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flameDinnerChickenPorkRice & GrainsAsian-InspiredWeeknight30–60 mins
Bacon Chicken Fried Rice
Prep20 minutes
Cook30 minutes
ServesServes: 4
This is what we make on a hot night after an afternoon at the pool, when nobody wants the oven on and everyone is somehow both exhausted and starving. It uses one pan, cleans out the crisper, and hits every salty, savory, crispy note a sun-tired brain is looking for. No wok required. A big flat pan actually gives you more crispy rice. That is the best part.
Two things make or break it. The rice has to be cold and dry, so steam it early and spread it thin on a sheet pan in the fridge while you prep everything else. And you have to give the pan room. Crowding steams the food instead of searing it, so work in batches and let each thing get some color.
Method
Steps
- Steam the rice ahead of time. Spread it thin on a sheet pan and refrigerate it uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, or use day-old rice. Cold, dry grains fry. Warm fresh rice turns to mush.
- Whisk the soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl and set it by the stove.
- Set your big pan over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Scoop it out with a slotted spoon and leave the fat in the pan.
- Raise the heat to medium-high. Pat the chicken dry, salt it, and sear it hard in the bacon fat, working in two batches so it browns instead of steaming, 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Set it aside with the bacon.
- In the same pan, add the broccoli with a splash of water. Let it sizzle and char until bright green, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until softened. Move it all to the plate.
- Add a little oil if the pan looks dry, then pour in the eggs and scramble them soft. Stir in the garlic for the last 30 seconds, before it can burn.
- Add the cold rice. Press it flat across the whole pan and leave it alone for 60 to 90 seconds so it toasts, then flip and press again. Repeat once or twice until you smell it turning nutty and see crispy bits forming.
- Return the bacon, chicken, broccoli, and onion to the pan. Pour the sauce around the edges so it hits hot metal and caramelizes instead of pooling. Toss everything together for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serve in bowls topped with scallions, with sriracha and lime on the side so everyone dials in their own heat.
Good to know
Notes
- Crowding is the enemy in a flat panBatching the chicken and broccoli is the whole difference between seared and steamed. Give each thing its own space and let it sit.
- No eggs on hand?Leave them out. It is still great.
- Leftoversreheat beautifully in the same pan the next day, and the rice somehow gets crispier the second time around.
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