I’m excited to share my Garlic Chicken Fried Rice recipe with you! If you’re like me and love the savory, buttery Japanese-style fried rice from hibachi restaurants, you’re going to love this homemade version. What makes this recipe special is its simplicity and the use of all-natural, fresh ingredients that you can tailor to your taste. It’s perfect for creating a hibachi-style meal in the comfort of your own home!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
As someone who craves simplicity and flavor, I couldn’t be more excited to share this garlic chicken fried rice recipe with you! This Japanese-inspired delight stars tender boneless, skinless chicken thighs, infused with just the right amount of garlic and butter for that unbeatable taste! Quick and easy to prepare, it makes for a delightful main course that’s sure to satisfy any craving. The flavor? Savory, buttery, and utterly irresistible, a flavor combination that is a family favorite in my house!
Whether you’re a seasoned home cook or new to the kitchen, this recipe is your ticket to a hibachi-style meal right at home paired with my Japanese Hibachi Onion Soup and green salad dressing in Japanese Ginger Salad Dressing. Just like my Japanese Beef Fried Rice and Garlic Butter Vegetable Fried Rice recipes, this fried rice uses the secret garlic butter seasoning to make a fried rice like they serve up at hibachi restaurants. So, why wait? Let’s dive into this at home hibachi adventure together!
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Chicken – boneless and skinless chicken thigh cut into cubes. Can substitute with chicken breast is preferred.
- Neutral Oil – no taste or flavor with high cooking temperature. Some choices are sunflower oil, peanut oil, sallower oil, vegetable oil, and canola oil.
- Salt – sea salt preferred.
- Black Pepper – ground.
- Rice – rice of choice.
- Butter – salted or unsalted.
- Garlic – grated using a hand grater.
- Onion – yellow or brown onion.
- Green Onion – freshly chopped green onion scallions.
- Egg – beaten
- Soy Sauce – low-sodium Soy Sauce preferred. Can also use tamari for gluten-free.
- Toasted Sesame Seeds – optional garnish.
Add In Vegetables
Incorporate Frozen Peas, Carrots, Green Beans, Chopped Broccoli, and Mushrooms into your fried rice to enhance its nutritional value and contribute to its overall taste and texture.
🍚 Rice Note
For the best results in achieving that hibachi-style texture in your fried rice, it’s best to use Leftover Cold Rice or Day-Old Cooked Cold Rice. This helps to reduce excess moisture, preventing the fried rice from becoming soggy. Freshly made steamed rice tends to retain more moisture and may result in a less desirable texture for your fried rice.
Essential Kitchen Equipment
- Wok or Deep Large Skillet
Directions
☑ Before Getting Started
To make delicious fried rice, Prep Your Ingredients in advance for efficiency and use a roomy Wok or Deep Skillet. Opt for High-Temperature Cooking Oil to achieve that signature sizzle and pop.
Step 1 In a medium sized skillet, spray cooking oil and scramble eggs until they are partially cooked; they should still be a bit runny. Set these eggs aside for now.
Step 2 Next, in a fresh skillet or wok, add cooking oil and the cubed chicken. Season it with salt and black pepper, and cook for 2-4 minutes until the chicken develops a beautiful brown and golden crust. Set the cooked chicken aside.
Step 3 Now, in another large skillet or wok, add oil and heat it up. Once it’s hot, introduce the rice and chopped onions. Cook these for 2-4 minutes until they reach your preferred level of tenderness.
🍳 Hibachi Cooking Pro Tip
Avoid Overcrowding the pan to ensure there’s enough space for all the rice to cook evenly under high heat and within the correct temperature range. If making a large serving, it’s better to Cook in Batches instead.
Step 4 Add back the cooked chicken and scrambled eggs. Drizzle in the soy sauce, grate in the garlic, add the butter, and sprinkle some salt and black pepper. Combine everything and cook for another minute before transferring it to your serving dish and topping it with chopped green onions.
🧈 Garlic Butter Recipe Note
Adjust the quantity of garlic butter in this recipe according to your taste preferences. The specified amount in the recipe serves as a baseline, but don’t hesitate to increase or decrease it to achieve the desired level of garlic butter flavor.
Recipe Variations
For a classic Japanese style chahan dish, just replace the chicken with pork in my recipe and skip the garlic butter to whip up my Japanese Pork Fried Rice!
