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Growing up we had a great little Chinese take-out restaurant near us and I would always beg for my parents to order chicken fried rice (I had not yet learned to enjoy all of the other dishes that were on offer). As I got older I branched out a lot, but there were still times when my desire for Chinese food and comfort food would align and it meant one thing: chicken fried rice. Fast-forward and I want to be able to make it myself at home. So many failed attempts. How would I get to a recipe like chicken and sausage fried rice? Soggy rice was the main problem.

Then, one beautiful Sunday morning, a fellow church member brought breakfast to our Bible study. She made the most amazing breakfast fried rice. We're talking, hard not to go back for a THIRD helping good. She used a Chinese sausage and extra eggs in her beautiful creation, but I begged her for the secret of her perfect fried rice.

Cook the rice the day before and leave it out to dry. Magic.

How to make chicken and sausage fried rice

As mentioned above, the most important step in making good fried rice at home is to cook your rice the night before and leave it out to dry. I have tried drying my rice overnight in the refrigerator, but the condensation tends to keep it pretty wet. I have also thrown my rice in the freezer when I didn't plan far enough ahead. This is a useful hack, but it still leaves the rice wetter than I would like. The best method, by far, is to cook the rice at least 12 hours in advance. When this method was first told to me, the original cook left her rice in its cooker during this time. I now spread my rice on a baking sheet to dry because I want to be as far removed from my soggy rice past as possible.

The next step, a day later, is to cook the chicken in the oven. Dice and cover the chicken with teriyaki sauce before baking it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Prepare an electric wok, stove top wok, or large pan over medium to medium/high heat with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. When the oil is hot, scramble two eggs in the oil and then set them aside for later. Add 2 more teaspoons of oil and saute a diced onion, the garlic, and ginger. Cook for about 2 minutes and then add in the frozen vegetables. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add in the smoked sausage and saute for 2 minutes to let the flavor permeate. Then add the rice, soy sauce, and fish sauce before cooking an additional 5 minutes. Throw in the chicken and scrambled eggs and cook for the final 2-3 minutes.

This makes a nice, large batch of fried rice. I like to let everyone eat their fill at dinner, pack a lunch for the next day, and then freeze the rest. This recipe freezes and reheats in the microwave or on the stove very well.

Tips and Tricks

Rice

I've hopefully made my point that cooking the rice the night before and letting it dry out is essential to the right texture. However, then there is the choice of what kind of rice to make! White and brown rice are very easy to find at the store and easy to make. Brown rice will give this a different texture, but also has more health benefits. I like to use jasmine rice for my chicken and sausage fried rice. It has a softer texture than regular white rice and is fairly easy to access at the store. If you are trying to stay away from grains, cauliflower rice would substitute here, but leaving it out to dry overnight is not recommended in that swap. Just cook the cauliflower in the microwave quickly, pat dry, and proceed with the recipe as usual.

Sesame oil

I like the flavor of sesame oil for this recipe. However, any cooking oil should work just fine. I have even seen this made with butter instead of oil and it is quite delightful. Using whatever you have on hand in this recipe works. Coconut oil might affect the flavor a little, but the aromatics and soy/fish sauce should cover it up.

Chicken and Sausage

I like teriyaki chicken and smoked sausage. You can obviously substitute whatever proteins your family prefers. If you are into tofu, can I suggest air fried tofu? It's pretty magnificent. If you are a family that enjoys sausage, I can't express enough how much you need to try smoked sausage in your fried rice! The Chinese sausage my friend included in her recipe is amazing, but I have not had luck finding it at my local grocery store (she purchased hers at Costco if you feel like hunting). So, I went with what I know, which is smoked sausage. This choice continues to be a hit with my husband and preschooler.

Oyster/Fish Sauce

I typically use fish sauce from my grocery store. It is no way deeply authentic, but it gets the job done. Either oyster or fish sauce works well to add a bold, deep, salty flavor to the rice (typically referred to as umami). If you can't find either of these at your local store, a substitute of Hoisin sauce will also work (at least according to my internet research). Rest assured that this will not leave your fried rice tasting "fishy".

The Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups rice, cooked and dried
1 lb chicken, diced
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
3 tsp sesame oil, divided
2 eggs
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger paste
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
14oz smoked sausage, diced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp oyster or fish sauce

1. Leave cooked rice out to dry overnight.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees and baked diced chicken in teriyaki sauce for 15 minutes.
3. In a wok or large pan over medium to medium/high heat, warm 1 tsp of sesame oil.
4. Scramble the eggs and set aside.
5. Add the rest of the oil and saute onion, garlic, and ginger for 2 minutes.
6. Pour in vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Put sausage into pan and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Next, add rice, and remaining sauces. Cook for 5 minutes.
9. Finally, add in cooked chicken and eggs. Saute for 2 minutes and serve.