The One-Pan 20-Minute Rice That Never Lets Me Down for Dinner
Chinese sausage is one of my favorite flavor boosters. I nestle it into rice while it’s cooking for super-aromatic steamed rice, put it on a Chinese bao board to celebrate Lunar New Year, and always, always make sure there is some in my pantry. That way, I can pull it out whenever I want to make fried rice.
Using Chinese sausage in fried rice means that there are bites of the sweet-savory sausage studded throughout, and the fat that cooks out of the sausage flavors every grain of rice. It’s also a quick and easy weeknight meal — especially when paired with some stir-fried bok choy!
Why You’ll Love It
Chinese sausage adds an aromatic sweet-savory flavor to fried rice.
It’s a great way to turn leftover rice into another meal, and only takes about 10 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to cook.
Key Ingredients in Chinese Sausage Fried Rice
Chinese sausage. This cured sweet sausage (sometimes labeled lap xuong or lap cheong) is usually made of pork and found vacuum-sealed at room temperature in Asian grocery stores. There can be many varieties, including ones made with pork liver or poultry, but I prefer the regular version for fried rice. Refrigerate the sausage once opened.
Cooked rice. You can use brown or white rice; just make sure it’s cooked and cold (leftover rice is the key to good fried rice!). Run your hands through the rice before stir-frying to loosen and get rid of any clumps.
Eggs. Softly scrambled eggs are cooked in the same pan as the fried rice.
Scallions. These cook quickly and the whites offer a lot of flavor to fried rice. The greens are used as a fresh garnish at the end.
How to Make Chinese Sausage Fried Rice
Prep all the ingredients. Because fried rice is a stir-fry that cooks very quickly over high heat, everything should be prepped and measured out before you turn on the stove, so do all your chopping and mixing first.
Make the fried rice. Stir-fry Chinese sausage and scallion whites until aromatic, then mix in the rice and cook until starting to char a bit. Stir in frozen peas and the sauce, and scramble the eggs on one side of the pan.
Finish the fried rice. With the heat off, add the scallion greens and toasted sesame oil. Give everything one last toss to break the scrambled eggs up into small pieces.
Chinese Sausage Fried Rice Recipe
Chinese sausage is the easiest way to amp up the flavors in fried rice.
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 10 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 Chinese sausages (lap cheong)
4 medium scallions
2 large eggs
1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
4 cups cold cooked brown or white rice (see Recipe Notes)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, divided
2/3 cup frozen peas (do not thaw)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Freshly ground white or black pepper
Instructions
Thinly slice 4 Chinese sausages crosswise. Thinly slice 4 medium scallions, keeping the white and light green parts separate from the dark green parts.
Place 2 large eggs and 1/8 teaspoon of the kosher salt in a small bowl, and whisk with a fork until broken up and no streaks of egg white remain. Place 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt in a second small bowl. Run your hands through 4 cups cold cooked rice to loosen the grains and break up any clumps.
Heat a large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Chinese sausage and scallion white and light green parts. Stir-fry until fragrant and the fat starts to render from the sausage, about 30 seconds.
Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and let heat for a few seconds. Add the rice and stir-fry until combined. Spread into an even layer and let cook undisturbed until starting brown on the bottom and lightly char in spots, 1 to 4 minutes.
Add 2/3 cup frozen peas and scrape in the oyster sauce mixture, and stir-fry for 1 minute to combine. Push the rice mixture to one side. Drizzle the open space with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, add the eggs, and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost set, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Remove the pan from the heat. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, sprinkle with the dark green scallion parts, and add a few grinds of white or black pepper. Toss to combine, breaking up and incorporating the eggs into the rice mixture. Taste and season with more kosher salt as needed.
Recipe Notes
Rice: Cook 1 1/3 cups raw white or brown rice to get 4 cups cooked rice.
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
