This chicken fried rice recipe that looks too simple to be anything special, but trust me, its flavour will surprise you! This is a standard fried rice formula in Thailand, and few things are more satisfying to me than a plate of Thai fried rice with a squeeze of lime on top.
I'm adding kale to this to make it a little healthier and make it more of a complete meal, but you don't need it. Typically in Thailand no vegetables are added, such as in this super popular crab fried rice.
Feel free to substitute the kale with any veggies you have on hand, and change the cooking time accordingly if needed. You can serve the chicken fried rice as a standalone dish, or if you like, serve it alongside one of these soups.
For a fried rice with a little more flare, check out this Indonesian fried rice, nasi goreng!
Watch The Full Video Tutorial!
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!
Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.
- Chicken or another protein of choice, bite-sized pieces
- Golden Mountain Sauce or soy sauce*
- Sugar
- Vegetable oil, as needed
- Garlic, chopped
- Onion, small diced
- Chili flakes, to taste**
- Kale, stems thinly sliced on a bias, leaves cut into ribbons (keep stems and leaves separated)
- Eggs
- Jasmine rice (about 2 ¼ cup)
- Ground white pepper
- Lime wedge
- Cilantro
* Don't know what Golden Mountain Sauce is? Click here for a video that explains all the sauces I use!
**Check out the video for how to make your own reduced-heat chili flakes!
Sauce
- Soy sauce
- Fish sauce
- Black soy sauce
- Sugar
How to Make Thai Chicken Fried Rice Recipe ข้าวผัดไก่
Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.
- Combine chicken with Golden Mountain Sauce and sugar; set aside.
- Heat a wok or a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add marinated chicken and let brown on one side. Once browned, toss the chicken and cook until done. Remove from pan and set aside.
- In the same wok, add a little more oil to coat the bottom, and heat over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and chili flakes and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add kale stems and stir for 1 minute.
- Add eggs, break the yolks, and let the egg set about half way then scramble briefly. Add rice and toss briefly, breaking up big lumps with the back of your spatula.
- Add all sauce ingredients and toss, breaking up lumps, until the rice is evenly coated in the sauce and the grains are all separated. Add more black soy sauce if you want a darker colour.
- Add kale leaves and white pepper and toss just to wilt the kale leaves. Add the chicken back in, along with the juices collected in the bowl, and toss to mix until the rice has absorbed all the chicken juices.
- Serve immediately with a lime wedge and topped with chopped cilantro.
Thai Chicken Fried Rice Recipe ข้าวผัดไก่
- Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients
- 150g chicken or another protein of choice, bite-sized pieces
- 1 tsp Golden Mountain Sauce or soy sauce*
- ½ tsp sugar
- Vegetable oil, as needed
- 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- ¼ small onion, small diced
- Chili flakes, to taste**
- 2 leaves kale, stems thinly sliced on a bias, leaves cut into ribbons (keep stems and leaves separated)
- 2 Eggs
- 350 g cooked jasmine rice (about 2 ¼ cup)
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- Lime wedge
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
* Don't know what Golden Mountain Sauce is? Click here for a video that explains all the sauces I use!
**Check out the video for how to make your own reduced-heat chili flakes!
Sauce
- 2 tsp Soy sauce
- 2 tsp Fish sauce
- ½ - 1 teaspoon black soy sauce
- 1 ½ tsp Sugar
Instructions
Combine chicken with Golden Mountain Sauce and sugar; set aside.
Heat a wok or a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add marinated chicken and let brown on one side. Once browned, toss the chicken and cook until done. Remove from pan and set aside.
In the same wok, add a little more oil to coat the bottom, and heat over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and chili flakes and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add kale stems and stir for 1 minute.
Add eggs, break the yolks, and let the egg set about half way then scramble briefly. Add rice and toss briefly, breaking up big lumps with the back of your spatula.
Add all sauce ingredients and toss, breaking up lumps, until the rice is evenly coated in the sauce and the grains are all separated. Add more black soy sauce if you want a darker colour.
Add kale leaves and white pepper and toss just to wilt the kale leaves. Add the chicken back in, along with the juices collected in the bowl, and toss to mix until the rice has absorbed all the chicken juices.
Serve immediately with a lime wedge and topped with chopped cilantro.
Waves says
Absolutely delicious - restaurant quality in little time! This was so tasty and easy to prepare. I used broccolini instead of Chinese kale due to availability, but otherwise stuck to the recipe. Thanks!
Fang says
I didn't have Kale and forgot the white pepper. Still this was probably the best fried rice I've had in many years. I was stationed in Thailand (U-Tapao Airbase) in the early 70s and this is what I remember. Fantastic!
Luke says
My wife and I loved it! I substituted the kale with spinach. Spinach shrinks a lot during cooking, so I think I could've added a lot more. I also omitted the sugar. Otherwise, I followed the recipe. The chicken and rice were quite flavorful. The lime juice, cilantro, and fish sauce really are what makes this dish "Thai". Next time I'll be sure to make a double batch.
Excellent recipe! Thanks, Pai!
Wess Wijesinghe says
Good recipe, however I feel it need a bit more fish sauce.
Cynthia Simonsen says
This was very tasty fried rice! The chicken pieces were great. Every time a piece of cilantro hit my taste buds it was delightful. Definitely will make this again!
Nikki says
Love everything Palin makes! Buy her book, I did uses it everyday!
CP says
I make this recipe at least once a week. Thank you and have a Happy New Year!
Michael says
A very easy but very delicious dish.
You get it everywhere in the streets of Thailand and it's amazing everywhere.
Here with Pai's recipe you can bring Thailand closer to you.
Luke Parlor says
Beautiful, clean, tasty fried rice. Well worth trying.