Did you know that fried rice and chicken nuggets are a good combination? What is better is chicken nugget fried rice! We offer you that recipe here (insert link to the recipe or jump to recipe). It may be just another rendition of fried rice, but it beats any meat or seafood fried rice, especially in cooking time. This is super easy.
A little thing about frying rice
Did you know that fried rice is best with leftover steamed white rice? A day old, if not a little longer, the one sitting in your refrigerator waiting to be sentenced. I had seen otherwise where white rice is cooked then fried as usual. There is nothing wrong with that, however, fried rice at its best is when you use old leftover white rice. Another thing, freshly cooked rice tends to become mushy when fried.
Ingredients for cooking basic fried rice
- left-over steamed fried rice
- salt
- cooking oil
I purposely did not include measurements as there is no general rule in the amount. Your preference. and speaking of preference, black pepper is not my fancy when it comes to cooking fried rice.
Steps in cooking basic fried white rice
- Break rice using your hands (yeah, do not forget to wash your hands first. Apart from hygienic reasons, the rice becomes stale easily otherwise).
- Heat the pan over medium heat for a few minutes. Put rice in the pan and stir until a bit dry. Sprinkle with salt (I so love Kosher salt here, or the very simple and basic rock salt), and cooking oil and stir again.
- Serve in rice bowls.
That is the simplest fried rice can get. Variations then depend largely on many factors, and the rule is that “the extent of your creativity is the limit.” Using the same basic recipe above, here are a few popular variations:
Additional steps in cooking (non-basic) fried rice
- add the scrambled egg to the same recipe above.Eggfried rice.
- : fry garlic (as the first step) and follow the rest of the steps. Or simply add fried garlic to the basic fried rice at end of cooking. Garlic fried rice
- : add diced steamed mixed vegetables at the end of cooking, e.g., carrots, green beans, bell pepper, etc. Vegetable fried rice
- Shrimp fried rice.Add pre-cooked (steamed) shrimp at the end of the cooking. You can also have vegetable and shrimp fried rice.
- Chicken fried rice. Same rule as in shrimp fried rice, replacing shrimp with pieces of chicken. Chicken nugget fried rice, anyone? Same rule.
The list goes on.
This chicken nugget fried rice recipe is from my bestie, Tina. This, for me, is a real deal as both its ingredients are from leftovers. She said, “they both belong to the same species: left-over items!”
Cooking tips:
- Of course, you can make this recipe with freshly fried chicken nuggets. Drain the nuggets in a paper towel, before dicing the nuggets.
- Basmati rice does not become mushy when used in this recipe.
- Use butter, instead of cooking oil, for an extra boost in taste. Lower the heat when using butter as it easily burns. You would be able to judge by color. I trust your cooking skills.
- This is a good dinner idea. Secret: this, for Filipinos, is definitely a breakfast item :-). Well, this being a meal by itself, is good anytime. Despite that, this recipe can be served along with other dishes. One I have in mind right now is chop suey
- Sprinkle rice with water if you feel that it is becoming too dry while cooking. I keep a pot of water near the stove for this purpose.
Tina’s Fried Rice with Left-Over Chicken Nuggets
- Cuisine: Philippines
Ingredients
- Left over chicken nuggets (cut into mini bite-size pieces, as in fried chicken nuggets from your favorite burger joint)
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- salt, to taste
- Left-over steamed white rice
Instructions
- Separate the grains of cooked white rice by mashing them with a ladle or with your hands (wash your hands, please 😊) Set aside.
- Heat cooking oil in a pan and fry garlic over medium heat. Add chicken nuggets and stir once, then add white rice. Continue to stir until the rice is heated up or to your desired doneness. Sprinkle with salt.
