Who doesn’t like Ham Fried Rice? I think this is one of those recipes that is a favorite of children and adults alike. One of my favorite parts about going out to eat at a Chinese restaurant is the ham fried rice. I love the saltiness of the soy sauce along with the sweetness of the ham and peas. The entire combination is a bit of perfection to my taste buds. If you have never tried to make ham fried rice at home, it can be tricky to get the texture just right. I think I have figured it out and hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Use leftover rice from a previous dinner and this side dish can come together in minutes. I know this dish is generally served along side a main dish of some kind, but on a busy night, I think this recipe could pass as an entire meal–you have your starch, vegetables and meat all in one. Bonus!! (Plus..isn’t it so pretty? I love all of the colors in this recipe 😉
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 c. carrots, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 c. frozen peas
- 1 c. celery, diced
- 1/2 c. green onions
- 1 1/2 c. cooked ham, cubed (you can also use cubed chicken if you don't want to use ham)
- 4 c. white rice, cooked and cooled slightly
- 4 T. stick butter
- 1/4 c. soy sauce
- Seasonings: salt, pepper (or Montreal Steak Seasoning), garlic powder (or you can use fresh garlic cloves) and powdered ginger (about 1/2 t.)
- Cook the rice in a rice cooker and let cool for a few minutes. Set the rice aside.
- Cut all of the vegetables and ham and set aside until ready to cook/saute.
- In a large pot or skillet bring the pan to medium high heat. Add 1 T. of butter to the pan and saute the eggs that have been beaten until they are scrambled. Once the eggs are cooked through, break them up with your spoon into medium sized pieces. Remove the eggs from the pan and set aside.
- Add to the pan the remaining butter. Let the butter heat up and then add the chopped onions, celery and carrots to the pan and saute until the vegetables are tender and soft (not overly cooked though).
- To the sauted vegetables add the cubed ham, sliced green onions and frozen peas. Heat through for about 2-3 minutes. To the pan, add the cooked rice that has been slightly cooled before adding to the pan (if you use rice that is steaming hot it will cook the peas and vegetables too much and add too much moisture to the dish).
- Stir the rice into the vegetables and then add the scrambled egg back to the pan and stir. Season the rice with more salt, pepper, garlic powder and ginger powder. Add the 1/2 c. of soy sauce to the rice and stir until rice is a light brown color (don't add too much or the rice will be soggy). Combine together and serve warm with your favorite Asian or Chinese dishes. Delicious!!
Fried rice is ALWAYS better made with rice that was cooked in advance, meaning it had a stint in the fridge or even the freezer. Just cooked rice has too much misture in it and will make the final dish mushy.
Though ham is great, we often make our fried rice with cubed Spam from our food storage. My sons especially like it made with Spicy Spam, but for some reason, I have a hard time finding that particular kind. I know Spam is not all that healthy, but it has a long shelf life (I think about 3 years) so it is a great item to purchase and keep in storage when it goes on sale! I think I purchased 30 cans last time it went on sale. YOU have completely changed the way I shop!
Yummy! We often have fried rice for dinner with Potstickers, in fact it is on our menu for the week. I like how you cooked the eggs first, it makes the eggs in the rice bigger. Mine are cooked later in the process and so they get super tiny and fall apart. We use the frozen vegetable peas/carrots/corn/green beans, that is a time saver and I don't have to chop so much. Thanks for the recipe…Love your ideas! PS is couscous considered a rice?
That's an awesome rice recipe. I need to try to make this dish…it's so tempting.