This Teriyaki Chicken Fried Rice is an easy and delicious weeknight meal everyone will love. It's loaded with fresh veggies, chicken, and a baked runny egg on top!
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Why I Love This Recipe
I love Teriyaki Chicken Fried Rice because it combines the savory flavors of tender chicken, perfectly cooked rice, and the sweetness of teriyaki sauce for a delicious and hearty meal. The dish's blend of garlic, ginger, and soy sauce adds an extra layer of depth, making each bite a delightful experience.
This recipe is also perfect for using up leftover rice and/or chicken you may have in your fridge. You can also use store-bought teriyaki sauce instead of making your own creating an even easier recipe to follow.
Key Ingredients Needed to Make Teriyaki Chicken Fried Rice
Cooked brown or white rice: the great thing about this recipe is it uses rice that has already been cooked making it perfect for leftover rice!
Brown sugar: Adds a touch of sweetness and caramelizes when combined with the teriyaki sauce, creating a rich and savory flavor profile.
Soy sauce (low-sodium): Contributes a robust umami taste. I like to use low-sodium soy sauce in my recipes because it helps reduce overall sodium intake.
Garlic: Enhances the overall flavor profile of the dish while offering potential health benefits such as boosting the immune system, supporting heart health, and reducing inflammation.
Fresh ginger: Adds a pleasant aromatic note and a hint of spiciness while potentially providing digestive aid, anti-inflammatory properties, and antioxidants.
Ground chili paste (such as Sambal Oelek): Adds a fiery kick and depth of flavor to the dish, enhancing the overall spiciness level according to personal preference.
Chicken: You can use chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or a combination of the two for this recipe. Here is another example of using this recipe for leftovers!
Eggs: While adding eggs is optional, I highly recommend it. The richness of the egg yolks adds to the overall flavor and texture of the dish.
More Easy Dinner Recipes to Check Out
- Easy Ramen Noodle Recipe
- Easy French Onion Soup
- Instant Pot Frozen Beef Stew
- Air Fryer Chimichangas
- Chunky Chicken Tortilla Soup
How to Make Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
In a cast-iron skillet or large skillet over medium heat, add ½ cup water, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and ground chili paste and stir to combine. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and 2 tablespoon water.
Add it to the pan and cook to thicken the sauce for 2 minutes (note: the ground chili paste is optional but it adds an extra depth of flavor). I don't do really spicy foods so I only add 1 teaspoon, however, if you like an extra kick, you can add more.
If you opt to use store-bought teriyaki sauce, skip steps 2 and 3 in the recipe card. Replace with 2-3 tablespoons of bottled teriyaki sauce.
How to Make Chicken Fried Rice
- Add the diced chicken to the teriyaki saucepan and cook for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the pan (leaving as much sauce as possible in the pan) and place it in a bowl.
- Place the carrots and the whites of the onions into the pan with the sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan while cooking so the sauce doesn't stick.
- Add the cooked rice and chicken to the pan and stir so that everything is coated in sauce. Continue to stir and scrape the bottom of the pan as everything cooks for 3 more minutes.
- Make 4 wells in the rice with the back of a large spoon and crack each egg into the well. Place the entire pan in the oven for 8-9 minutes to cook the eggs.
- Remove the pan from the oven and garnish with the green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Add sriracha sauce as a garnish if desired.
How to Cook Rice in the Instant Pot
Ever since I found out I could cook rice in my Instant Pot, I will never prepare it any other way. The Instant Pot RICE button is calibrated specifically for white rice, however, you can also cook brown rice or jasmine rice using the manual pressure cook function. You can check out my Instant Pot Rice recipe for more details.
Teriyaki Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked brown or white rice
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced or grated (see notes for how I grate ginger)
- 1 teaspoon ground chili paste (I use Sambal Oelek)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cubed (3-4 medium breasts)
- 3 carrots, cut into 2-3" sticks (about 1 cup)
- 6 stalks green onion, chopped (white and green parts separated)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- sriracha sauce (optional topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- In a cast-iron skillet or large skillet over medium heat, add ½ cup water, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and ground chili paste and stir to combine.
- In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and 2 tablespoon water. Add it to the pan and cook to thicken the sauce for 2 minutes.
- Add the diced chicken and cook for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove the chicken from the pan (leaving as much sauce as possible in the pan) and place it in a bowl.
- Place the carrots and the whites of the onions into the pan with the sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan while cooking so the sauce doesn't stick.
- Add the cooked rice and chicken to the pan and stir so that everything is coated in sauce. Continue to stir and scrape the bottom of the pan as everything cooks for 3 more minutes.
- Make 4 wells in the rice with the back of a large spoon and crack each egg into the well. Place the entire pan in the oven for 8-9 minutes to cook the eggs. The yolks should still be a little jiggly with a thin white layer on top which means they will be runny when cut into.
- Remove the pan from the oven and garnish with the green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Add sriracha sauce as a garnish if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- A tip for ginger: I always have frozen ginger root in my freezer. When a recipe calls for ginger, I grate the frozen ginger. It’s so much easier than trying to mince ginger into small pieces and you don’t even need to peel it if you don’t want to!
- If you opt to use store-bought teriyaki sauce, skip steps 2 and 3 in the recipe card. Replace with 2-3 tablespoons of bottled teriyaki sauce.
Nutrition
Any nutrition calculations are only estimates using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
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Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says
What a great fried rice recipe. I love how you cooked the eggs nestled into it!
Emily says
The eggs are a game-changer in this one!
Addie says
Way better than takeout! So yummy.
Emily says
Yay, thanks, Addie!
Sue says
Loved this fried rice! And never tried adding a runny egg before but it was so delish, I'll definitely make this again!
Emily says
The egg is the ultimate, isn't it! Thanks for trying this recipe!!
Kalin Williams says
This is one of our family favorites! I enjoyed reading your take on it and to see how similar and different ours are. Can't wait to give this a try!
Emily says
Awesome! I'd love to see your recipe too and we can compare notes 😊