Special Fried Rice

An easy and yummy way to make your favorite take-away Chinese Special Fried Rice.

As I have mentioned before in previous posts, we are obsessed with rice in the Philippines. Why do I say so? Well, we just eat rice at least 3 times a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner. I say at least 3 times because more often than not – it may be 5 times. Yes, seriously!

Easy and yummy way to make your favorite take-away Chinese Special Fried Rice. | manilaspoon.com

The 4th time in the day when we may have rice is in the mid to late afternoon when we fancy a quick meal or snack before dinner. Rice would then be cold as it’s usually the left-over from lunch or perhaps breakfast and at this stage it is called “bahaw.”

Not many households have the luxury of having a microwave so people just eat the rice cold and by that I don’t mean chilled in the fridge but simply rice left at room temperature.

The 5th chance to eat rice is after dinner as chances are your dessert is made from rice or at least includes rice as an ingredient. This is not implausible as many of our native delicacies particularly the native sweets are also made from rice.

Easy and yummy way to make your favorite take-away Chinese Special Fried Rice. You can also tweak the flavoring to your taste. | Manilaspoon.com

As  you can imagine, with rice being served several times a day, we definitely have lots of left-overs so fried rice is often on the menu.

Since I already made the Filipino version of Fried Rice called “Sinangag.” I thought I’ll attempt this time to make the Chinese favorite Special Fried Rice or at least our spin on it.

Easy and yummy way to make your favorite take-away Chinese Special Fried Rice. You can also tweak the flavoring to your taste. | Manilaspoon.com

It’s pretty easy to make and really tasty, too. The key is to use previously cooked and chilled rice.

You cannot use freshly cooked rice as that won’t work. I particularly prefer to use Basmati rice when I make fried rice as it’s not as sticky as other rice so the grains separate easily.

But, feel free to use Jasmine rice or other types of rice, too. Provided they are chilled beforehand, they work perfectly fine, too as I have tried them previously as well.

As with any quick stir-fries, make sure that you’ve got all the ingredients ready when you make this as everything goes fast when you start cooking and there’s no time to prepare the ingredients in between cooking.

At any rate, there isn’t much to chop or prep anyway as most of the ingredients can be done ahead of time and you can also buy the ham diced already and this requires pre-cooked shrimp as well to make it even more convenient.

Certainly, let the measurement be a guide so even if you have less than 6 cups of rice, simply adjust the seasonings to taste and you will be fine! Just follow your taste buds. Hope you try this!

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Special Fried Rice

Manila Spoon
Easy and yummy way to make your favorite take-away Chinese Special Fried Rice.
4.94 from 15 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine Asian, Chinese
Servings 8 Servings

Ingredients
 

  • 3 Eggs
  • 2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
  • 1 cup cooked thick-sliced Ham, diced
  • 1 cup cooked Shrimp, shelled (you can use uncooked shrimp, too)
  • 1 cup green Peas, frozen
  • 3 tablespoons Soy Sauce, regular or gluten-free
  • 2 tablespoons Chinese Rice Wine or dry Sherry
  • 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
  • 6 cups cooked rice (left-over, if available), chilled, grains separated
  • 4 Green Onions (Scallions), finely chopped
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Lightly beat the eggs and season with a little salt. Set aside.
  • Heat the wok to medium-high and add the sesame oil then stir-fry the shrimp, peas and ham for about a minute. Pour in the soy sauce and wine. Stir quickly and then transfer everything to a bowl. Set aside
  • Heat the remaining oil in the wok then scramble the eggs gently. Add the chilled rice and stir often to ensure the grains separate. When the rice is heated sufficiently, add the chopped green onions and the shrimp, ham and peas mixture including its sauce. Mix well and season with salt or a little more soy sauce according to taste. Garnish with fresh chopped green onions, if desired. Serve immediately with your favorite Asian viand.

Notes

TIPS & TRICKS
You can use uncooked shrimp if that’s preferred. I actually recommend this. Simply cook it for 2-3 minutes until fully opaque then follow the rest of the instructions.
Buy pre-sliced ham for convenience or used any left-over ham. Make sure all the ingredients are ready and at hand before you begin cooking. If you do that. it’s all done in 10 minutes!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Easy and yummy way to make your favorite take-away Chinese Special Fried Rice. You can also tweak the flavoring to your taste. | Manilaspoon.com

Last updated on September 16th, 2023 at 09:59 pm

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47 Comments

  1. March 13, 2016 / 6:54 am

    OOH YUM! MADE rice tonight to go with meatloaf and always make extra for fried rice the next day. Momma in love (from Cebu) says to leave it out overnight which I have been doing now for about 20 years lol never have used the rice wine vinegar in it, and use a splash or sesame oil and also I use about 4 cloves of garlic (we love garlic). I will try your recipe as I am also making the pancit tomorrow. However, she remembers how her momma made it, so can be a bit critical about how it's supposed to look and taste like. But just showing it came from a native will help. Haha.

    • March 14, 2016 / 2:49 am

      Hope you like this version and that's rice wine by the way and not vinegar so hope there's no mix up. I also use a bit of Sesame oil though also a bit of the regular one so it's not too overpowering. Thanks Karen and please enjoy!

  2. March 13, 2016 / 7:52 pm

    I love how colorful this dish is. A feast for the eyes and then we eat! 🙂

  3. March 13, 2016 / 8:29 pm

    You have made it look so easy to make this recipe. It looks comforting and filling

  4. March 13, 2016 / 11:07 pm

    Looooove fried rice and this looks amazing. I must make it very soon!!

  5. March 13, 2016 / 11:07 pm

    I could eat this fried rice every single day. I am particularly weak before fried rice…of any flavor.

