Add cooked rice to skillet and mix in thoroughly. Stir in soy sauce, a little at a time. (you can always add more so don't overdo it).
Video
Notes
- For a “dry” fried rice, steam the white rice a day ahead. After cooking rice, let it cool to room temperature. Place the rice in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge overnight. Add refrigerated rice to the skillet as described in the instructions above.
- If you’re not crazy about ham, this fried rice tastes delicious with shredded or cubed pork, chicken or even shrimp. Or omit the meat altogether for a vegetarian dish.
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- For a low sodium option, simply use low sodium soy sauce or even liquid aminos.
Nutrition Information
This turned out really good! I didn’t plan ahead well enough before I started, so I didn’t realize that I had no any sauce until it was time to add it. I did Worcestershire sauce and some lemon juice, then a teeny bit of teriyaki sauce (but the teriyaki sauce was mostly because I know my hubby prefers fried rice with teriyaki sauce). I’ll definitely make it again with the right ingredients!
I’m happy this recipe worked well for you! I’m impressed with your innovative substitutions. Well done! 🙂
This recipe was simple to make with all ingredients readily available,was not time consuming and delicious! I prepared the rice early in the morning so was perfect for preparation. I’m making it tonight again. Great recipe for leftover ham!
Did you add pineapple chunks?
Yes, sometimes we add pineapple chunks!
Such a great reciep! We used some leftover ham from a family dinner and it was perfect!
Simple yet delicious recipe that my entire family enjoyed!
yummy
Tried this for dinner last night and it paired perfectly with Mongolian beef; easily, a new favorite fried rice recipe!
With Trader Joe’s frozen rice, this was such an easy dinner to throw together. Added lots of veggies and it was delish!
We loved the ham in this fried rice! Came out so tasty!
Where does the water come in? It states to make the rice according to package directions…..or do you use the 2 cups water to make the rice. Did I miss something?
Yes, you use the water to cook the rice! Hope this helps!
Not sure if the recipe we updated but normally its 1cup rice to 2 cups water. Hope this helps
I learned a trick on how to cook rice (white) perfectly. I measured for most of my life, but sometimes needed to add more water, and sometimes the finished product was clumpy. The trick(s):
Almost like cooking pasta… start with way more water than rice, and bring to a boil. Add the rice and cook for 9 minutes (stirring occasionally). After 9 minutes, drain the rice and put in a bowl or storage container and fluff up with a fork. The rice grains will be separate. *If you are going to make fried rice, put the cooked rice either in the freezer or refrigerator so it will be cold when you start to fry it up. I don’t know who figured out this, but it sure works!
The recipe states that I should use 1 tsp. sesame oil and 2 Tbsp. veg. oil. But the note states that 3 Tbsp. of just sesame can be used instead. Does that mean that the original amounts of oil should add up to 3 Tbsp? So should the original 1 tsp. sesame oil actually be 1 Tbsp?
You are right, it should be 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp. 3 Tbsp. of sesame oil may be too overpowering. I will go fix it in the recipe. Thanks for the heads up!
You still have 3 Tbsp sesame oil in the ingredient list.
I fixed it! Thanks for catching that!
I made this tonight to take to a NYE potluck. Before I add the egg, I like to mix them up in a bowl with some soy sauce, a little garlic salt and then fry them in a separate hot skillet so they look like flat little pancakes. Then I cut the egg into thin strips before adding it to the fried ham. Regardless, yours is a great recipe and I’ve had plenty of samples along the way. Thank you.
Thank you so much for the 5 stars! Also, thank you for the tip on how you add the eggs to the rice. Great idea! Happy New Year!
2 questions: if you make the rice the night before, do you leave it on the countertop or put it in the frig?
Your ingredients say 3 eggs. Your recipe says egg, not eggs. Do you definitely use 3 eggs?
Thank you! Glad I’m not the only one who prefers fried rice without veggies, especially peas!
Keep the rice in the fridge if you make it the night before. You can easily reheat it in a skillet before serving. You do use three eggs in the recipe. Thank you for letting us know there was typo in the instructions. I’ve made the correction. Enjoy your rice! 🙂
Refrigerator, also Trader Joe’s carries precooked jasmine rice. Quick and easy.
Made today. I love it. Thank you
a as far as fried rice,im from hawaii so theres more to it then this,like adding cut up green onion,and i use spam cut up in little bitty chunks,plus bbq pork which ever meat,but ham is good but want flavor so i like bbq pork you can buy in selected grocers, also add a 1/4 tsp oyster sauce ahhh! at end when cooking rice in it and a little more soyu for more brown color and pepper and salt,is using kikoman soy no salt ok. this is for 4 cps rice,ahh lrft overs are great next day.oh a use only half can of spam or bbq pork use 1/4 cp or little more to ur liking. enjoy.