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Pork Fried Rice, made with tender pork tenderloin, is a delicious and complete meal your family will love. See how easy it is to make in your own kitchen just like you would enjoy in a Chinese restaurant!
Why this recipe works:
Pork fried rice is a recipe I’ve been making for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I always used leftover skillet pork chops, which you can totally do. For this recipe, I used an uncooked pork tenderloin, however leftover oven baked pork tenderloin will also work.
I’ve been craving authentic pork fried rice for quite some time now, and thought pork tenderloin would be so much better than using leftover pork chops. Turns out I was right.
This recipe is outstanding because it is full of great flavor. Unlike other fried rice recipes, you’ll find that this one has a great texture too because there’s a trick with the rice.
Read on to find out how to make pork fried rice like a Chinese restaurant. YUM!
Ingredients you will need:
- Short grain white rice – I cook mine in the Instant Pot
- Butter
- Eggs
- Pork Tenderloin – this will be cut into tiny pieces prior to cooking
- onion, carrots, peas, garlic, green onions – all sliced and diced into small pieces
- Soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt and pepper
How to make it:
This recipe is cooked in phases and then all combined together at the end. Before you start making the fried rice, you will need to make the rice. For this recipe to work, the rice needs to be at room temperature or cooler, so I recommend setting it out on a baking sheet which helps it get extra sticky.
- Cook the scrambled egg until set in some butter (photo 1). Set that aside. Next cook the pork pieces in butter (photo 2). Spread it out as much as possible and stir it infrequently to give it a nice crispy brown. Set that aside.
- Next, you’ll saute the vegetables in butter (photo 3) and set them aside once they are limp and begin to brown. Finally, you’ll melt more butter in the pan and add the rice (photo 4). Let that sizzle and crisp up before you stir it.
- Finally, you can add all the cooked ingredients back into the pan (photos 5 and 6), toss everything together, and add the soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onions, and salt and pepper.
Cooking tips:
- This recipe can be made in a large fry pan, but for best results you will need a wok.
- For the best results, be sure to dice the vegetables into really small pieces. You want to be able to eat this meal with a spoon or chopsticks, and the smaller the vegetables are, the easier they will stick to the rice.
- You can easily make a vegetarian version of egg fried rice or vegetable fried rice, but I much prefer the addition of meat.
- You need to cook the egg, meat, and vegetables all separately and then combine them at the end. This will give you soft eggs as well as meat and veggies with a nice, flavorful, golden brown sear.
- Soy sauce and toasted sesame oil are to be added at the very end for flavor.
Substitutions:
- You can make slightly different versions of this recipe by swapping the pork tenderloin with boneless skinless chicken or shrimp.
- If you’re looking to make heartier version, you can easily replace the white rice with brown rice.
- I have replaced the frozen peas with fresh sugar snap peas and that was delicious.
- If you don’t have sesame seeds but you have some of that everything-but-the-bagel seasoning, try that!
- Butter can be replaced with oil, however butter is what gives you the tastiest browning on your meat, veggies and rice.
How to reheat pork fried rice:
Leftover fried rice is excellent, however you must reheat it carefully so as to not over cook the meat or the egg. There are two methods I recommend.
- First option would be the microwave. I recommend heating it on a lower power setting or, if your microwave offers, the reheat setting. Heat, uncovered, just until warm. Fried rice tastes better when it is really warm as opposed to super hot.
- My other recommendation would be to melt a bit of butter in a saute pan and reheat over medium heat, uncovered, with very little stirring. This method will heat your pork fried rice all the way through without over cooking the meat or the egg.
Other great stir fry recipes:
- Kimchi Fried Rice
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Beef and Broccoli
- Shrimp Stir Fry
- Beef Stir-Fry
- Shrimp Chow Mein
- Hunan Chicken
Recipe video below!
Did you make this recipe? Please leave me a comment below to let me know what you think!
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Equipment
Ingredients
Cook Rice Ahead of Time:
- 2 cups short grain white rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon oil optional, avocado oil recommended
Make Fried Rice:
- 5 tablespoons butter divided
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1/2 cup peas fresh or thawed frozen
- 1/4 cup green onions sliced thinly (mostly whites but some greens)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce more if preferred
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil more if preferred
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds more if preferred
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook Rice: Ahead of time, you'll want to cook your rice. Combine 2 cups short grain white rice and 2 cups water (plus the 1 tablespoon oil, if using) in Instant Pot and press the "Rice" button, or use a rice cooker or covered pot on the stove.
- Chill Rice: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and add cooked rice in a flattened layer. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of one hour or in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Having the rice chilled is a key component to really good fried rice.
