Pork Fried Rice
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By Alyssa Rivers
on Apr 02, 2023, Updated Aug 04, 2023 |
This one pan Pork Fried Rice is one of my favorite dishes of all time. It’s quick, easy, super flavorful, and always satisfies a crowd. We make ours with pork tenderloin, scrambled egg, and whatever leftover rice and veggies you have in your freezer. It’s the perfect meal to make the most out of leftovers.
I love a simple rice dish. We grew up eating a lot of rice as kids so I’m often making a batch of rice for whatever reason. I love making extra because day old rice is the perfect thing to make fried rice out of! If you want more rice inspired dishes, you’ve got to try this Mexican Rice, this delicious Dirty Rice, and this yummy Red Beans and Rice.
Pork Fried Rice Recipe
The reason I love pork fried rice so much is because you get to clean out your fridge! Take a look, do you have some vegetables that are going bad? Do you have rice that is getting dry and bland? Pop all of those ingredients into a wok with some seasonings and you’ve got a refreshed meal that is waste-free and SO yummy. My kids love it when I make fried rice because it’s a meal all in one that is popping with fresh flavors.
You will need precooked rice for this recipe. I like to plan to make fried rice after I’ve made a rice-heavy meal like broccoli and rice chicken casserole. I will make extra rice and store it in the fridge for tomorrow. You can also make the rice fresh. I love cooking white rice in my instant pot for this quick and easy instant pot rice. If you love this recipe as much as I know you will, you’ll have to try this Better Than Takeout Ham Fried Rice too!
Ingredients
Check out these simple ingredients! I love a meal with just a few straightforward ingredients like the ones in this pork fried rice recipe. Other things you could absolutely add to this recipe is fresh garlic cloves, fresh ginger grated or sliced, bell peppers, oyster sauce, and mushrooms. More about that below in the tip box. You can find the measurements below in the recipe card.
- Sesame Oil: I love sesame oil, it’s nutty and super flavorful and perfect for flavoring rice.
- Pork Tenderloin: This is the key to this recipe. You cook the pork in sesame oil to make it packed with flavor.
- Onion Powder: You could add other powders too, like garlic powder!
- Kosher Salt: High quality salt makes a difference! You are adding soy sauce so make sure to not overdo the salt. This is to season the pork.
- Black Pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper helps to season the meat and adds a little heat.
- Cooked Rice: Use your leftover rice for this recipe. You need 3 cups.
- White Onion: They just add so much flavor, you can’t leave them out!
- Peas and Carrots: Frozen veggies are perfect, so really pull whatever you have out of the freezer.
- Soy Sauce: For so much flavor!
- Eggs: you will scramble them with the veggies.
- Green Onion: This is optional, but they add tons of flavor.
How to Make Pork Fried Rice
Pork fried rice is a really simple recipe to master. It might seem like more work because of all the ingredients, but it’s actually a few quick steps! It’s perfect for using up leftovers and clearing out the freezer. You cook everything in the same skillet, just in different stages. So grab your favorite skillet or wok and lets get cooking.
- Cook Pork: Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, pork, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from the wok and set aside.
- Cook Veggies: Returning to the same wok, add the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil, onion, peas, and carrots. Cook until tender.
- Cook Eggs: Slide the onion, peas, and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side of the skillet. Then using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
- Add Rice: Add the cooked rice to the veggie and egg mixture. Then pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until warmed through and combined.
- Put It All Together: Add the cooked pork back to the rice and veggie mixture and then stir to combine.
- Season and Enjoy: Season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Then garnish with chopped green onion if desired.
Tips for Making Pork Fried Rice
Pork fried rice is such a fun recipe to play with! You can go literally any direction you want with this one. Here are a few suggestions for making this recipe your own.
- More Proteins: You can add more meat to this recipe, like bacon and sausage, or you can change out the protein entirely for something like beef. One of my favorite fried rice recipes is shrimp fried rice. There are so many ways to make this recipe your own, so feel free to switch things up. You can also use precooked leftover meat, just chop it up into bite-size pieces and add it at the end. You won’t have to cook it in the wok first.
- Add More Veggies: A package of stir fry frozen veggies has definitely made an appearance in my fried rice before. Sometimes you just have to use what you’ve got! That’s the whole point of fried rice really. You’ve got to use up those leftovers and not waste anything! You can add things like broccoli, watercress, green beans, mushrooms, cauliflower, etc.
- Add Spice: I love a little spice in fried rice every once in a while. You can add red pepper flakes to kick the heat up a notch. You can also add more black pepper if you think it could use a little more heat. Ginger is another great way to get a really warm flavor into the dish that is borderline spicy.
Storing Leftovers
Pork fried rice makes the ultimate leftovers. Warming the rice up again adds extra flavor and life to the dish, and here is how to store your leftovers.
- In the Refrigerator: Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, pork, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove from the wok and set aside.
Returning to the same wok, add the remaining 2 tablespoons sesame oil, onion, peas, and carrots. Cook until tender.
Slide the onion, peas, and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side of the skillet. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
Add the cooked rice to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until warmed through and combined.
Add the cooked pork back to the rice and veggie mixture and stir to combine.
Season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Garnish with chopped green onion if desired.
Calories: 382kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 16gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 380mgPotassium: 322mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1738IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.