  6. March 14, 2016 / 2:03 pm

    I love fried rice, and yours look wonderful! I love the addition of shrimp to this. Great work!

  7. March 14, 2016 / 5:24 pm

    Oh I love this rice! I've bookmarked it to try it!

  8. March 15, 2016 / 12:54 am

    This looks like a fabulous easy dinner that my kids will love.

  9. March 18, 2016 / 10:57 am

    I love fried rice and this version with shrimps looks so delicious! Will try this sometime soon.

  10. March 29, 2016 / 6:58 pm

    Perfect anytime of the day! Love it all!! Must try! xo

  11. March 29, 2016 / 8:26 pm

    Pretty sure I could eat this any time. Love fried rice any way I can get it

  12. March 29, 2016 / 10:17 pm

    I need to start making extra rice on purpose! This looks SO yummy!

  13. March 30, 2016 / 5:51 am

    I think I could enjoy this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

  14. March 31, 2016 / 1:22 pm

    Ooh I love shrimp in my fried rice 🙂

  15. March 31, 2016 / 4:09 pm

    I love shrimp fried rice. I always get that when I get take out.
    Gotta make some take out at home now!

  16. May
    May 6, 2018 / 4:11 pm

    5 stars
    i love this

  17. Bill Gregory
    October 13, 2018 / 3:23 pm

    thanks for a great recipe

    • abigail
      Author
      October 15, 2018 / 12:03 pm

      You’re welcome and glad you liked it. Thanks!

  18. Pat Maloney
    February 26, 2019 / 8:31 pm

    I got this recipe from a gentleman from the Philippines, that I worked with….His wife made it, and he gave meher recipe……

    • abigail
      Author
      February 26, 2019 / 10:14 pm

      Wonderful! Everyone has their own version and style. Please enjoy!

  19. Debbi Plitnick
    March 5, 2019 / 10:02 am

    Hi, great recipe! want to make this but don’t eat ham. want to substitute chicken? have you done that with boneless chicken strips? what quantity would you use? also have you ever used brown rice or would that not go well? Just curious as brown basmati rice is my fave! oh, one more thing, we don’t have a wok, so I assume a frying pan would work.

    Thanks:)

    • abigail
      Author
      March 14, 2019 / 9:05 am

      You can use chicken if you like with the same amount or however much you want as it all depends on how much rice you wish to use. It’s all a matter of taste. Dishes like this don’t require exact measurements because it’s adjustable to one’s taste preference so the recipe is a guide. As long as it’s cooked cold rice you can use it but white is always better for fried rice in my experience. Yes, a large skillet should do it.

  20. Susan
    March 1, 2020 / 9:32 pm

    Wow !! This is now my new go to recipe ! It was so easy to make, tastes wonderful, and is effortless. I only used 1 T of sesame oil as it’s powerful but kept the recipe exactly the same. I used cooking Sherry as I could not find rice wine but if still tasted great. My family could not get over how good it was. We ended up going back to the store to buy more ingredients so we could make another batch ! You will not be disappointed.

    • abigail
      Author
      March 4, 2020 / 9:51 am

      Thank you! So delighted to know you enjoyed this. It’s my favorite fried rice, too!

  21. Sophie HEath
    April 27, 2020 / 3:07 pm

    5 stars
    This fried rice is so good! Super easy to make and tastes delicious!

  22. Jessica
    April 27, 2020 / 3:16 pm

    5 stars
    Rice wine was apparently what all of my fried rice recipes were previously missing. Delicious!

  23. Biana
    April 27, 2020 / 8:07 pm

    5 stars
    I love fried rice, and have made many different versions! Yours looks great, love the combination of ham and shrimp. Will definitely try this next.

  24. Irina
    April 27, 2020 / 11:42 pm

    5 stars
    Our family loves rice, and any new variations of how to make rice are welcomed. I made it for lunch today. It was DELICIOUS!

  25. Laura | Wandercooks
    April 28, 2020 / 2:51 am

    5 stars
    This was so flavorsome! Best fried rice I’ve made – thanks for the recipe!

  26. Dannii
    April 28, 2020 / 3:41 am

    5 stars
    This rice has everything you could need. It looks delicious.

  27. Chris Collins
    April 28, 2020 / 4:17 am

    5 stars
    I love special fried rice so much and your version looks absolutely delicious!!

  28. Claudia Lamascolo
    March 25, 2021 / 12:45 pm

    5 stars
    Love the flavors in this special fried rice I am making this I guess this weekend is it! Thanks for sharing looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

  29. Cate
    March 25, 2021 / 1:40 pm

    LOVE how simple and tasty this recipe looks! I’ve never tried shrimp in fried rice but it sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing!

  30. Beth
    March 25, 2021 / 1:45 pm

    5 stars
    Oh wow! This special fried rice looks so delicious and very tasty! My family is going to love this recipe! So excited to make this soon!

  31. Lindsay
    March 25, 2021 / 1:51 pm

    5 stars
    Fried rice is one of our favorite things to take out! This recipe makes it so simple to make at home though.

  32. Mahy
    March 25, 2021 / 3:46 pm

    5 stars
    I haven’t made a rice dish in such a long time! This recipe is perfect to get back to the rice game lol

  33. Sarah Stewart
    October 21, 2023 / 1:30 am

    5 stars
    I made this for yesterday’s dinner, it was delicious, thank you, I’d always kind of winged it with fried rice before but it never had the right flavour. This time following your recipe it was perfect and better than take away

    • abigail
      Author
      October 21, 2023 / 7:24 pm

      Yay! I am so glad to know this!!! Thank you so much for letting us know.

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