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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!

Pork Fried Rice in bowl with chop sticks
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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 pork chops, which you can totally do. For this recipe, I used a pork tenderloin.

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
chopped onion, carrots, garlic on black cutting board with knife and frozen peas

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
Step by step photos of how to make pork fried rice

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 healthier 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.
Authentic pork fried rice recipe with egg and vegetables

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
How to make pork fried rice with egg

Other great stir fry recipes:

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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Pork Fried Rice

Prep20 minutes
Cook30 minutes
Total50 minutes
Servings 6 servings
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 pork fried rice just like a Chinese restaurant in your own kitchen!

Video

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 4 cups short grain white rice cooked and chilled
  • 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 frozen peas
  • 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
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Instructions 

  • Ahead of time, you’ll want to cook your rice. Rice typically triples in size when it cooks, so you’ll need at least 1 1/3 cups uncooked rice to start with. I typically make more just to have it on hand for the kids. You want the cooked rice to be cold when you make the pork fried rice, so if you need to chill it quickly, you can spread a thin layer on a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator or even freezer.
  • Cut the pork tenderloin into very small pieces. This is easier if the meat is partially frozen and you use a serrated edge knife.
  • In a very large pan over medium heat, melt 1 T of the butter. Add the whisked egg and cook to a slightly underdone scramble. Transfer to a plate.
  • Increase heat under pan to medium high and melt another 1 T of butter. Add the 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.
  • Add another 1 T of butter to the pan. Saute the carrots, onion, and peas until slightly golden brown, stirring only occasionally. When done, transfer to the plate with the meat.
  • Add the remaining 2 T of butter to the pan. Add the cold 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 meat and veggies back to the pan (along with any juices on the plate). Stir to combine to heat through. Add scrambled egg, green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper and additional soy sauce and/or sesame oil, if needed.
  • Serve warm.

Notes

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 375kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 129mg, Sodium: 664mg, Potassium: 512mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 3902IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this? Leave me a comment below

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!

Hi! I’m Krissy.

I love to create the BEST versions of your favorite recipes. If you love to cook, love to eat, or just have a deep appreciation for good food, you're in the right place! Stick around... I have hundreds of recipes for you to make.

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84 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Enjoyed the receipe How hot is your stove settings” What fuel type Do you cook all food w/ same heat I use the batch cook method also.I found a dab of anchovy paste to add a nice dimension Start w/ a bit of bacon
    How long did your rice cook in the fried rice phase?

    Thx Bob

    1. Hi Bob. I usually just throw the rice and water in the Instant Pot and cook on the rice setting. I have an induction cook top.

  2. This is THE BEST fried rice I’ve ever had. So good that I’m leaving my first ever food review, anywhere. I added some chicken thigh meat, Napa cabbage, and edamame but otherwise no adjustments. Great work!

  3. 5 stars
    First time ever making pork fried rice (and I’m in my 60’s lol). I already had some veggies and rice left over so this was quick…just had to slice and cook the pork. Yum!! I threw in little ginger w/the veggies at the end. Will make it again and Pin it as well. Thanks so much for sharing!

  4. 5 stars
    Our family loved this recipe! I was a little skeptical that it could taste authentic. It passed the family taste test and we have some picky testers. A new favorite

  5. This turned out amazing! I just have one question, how big is one serving? I’m watching my calories so I’ve been measuring all my food. Thank you for this recipe!

    1. Hi Kayla, The serving size is somewhere between 1-1.5 cups. The recipe calls for 4 cups cooked rice, 1 pound of pork tenderloin, along with all the other goodies, and I based the nutritional info off of 6 servings. Hope that helps!

  6. 5 stars
    This fried rice is easy and amazing! I call it “left over fried rice”!!! I used left over roast tenderloin, ham, chicken and even a piece of stake! Chopped it up and added a little chopped garlic after heated and followed the rest of the recipe, my family now loves “leftover dinner night”!!!

    1. That’s how we used to do it when I was growing up too! It was the only thing we wanted to make with leftover pork chops. -Krissy

  7. 5 stars
    I’ve been trying for a long time to make homemade fried rice as good as the carry out places. This recipe beats them all! Made it exactly like the recipe (with maybe a little more butter), and it turned out fantastic! Thanks

  8. 5 stars
    Great recipe. I have tried several, but this one is my favorite. Thank you. I followed the directions and it turned out nicely.

    1. Good receipe. Just a little bland. I added some actual fried rice seasoning the second time I made it and that did the trick. thanks