Paring Recommendations
Consider pairing this chicken fried with a refreshing Japanese Ginger Salad, reminiscent of the hibachi salads served at your favorite Japanese steakhouse. The zesty flavors of the ginger dressing perfectly complement the savory goodness of the fried rice.
For your main protein, sizzle up some Hibachi Chicken, Hibachi Steak, Hibachi Scallops or some Hibachi Salmon cooked to juicy perfection! Together, this trio of dishes creates an authentic hibachi dining experience right in your own kitchen!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use chicken breast instead of chicken thigh?
Yes, you can substitute chicken breast if you prefer. However, chicken thigh is often used for its juicier and more flavorful results.
What's the secret to achieving perfect fried rice at home?
The key to great fried rice lies in using a high-heat cooking method, a large wok or skillet, dry rice and high-temperature cooking oil. These elements help you achieve the desired texture and flavor.
Storage Tips
To store leftover, place it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will stay fresh for 7-10 days. When you’re ready to enjoy it again, simply reheat it in the microwave.
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Watch How To Make It
Garlic Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
Chicken
- 3 oz Chicken Thigh
- 1 tbsp Neutral Oil oil with no taste
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
Fried Rice
- 2 Cup Rice rice of choice
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 Clove Garlic
- 1 tbsp Chopped Onion
- 1/2 Stalk Green Onion
- 1 Egg
- 2 tsp Soy Sauce
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tbsp Toasted Sesame Seed
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Finely dice green onions, onions, chicken (about 1/4 x 1/4 inch cubes) and set aside.
- Grate garlic with a grater and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs.
- In a small skillet, spray cooking oil, pour eggs on medium-low heat, mix as if you are scrambling eggs for 1 minute and remove from heat. Eggs should only be partially cooked (very soft). Transfer to holding bowl.
- In a new small skillet, add 1 tbsp of neutral cooking oil on medium-high heat. Once oil is up to temp, add chicken, sprinkle salt and pepper and cook for 2-4 minutes until you get a nice brown crust on the chicken. Transfer to holding bowl.
- In a large fry pan, add oil and bring up to temp. Add rice and onions, cook for 2-4 minutes or until preferred tenderness is attained.
- After 2-3 minutes, add chicken, partially cooked eggs, soy sauce, grated garlic, butter, salt and black pepper. Mix well and continue to cook for an additional 1 minute or until eggs are fully cooked.
- Lastly, mix in the sesame seeds and green onions, transfer to serving bowl. Enjoy hot!
Hi, I have a question. Your ingredients call for “1 egg egg”. Instructions say “eggs”. How many eggs do you use in this recipe? Thank you.
Hello Jennifer! Thanks for catching that. It’s just 1 egg.
Made this tonight‼️
I have been wanting to make some of your recipes. This is the first. I used several pieces of 3 types of leftover chicken. This was very good. Will be on regular rotation.
Thank you.
Hello Gina! So glad you liked the recipe and thank YOU very much for the support!
it’s such a complete “brain save” for me. I literally do nothing.The texture ends up being a tad different, but not enough that my family has ever noticed. 🙂 The kids love having it cooked in baggies too because I will keep some in the fridge and it makes them much more apt to cook up something on their own.
Glad you like it Ashley!
Here is a variation which keeps the chicken really moist. grill on pan for the time suggested, then move to a roasting pan. pour a little chicken stock over to coat and cover bottom of pan, then bake 8-10 minutes. The chicken will be very moist while still cooking thoroughly.
Sure you can do that!
I don’t see a print tab. How do I print?
On the bottom of the page, there is a recipe card in a blue box. In the blue box, click ‘print recipe’. Once the new page opens up, uncheck ‘recipe images’ and ‘instruction images’ Hit print and it’ll print w/o pictures.
Excellent! Made it for dinner tonight. Will be a mainstay. I wIsh the recipe was printable and without pictures so it can be printed on one page.
You can print without the pictures – you just need to unclick the ‘recipe images’ and ‘instructions images’.
This looks like a delicious recipe – I would really like to know the fat/carb/protein numbers.
Thanks
Hi Mark – Unfortunately, we don’t have the other nutritional facts. Since we use a lot of Asian ingredients in our recipes, the calculators used are notoriously inaccurate when tallying up those numbers.