Add One Crispy Ingredient To Change Your Fried Rice Forever

Fried rice is one of the world's most popular rice dishes. Comforting, savory, and packed with flavor, it was invented back in the Sui dynasty of China (A.D. 589–618) and quickly became a staple in many Asian cuisines. While a basic recipe is made with rice, eggs, soy sauce, oil, and simple veggies like carrots, many delicious ingredients can upgrade fried rice. For example, adding some crispy onions is one of our favorite ways to bring both texture and a rich depth of flavor to the dish.

While adding onions to fried rice is typical, they're usually included in the beginning of a recipe along with the rest of the veggies. This causes the onions to soften significantly, adding a beautiful complexity to the dish, but not much else. Crispy onions, on the other hand, are sliced onions that are fried until golden. We suggest adding them at the end of the cooking process so that they don't get soggy. They'll give your fried rice a much-needed textural element while adding a salty umami flavor that really pulls everything together.

To make crispy onions, you can make them yourself by frying them in neutral oil or using an air fryer to get the job done. Additionally, you can use store-bought fried onions for an easy and convenient way to top your fried rice.

There are a few things to keep in mind when making this dish. For example, the best rice variety for takeout-worthy fried rice is jasmine, thanks to it being able to hold its structure against high heat. Additionally, you shouldn't make it with freshly cooked rice, and should instead opt for some that's at least a day old. This will ensure that the rice is a little bit on the drier side, which helps the grains develop the crispiness and texture that everybody goes crazy over.

When choosing other ingredients, make sure you aren't picking too many wet ones to add while actually cooking the rice. Instead, cook any wetter items (like marinated chicken breast) on the side, and add them to the fried rice at the end. This will help ensure the entire dish's textural integrity is intact. When it comes to crispy onions, they tend to go with everything, so you don't have to worry too much about hunting down particular complementary veggies. You can feel free to include some of the most popular ones, like bell peppers, broccoli, peas, and zucchini, which will all be delicious with a topping of crispy onions.