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skillet full of easy ham fried rice

My Go-To Fried Rice Recipe {Easy Ham Fried Rice}

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 2 to 3 green onions, finely chopped
  • 3 cups cooked cold rice (see note)
  • 1 to 2 cups diced leftover ham, or deli ham
  • ½ to 1 cup frozen peas
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce (see note)

Instructions 

  • Whisk together the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper. Heat the sesame and olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and let the mixture cook until set on the bottom, just a few seconds. With a rubber spatula turn the eggs slowly until mostly cooked. Scoot them to the side of the skillet.
  • If the skillet is dry, add another sploosh of oil (sesame or olive oil) to the center of the skillet. Add the garlic and the white parts of the green onions to the skillet and cook for 20-30 seconds, until sizzling (but not burning!) and the mixture smells fragrant.
  • Add the cold rice on top of the onions and garlic (keep the eggs mostly over to the side still), breaking the rice into clumps. Cook until the rice is sizzling and the clumps start to separate into smaller pieces, 3-4 minutes. Incorporate the eggs back into the rice mixture.
  • Add the chopped ham and peas and stir to combine. Add the soy sauce stir until evenly incorporated. Cook the fried rice until all the ingredients are heated through, 4-5 minutes.
  • Serve immediately with additional soy sauce, if desired, and the green parts of the onion. (If not serving with additional soy sauce, season to taste with additional salt and pepper, as needed.)

Notes

Cooking Rice: the key to really good fried rice is using cooked rice that is really cold. This keeps the fried rice from turning mushy. However, if you don't have precooked rice on hand, you can use hot rice that's just been cooked (as long as you are ok with a slightly different texture to the finished fried rice). When cooking the rice on the stove, use 1 1/2 cups water or broth for every cup of rice. In the Instant Pot, I use 1 cup rice to 1 1/4 cups liquid (4 minutes high pressure for white rice/22 minutes high pressure for brown rice).
Types of Rice: white or brown rice can be used. I usually use jasmine or basmati varieties.
Soy Sauce Substitute: a gluten-free alternative can easily be subbed. Liquid or coconut aminos or tamari would work great here. I've also subbed in or added oyster or hoisin sauce.
Other Substitutions: this recipe is easily customizable. It can be made meatless or any variety of cooked meat can be subbed in for the ham. Other vegetables can easily be added as well.