You know what I realized recently? I have a lot of recipes I cook on a regular basis at home that aren’t even on this blog. How is that possible! Where did I go wrong! Don’t you worry your little heart out—I will be sharing them soon enough. This weeknight pork fried rice is a classic recipe I love to make at home, and an easy way to use up that leftover white rice from your Chinese takeout over the weekend.
Now before we dive into the details, I want to be very clear about something: In no way, shape, or form am I claiming that my pork fried rice recipe is similar to a Chinese restaurant’s. This is the version I like to make at home, influenced heavily by the fried rice I love to order. But it is only a mere attempt at the real thing. I do not want to misrepresent by saying this fried rice is “just like what you would order” because it clearly isn’t. This is just a recipe I love, and I still fully urge you to support your local Chinese restaurants and order takeout. Here’s more of my heart on this matter.
Again, the best rice to use in this pork fried rice is a pint of leftover white rice you have from your Chinese takeout (so order!!). While you can make white rice at home, I find the white rice from a local Chinese food joint to be the best sticky rice to use—it fries up so nicely! So save the white rice, and in a few days make your own pork fried rice with it. Sounds like a win, win scenario to me.
To make this pork fried rice recipe, I encourage you to try some kind of teriyaki or sweet and sour sauce you can find at the store. For the longest time, I’ve used a generic teriyaki sauce I can find in the store—kind of like this brand. But after I was introduced by the This Little Goat sauce collection—particularly the Korea sauce—I was hooked on using it in my fried rice.
And here’s something fun to know about this pork fried rice: It also works well with chicken. More often than not, I’ll actually make this recipe with chicken I have because it’s easier and cheaper to snag during the week. But if I have a few boneless pork chops in my freezer, the pork fried rice is a nice staple weeknight dinner to rely on. And if you’re wondering…the rangoons in these photos were from Target’s Good & Gather collection.
Stay tuned for more of my steady weeknight dinner meals! And don’t forget, I have a free meal plan for you—with recipes and grocery lists to pair. Sign up here and get it now.
Pork Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 4 oz. boneless pork chops
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce divided in 1/4 cups
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter divided
- 1 red bell pepper small, thin slices
- 1 cup green beans boiled and chopped small
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1/2 white onion diced small
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 egg whisked
Instructions
- Marinated the pork chops in 1/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce for 15 minutes in a bowl. Prep the vegetables while you wait.
- Heat 1/2 tbsp of the butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place the pork chops in the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes on each side—10 minutes total.
- Remove the pork chops to a cutting board.
- Heat up a large wok, or reuse the cast-iron skillet. Melt the other 1 tablespoon of butter in it over medium heat.
- Add the bell pepper, chopped green beans, green onions, white onion, and minced garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
- While the vegetables are cooking, dice the pork chops into small bite-sized pieces.
- Add in the cooked white rice, soy sauce, and the other 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce into the wok. Mix until everything is combined.
- Let the rice "fry" a little bit on the bottom—it should get crispy and sticky. Leave it for 1 minute, then stir fry. Do this about 3 times, or until the fried rice is to your liking.
- Create a small hole in the center of the wok or skillet. Pour in the whisked egg.
- Cook the egg in the hole until scrambled, then mix into the fried rice.
- Add in the diced pork chop bits. Stir to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
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