Classic Pork Fried Rice is a recipe that I have been making for my family for quite a number of years now. My mother-in-law taught me how to make this delicious side dish when I was a young bride. It was a recipe that she had gotten from one of her neighbors when she was bringing up her own family. As you can clearly tell, it is a simple recipe that has really stood the test of time and is a firm family favorite! Without a doubt, your family will love it as well. It is easy and fun to make. Preparing your ingredients is not a problem since you can do so much with what you already have in your fridge.
One thing which I really love about this recipe for Classic Pork Fried Rice is that it gives me another delicious option for using up and cooking with leftovers. Leftover roast pork? Perfect in this. Leftover cooked Pork Sausages? Also perfect! Leftover cooked rice? Again, perfect! Your leftovers do not have to end up in your garbage. You can make use of them. For sure you will enjoy it even more.
To be totally honest, this is a recipe that works with ham and spam as well. It is delicious, economical, and very adaptable to what you have in your fridge or larder at any given time. So, Classic Pork Fried Rice really is a little workhorse of a recipe that you will be happy to add to your repertoire of tried and true recipes to keep!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE CLASSIC PORK FRIED RICE
I am a great proponent of simple food and simple ingredients. Therefore, I like to say that there is nothing you cannot make taste delicious with a bit of tweaking here and there. Using up my leftovers in a delicious way is exactly what I love to do. Also, nobody in my home ever complains about having to eat leftovers! Not to mention that this recipe, once again, uses quite simple things that most of you will have in your kitchen.
| INGREDIENTS |
| 2 TBS vegetable oil |
| 2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten |
| 1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced |
| 3 TBS dark soy sauce, divided |
| 1 TBS minced fresh gingerroot |
| 1 bunch of scallions, trimmed, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced |
| 2 small carrots, peeled and grated |
| 1 cup of diced leftover cooked pork, or 4 leftover cooked pork sausages, cut into chunks |
| A large handful of frozen peas |
| 2 cups cold cooked rice |
| 2 TBS rice wine vinegar |
MAKING CLASSIC PORK FRIED RICE: TIPS & TRICKS
Prep Tips
- Read over the recipe a couple of times, and then assemble all of your ingredients before starting cooking. Also, make it a habit to do this whenever you go to prepare and cook a recipe. Therefore, this simple thing has helped prevent me from making many serious errors in the kitchen when cooking and baking through the years.
- Next, make sure your rice is cold from the refrigerator when you go to use it. A little safety tip when cooking with rice is to cool and refrigerate any leftover rice as soon and as quickly as you can. Do not ever leave it sitting out on the countertop for an extended length of time. Each grain of rice is a surface on which the bacteria which cause food poisoning can grow. That is not just a bowl of leftover rice. It is several hundred potentially harmful surfaces. Treat your leftover rice with respect and chill it right away.
- Always heat leftover rice fully to 165*F. This is the temperature at which any harmful bacteria will be killed.
- In addition, I always use dark soy sauce for my fried rice. This gives it a nicer color as well as a deeper flavor.
- When preparing the scallions, trim and then divide the dark green parts from the light green/white parts. The way I differentiate from this is that the light part of the scallion ends as soon as the stem begins to become hollow. The solid bits will need to be cooked longer and are stronger in flavor.
Cooking Tips
- Next, cut your leftover pork into small cubes that are roughly the same size. I like my cubes to be no larger than ½ inch in size.
- Bring your eggs to room temperature prior to beating them together with the soy sauce and cooking them.
- Then, be prepared to work really quickly once you pour the eggs into the pan. As the pan is quite hot, they will start to cook right away, and you do not want them to overcook. Having soft scrambled eggs is essential to this recipe.
- Also, be prepared for lots of spatter when you add the garlic and ginger root to the hot oil.
- Finally, once you have added all of the rice and vegetables to the pan, along with the egg, the dish comes together very quickly. This is why having everything measured out prior to starting is recommended. You do not want to have to stop cooking to measure something out. This could damage the integrity of the finished dish.
HOW TO MAKE PORK FRIED RICE
Preparing Your Ingredients
First of all, peel your carrot and then grate it using the large holes of a box grater. Set them aside until you are ready to use them.
Also, you can use a food processor for this, but I hate dragging it out for just one ingredient or step. It is just a lot easier and quicker for me to use a box grater. When I am done, I can simply rinse the grater under hot running water, so a lot less to clean up as well.
