How to Cook Simple Egg Fried Rice
Master essential knife work, heat control, and pan tossing by turning day-old cold rice, eggs, scallions, and soy sauce into crisp, savory fried rice.
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🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Chef's knife
- ✓ Cutting board
- ✓ Nonstick skillet or wok
- ✓ Wooden spatula
- ✓ Small prep bowl
- ✓ Fork
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ 2 cups day-old cooked white rice
- ✓ 2 large eggs
- ✓ 2 stalks green onions
- ✓ 1 clove garlic
- ✓ 1.5 tablespoons cooking oil
- ✓ 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ✓ 1/4 teaspoon salt
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Curl non-knife fingers into a protective claw grip while slicing scallions and garlic.
- • Turn skillet handles inward toward the back of the stove to avoid accidental knocking.
- • Ensure rice is chilled and free of excess surface moisture before hitting hot oil to prevent splattering.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Prep Scallions and Garlic
Trim the roots off the green onions. Slice the white and light green portions thinly, then slice the dark green tops into separate rings; mince the garlic clove finely.
- • White scallion rounds and minced garlic sit separated from dark green onion rings on the board.
- • Mixing the delicate green tops with the firm white stems before cooking.
- • Smashing garlic into wet paste instead of mincing cleanly.
Whisk and Break Up Ingredients
Crack both eggs into a small prep bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk with a fork until uniform. In a separate bowl, gently crumble the cold rice with clean hands to break apart large clumps into individual grains.
- • Egg mixture is a streak-free, uniform pale yellow.
- • Rice consists of loose, separated grains with no clumps larger than a marble.
- • Using hot, freshly cooked rice which turns into a soggy mush.
- • Leaving golf-ball sized cold rice clumps.
Soft-Scramble the Eggs
Place the skillet over medium-high heat and add 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Pour in beaten eggs once oil shimmers, push the curds toward the center for 30-45 seconds until 80% set, then slide them onto a plate.
- • Fluffy, soft-set, glossy yellow egg curds resting on a side plate with no liquid egg remaining.
- • Overcooking eggs into dry, rubbery brown shreds.
- • Pouring eggs into a cold pan, causing them to absorb oil and stick.
Sauté Aromatics and Fry the Rice
Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the hot skillet, then add the white scallions and minced garlic, stirring for 20 seconds. Dump in the crumbled rice and press it flat with the back of the spatula, letting it sear undisturbed for 1 minute before tossing.
- • Scallion whites are fragrant and glossy, and rice grains are glistening, separated, and actively sizzling.
- • Burning minced garlic before adding the rice.
- • Stirring constantly without letting the rice contact the hot surface to toast.
Season and Combine
Drizzle soy sauce along the outer edge of the pan so it caramelizes before hitting the rice. Return scrambled eggs to the pan, chopping them into bite-sized pieces with the spatula edge, and toss continuously for 1 to 2 minutes until color is evenly golden brown.
- • Rice turns an even light-amber hue with evenly distributed yellow egg flecks.
- • Pouring cold soy sauce directly into the center of the rice, making one spot salty and wet.
- • Leaving eggs in giant uncut chunks.
Finish with Green Tops and Plate
Turn off the heat entirely and throw in the sliced dark green scallion tops. Fold the mixture 3-4 times so the residual heat wilts the greens slightly without dulling their color, then transfer immediately to a serving bowl.
- • Vibrant bright-green scallion rounds scattered throughout steaming, golden-brown rice with no standing liquid.
- • Leaving burner on high, turning green scallions brown and limp.
- • Letting rice sit in the hot pan after cooking, drying it out.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by Shivonne Kim — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Day-old cooked white rice? Fresh rice spread flat on a baking sheet and chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes
- No Green onions/scallions? 1/4 finely diced yellow or red onion
- No Wok? Standard 10-inch or 12-inch nonstick flat-bottom skillet