RecipeTin Eats: Dinner
By Nagi Maehashi
Magic baked chicken fried rice
Just put it all in a pan – even the uncooked rice – and bake!
55 mins (10 MINUTES PREP, 45 MINUTES COOK)
Not Too Tricky
serves 4 as a main
About the recipe
Sometimes after a long day, even I don’t have the energy to deal with the hassle of chopping vegetables, pulling out woks and smoking out my kitchen – let alone remembering to cook rice the day before! So I published a ‘dump and bake’ fried rice on my website – albeit with some trepidation – convinced it would be slammed as an abomination. To my total surprise, the recipe was a smash hit and had 100,000 views in 24 hours! Truth is, it’s delicious – the flavour is fantastic, the rice is fluffy and moist. The most asked question I get is, ‘How can I add chicken to this?’ Well, here’s how!
Recipe From
Ingredients
BAKED FRIED RICE
1½ cups (300g) long-grain white rice, uncooked
1½ cups (375ml) low-salt chicken stock*
1½ tbsp light soy sauce*
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine*
2 garlic cloves*, finely minced
¼ tsp white pepper
2 cups (270g) frozen diced vegetables (carrots, peas and corn mix) still frozen
¾ cup (100g) chopped bacon or ham (I use store-bought chopped bacon)
MARINATED CHICKEN
500g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 1.5 cm pieces
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine*
1 tbsp light soy sauce*
2 tsp sesame oil*
1 garlic clove*, finely minced
TO FINISH
2 eggs, scrambled (optional)
2 tsp sesame oil*
1 green onion* stem, finely sliced
Top Tip
I tried all sorts of ways to bake the egg in the oven along with the rice! But it just didn’t work, or got unnecessarily fiddly. Really, it’s just easiest to cook it on the stove. Whisk the eggs, then scramble them in a non-stick frying pan over medium–high heat with a teaspoon of oil until just cooked. Transfer to a bowl, then add to the rice as directed.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).
- Bake covered – Place all the baked fried rice ingredients, except the vegetables and bacon, in a 23 x 33 cm metal pan (not ceramic or glass). Shake to spread the rice evenly, ensuring all the rice is submerged under the stock. Sprinkle the vegetables evenly across the surface, then sprinkle the bacon on top. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Marinate chicken – Meanwhile, place the marinated chicken ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside to marinate while the rice cooks.
- Bake uncovered – Remove the foil (reserve foil), then spread the chicken in a single layer across the surface of the rice. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
- Rest and serve – Remove from the oven, cover with the reserved foil and rest for 10 minutes. Use a rubber paddle to turn the rice over and gently break it up. Add the scrambled egg (if using). Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with the green onion. Gently toss the fried rice to mix it through, then serve!
Basmati and medium-grain white rice can also be used. Not suitable for risotto rice, paella rice, brown rice or sushi rice.
You can swap the light soy sauce for all-purpose soy sauce. Do not substitute with dark soy sauce.
You can swap the Chinese cooking wine for mirin or dry sherry. If you can’t consume alcohol, omit and add ¼ cup (60ml) low-salt chicken stock and cook for 1 minute longer.
I just use a garlic crusher in this recipe for convenience.
Store in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
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