Next, wash and trim your scallions. Peel off and discard any bits that are dry or discolored. Lop off the root ends and discard. Also, divide the light green and white parts from the darker green parts, separating the two from each other.
Keeping both the white and the dark parts separate from each other, thinly slice the scallions. Next, just set them aside.
Beat the eggs and a small portion of the soy sauce together in a bowl. I use a small wire whisk to do this. It works perfectly.
Cooking Everything
Heat a bit of oil in a large non-stick skillet and add the beaten egg mixture all at once. Allow it just to start to set and then, working very quickly with a rubber spatula, scrape and scramble the egg until it is just softly set.
Then, remove them to a bowl and keep them warm. Also, do not forget to wipe out your pan.
Next, heat some more oil in the skillet and add the white/light-colored bits of the scallion to the pan, along with the ginger and garlic. It will sputter a bit. Cook and stir it for a short time, then add the diced pork and heat it through, stirring it frequently.
It is okay if it browns a tiny bit. We like the caramelized edges. In addition, if you want more pork and caramel, try this Pork Tenderloin And Brussels Sprouts recipe!
Add the cold rice, grated carrot, and frozen peas to the pan. For perfectly cooked rice, take a look at the tutorial from the Delish team!
Next, stir everything well together to combine. Do not worry about the carrot being raw or the peas frozen. By the time the dish has heated through, the carrots will be cooked perfectly as well as the peas.
Stir in the remaining soy sauce and rice wine vinegar and continue to toss everything together, stirring and scraping until everything is hot and heated properly to 165*F.
Last but not least, scatter the sliced dark green part of the scallions over the top and serve immediately.
SERVING ADVICE AND FINAL THOUGHTS
Although you could certainly serve this on its own with a bit of sauce, and we have done so in the past, more often than not, I serve this as a side dish along with another Chinese/Oriental offering. So, it goes well with things like Garlic Spareribs, Sweet and Sour dishes, Chow Mein, or hearty Vegetable Stir Fries. A splash of Hoisin Sauce or Ketjap Manis is tasty, splashed over the top of this.
All in all, I think you will find this to be a very handy recipe to have. It is one that I use quite frequently and one which my family has always loved. Just imagine that it has been pleasing people in my home for over 40 years now!
Last but not least, I will be super excited to find out what is your opinion on this recipe. Did you enjoy preparing it? What did your family think about it? Did you find it as delicious as we did? Also, if you have improved it in any way, please let me know. So, just tell me everything about your experience with the Pork Fried Rice Recipe. Not to mention that all your further questions are more than welcome in the comments section!
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Classic Pork Fried Rice
This is a really delicious way to use leftover roast pork. You can also use leftover cooked sausages if you have them instead of pork. Its really tasty either way!
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 TBS vegetable oil
- 2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 TBS dark soy sauce, divided
- 1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 TBS minced fresh gingerroot
- 1 bunch of scallions, trimmed, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
- 1 cup of diced leftover cooked pork, or 4 leftover cooked pork sausages, cut into chunks
- 2 small carrots, peeled and grated
- A large handful of frozen peas
- 2 cups cold cooked rice
- 2 TBS rice wine vinegar
Instructions
- Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large non-stick skillet over high heat.
- Measure out the soy sauce.
- Mix ¼ tsp of it and beat it together with the eggs.
- Add the eggs to the heated pan, swirling them to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook and stir until thoroughly cooked, yet still moist.
- Scrape out of the pan into a bowl and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan. Heat.
- Add the ginger, garlic, and white bits of the scallion to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, until quite fragrant.
- Add the pork. Cook and stir to heat through and brown a bit.
- Add the carrots, peas, and rice. Stir to combine. Add the cooked egg, remaining soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is coated with the mixture and everything is evenly distributed.
- Let cook, undisturbed, for about a minute longer until completely heated through.
- Sprinkle the green bits of scallion over top and serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
Nutrition
- Calories: 330
Marie Rayner is a retired Chef, freelance writer, recipe developer, food blogger, and Cookbook author. She makes her home in Chester, UK, where she lives with her husband, Todd, and their much beloved English Cocker, Mitzie. Her motto is “Life is far too short to eat bad food,” and her goal is to share delicious and easy recipes which anyone can enjoy and cook in the comfort of their own home.
Fabulous! Fantastic! So yummy and easy !! Thank you for the step by step !!!