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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
This recipe takes the things we all love about fried rice and gives them a breakfast twist. Crispy, crunchy, and a bit salty, this breakfast rice is the perfect way to use up leftover rice.
For a breakfast that will set you up for the day ahead make sure to serve a Strawberry Banana Smoothie alongside your rice! Or for something a little more refreshing you could try a glass of Cucumber Water! If you’re looking for a more classic breakfast, check out these Classic Fluffy, Tangy Buttermilk Pancakes.
Reader Review
Fried Rice is one of my favorite things for breakfast. I started eating it in college. There was a Korean breakfast diner just off campus that made the BEST Kimchee Rice Omelet. They’d layer a big soup bowl with the omelet egg, spoon kimchee fried rice inside, fold the omelet over the top, and then invert it onto a plate. The hot and sour kimchee really kicked my synapses awake, before a mid-term.
I was a little skeptical about the oyster sauce at first, but this thing is a winner. I also used Chinese BBQ pork instead of generic diced ham. Yum.
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is a very easy recipe, both to prepare and to clean up.
- Total Time: You can have this breakfast rice ready in about 15 minutes, which makes it a perfect meal to serve when you’re in a rush.
- Variations: One of the best things about fried rice is that you can add so many different things to it. Feel free to add mushrooms, onions, peas, or any other vegetables you enjoy. Just make sure that you keep the pieces small enough to cook quickly. Try this with different proteins, or leave out the meat entirely. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds or chopped peanuts for crunch, add some hot sauce or pepper flakes for heat. Maybe even try it with kimchi, as a commentor suggested.
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need an extra large skillet or a wok, a bowl, a spoon, a cutting board, and a sharp knife.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Rice: For this recipe, you’ll need some leftover rice that has had a chance to cool completely. This is a perfect way to use up rice that has been in your fridge for a day or two, because the drier it is the easier it will be to keep it from getting mushy.
Meat: We’ve used bacon and ham for this recipe, but you can use things like turkey bacon, Spam, breakfast sausages, or non-meat alternatives. Just make sure that whatever meats you put into this rice are cooked properly.
Eggs: Beat your eggs very well for this recipe, as you’ll be scrambling them. Make sure you’ve got plenty of surface area in the hot pan to get your eggs cooked thoroughly before mixing them into the rice.
Oyster Sauce and Sesame Oil: If you haven’t tried these ingredients in your cooking before, this is a wonderful place to start. You can use less and then add more if you enjoy the taste. Sesame oil provides an intense smell and an almost nutty flavour, while oyster sauce is more of an umami element. Both delicious in their own right.
How To Make Breakfast Rice
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Fry the bacon in a large skillet until it’s as cooked as you like. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Stir until combined.
- Add in the rice and fry until it gets crispy. Mix in ham.
- Push rice to the side or make a well in the middle of it. Add eggs to empty space and fry until scrambled, then mix eggs into rice.
- Fry longer to make rice more crispy if desired. Add more seasonings if you want.
- Garnish with green onions.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Breakfast Rice
Layers of Flavour: What better way to wake up your tastebuds in the morning than with multiple textures and flavours? Fry your bacon and ham up extra crispy, throw in some crunchy slices of green onion, add some spicy peppers, drizzle on something sweet like maple syrup or honey. You can make this rice even more of a treat for your eyes too, by adding in some chopped red or yellow peppers and some canned or frozen veggies.
Boost the Nutrition: This breakfast rice already contains a lot of protein, which is wonderful for filling you up. To help it keep you satisfied for even longer, you can load it up with fiber-packed vegetables. Remember, the more colors you put in there the more vitamins and minerals you’re packing into your meal.
Storage Instructions
Since this recipe uses rice that has been cooked, cooled, and then reheated, it’s not a good idea to refrigerate (or freeze) it again.
More Delicious Breakfast and Brunch Recipes
Looking for more Breakfast and Brunch ideas?
Try some Breakfast Potatoes or a Sausage Breakfast Bake Casserole.
Whip up a Gnocchi Breakfast Skillet or Healthy Breakfast Peach Crisp.
Want something a bit sweeter? Try this Blueberries and Cream Breakfast Casserole or some Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast.
There you go, friends. A super flavourful breakfast rice that you can whip up in a matter of minutes with some leftovers. Try it out and let me know what you think.
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Breakfast Rice
Ingredients
- 2-3 slices bacon , chopped small
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2-3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce to your taste
- 2 -4 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 5 cups cooked rice, chilled completely
- 2 cups chopped ham
- 5 large eggs , beaten well
- diced green onions, to top
Instructions
- In a large, over-sized skillet, fry the bacon on medium-high heat until it reaches desired doneness. We like ours tender-crisp in rice.
- Add in the sesame oil, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. ( you can mix in more at the end, so start at 2 tbsp of each. I prefer 2 tbsp soy and 4 tbsp Oyster sauce, but feel free to mix it up to your liking!). Stir until all the sauces and bacon mix are combined.
- Add in the rice and fry until it crisps up how you like it. Add in the ham.
- Push the rice to the side or make a well. Add in the eggs and stir fry in that well until scrambled. Once done, mix the egg into the rice mixture.
- Fry the rice some more, taste and see if you want to add more soy or oyster sauce. Mine always needs more oyster sauce, it gives it the most fabulous flavor ever!
- Serve up in bowls and let the family top with green onions for a great breakfast.
Notes
- Old leftovers are the best when it comes to the rice, and I prefer Jasmine rice. You want the rice to be slightly dried out a bit to fry up properly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Michael Bennett says
Fried Rice is one of my favorite things for breakfast. I started eating it in college. There was a Korean breakfast diner just off campus that made the BEST Kimchee Rice Omelet. They’d layer a big soup bowl with the omelet egg, spoon kimchee fried rice inside, fold the omelet over the top, and then invert it onto a plate. The hot and sour kimchee really kicked my synapses awake, before a mid-term.
I was a little skeptical about the oyster sauce at first, but this thing is a winner. I also used Chinese BBQ pork instead of generic diced ham. Yum.