- Prepare your ingredients before cooking: Cut the 1 pound pork tenderloin into very small pieces. Mince the 3 cloves garlic. Dice the 1 small onion and 2 carrots.
- Cook scrambled egg: Heat a very large pan, wok, or griddle (like a Blackstone) over medium heat. When the cooking surface is hot, melt 1 tbsp of the butter. Add the whisked 2 eggs and cook to a slightly underdone scramble. Transfer to a plate.
- Brown meat: Increase heat under pan to medium high and melt another 1 tbsp of butter. Add the pork tenderloin pieces, stirring only occasionally in order to get them to brown. Once mostly cooked, add the garlic, stir, and cook for a few more minutes. Transfer to a large plate.
- Cook Vegetables: Add another 1 tbsp of butter to the pan. Sauté the carrots, onion, and 1/2 cup peas until slightly golden brown, stirring only occasionally. When done, transfer to the plate with the meat.
- Combine: Add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter to the pan. Add the cold cooked rice and spread to an even layer. Allow to cook for a couple minutes before stirring to get the bottom layer to crisp up a bit. Then give it a good stir to heat through. Add the cooked meat and veggies back to the pan (along with any juices on the plate). Stir to combine to heat through. Add scrambled egg, 1/4 cup green onions, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper and additional soy sauce and/or sesame oil, if needed.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- This recipe can be made in a large fry pan, but for best results you will need a wok or a large griddle. If using a large frying pan or a wok, you need to cook the egg, meat, and vegetables all separately and then combine them at the end. This will give you soft eggs as well as meat and veggies with a nice, flavorful, golden brown sear. My preferred cooking method is to use the Blackstone on the deck because everything can be cooked at the same time.
- For the best results, be sure to dice the vegetables into really small pieces. You want to be able to eat this meal with a spoon or chopsticks, and the smaller the vegetables are, the easier they will stick to the rice.
- You can easily make a vegetarian version of egg fried rice or vegetable fried rice, but I much prefer the addition of meat.
- Other meat (i.e. shrimp, chicken, etc.) can be used in place of the pork tenderloin. You can also use leftover cooked meat like chicken thighs, pork chops, etc. If using pre-cooked meat, only sear long enough to brown with a bit of flavor – do not overcook.
- Soy sauce and toasted sesame oil are to be added at the very end for flavor.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally created in January 2018 and has been updated with process photos, helpful information and cooking tips. Don’t worry – I didn’t change the recipe!
One of my favorite dishes
Very thorough directions. Tastes better than takeout because I can control the sodium.
Thank you!
We love this recipe…it is the very best!!!
We love it too. Thanks for the comment!
This recipe is so, so good! My husband says it is better than takeout. If you prep all the ingredients before you start cooking it’s ready sooner than going to pickup from your favorite takeout place. We love it!
i never buy short grain rice, always long grain.
is short grain important?
I just like the texture with fried rice. Short grain is what’s used for sushi.
Krissy….Just to add to your recipe as I’ve been making Fried Rice for 30 years or more! For best results you should use cooked rice that has been cooled at room temperature….and then you put that rice in plastic containers in the fridge for at least 24hrs or even longer. You then take it out and dump it into a large stainless steel bowl and break up with your hands. You dont want ANY clumps. It yields a non-sticky gooey end product. Just my 2 cents….You could also purchase some cooked Char-Zshu pork if you live by an Asian market….just dice it up.
Mike drop.
I used two boneless pork chops. Left out the carrots, green onions, sesame seed, & sesame oil bc I didn’t have any. And added a bell pepper and frozen corn. I also used minute brown rice instead of white. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! 😋
I tried this recipe last night and loved it! Never thought of cooking things separately before when I’ve done fried rice. The only tweaks I made was I used leftover poek belly/tenderloin from the sunday roast and marinated it in soy/honey/mirin and garlic and added an extra egg. Delicious thank you 🙂
YUM! Yeah, once I started cooking things in batches, I was so much more pleased with the results. When the weather is nice, I much prefer to make this recipe on my 36″ griddle on the deck. Talk about super fast! I feel like a chef at Benihana when I do that.
I made the pork fried rice with leftover pork loin. Came out great! Thanks for sharing.
How many does this serve?
There are six dinner sized servings in this recipe. It usually feeds my family of four (two parents and two teenagers) with enough leftovers for a lunch or two.
Can this be cooked in advance and frozen?
Yes, it’s possible, but it won’t taste as good as if it’s fresh. I do enjoy reheated fried rice, though, so it’ll be fine.