Garlic Butter Fried Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 cups day-old rice
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tbsp butter
For the Seasoning
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
Optional Garnish
- Scallions
Instructions
- Finely mince the garlic and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add the day-old rice and season with soy sauce and sugar. Toss everything together until the rice is evenly coated and heated through.
- Serve in a bowl and optionally garnish with scallions.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Table of Contents
- Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe
- Introduction
- Why You’ll Love This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe
- How To Cook This Fried Rice Recipe Properly
- Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Garlic Butter Fried Rice
- What to Serve with This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe
- How to Store and Reheat This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe
- Garlic Butter Fried Rice Substitutions
- What to Make Next
Introduction
On this website, you’ll find a lot of different fried rice recipes, and each of them are amazing, but this Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe stands out as one of my personal favorites. It’s incredibly simple, delicious, and tastes just as good as a restaurant’s! I never understood why some places can charge up to $5 for a bowl of this stuff when it’s so easy to make at home with ingredients you most likely have sitting around the house. Furthermore, this can be made in less than 15 minutes, which gives you no excuse to order it anymore!
Why You’ll Love This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe
In my opinion, this Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe is so loved because the ingredients are relatable, familiar, yet is still so flavorful. It has that signature garlic flavor and works great as both a side dish and meal. One of the biggest barriers to entry for cooking is the dishes, and this dish only requires one pan. I’ve made this dish, and I don’t’ even use a plate. I just use the pan as my plate!
How To Cook This Fried Rice Recipe Properly
This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe is the kind of dish that proves that simple ingredients can still produce great flavor if cooked correctly. This dish has everything you want in a dish. It’s umami, garlicky (duh!), and has that perfect fried rice fluffy texture. The secret to this texture is using day-old rice. While using cooked, warm rice seems logical, when added to the pan, the rice will cook even further, and the rice will turn mushy. Day old rice, however, is cold from the fridge, so it will warm up in the pan instead of cooking, and once everything is fully incorporated, you’ll have a perfectly cooked fried rice that will rival any restaurants!
Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe Ingredients
Day-old rice. The base of this dish. It’s important that your rice is fully cold before using to prevent overcooking and a subsequent mushy texture.
Garlic and butter. The flavor base of the dish and gives the recipe its signature flavor.
Seasoning (soy sauce + sugar). Adds saltiness, sweetness, and helps further emphasize the garlic and butter’s flavors.
Optional garnishes (scallions). Adds freshness and color.
How to Make Garlic Butter Fried Rice
Finely mince the garlic and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Add the day-old rice and season with soy sauce and sugar. Toss everything together until the rice is evenly coated and heated through.
Serve in a bowl and optionally garnish with scallions.
What to Serve with This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe
This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe is great on its own, but it can be further enjoyed with a few more accompaniments. A few of my favorites are:
- Shredded chicken. If you want to add some more protein, shredded chicken breast works super well with the garlic butter flavor.
- Steamed veggies. I find that steamed vegetables taste really great with the garlic flavor as well. My favorites are: broccoli, bok choy, or Chinese spinach.
- Raw cabbage. As weird as it sounds, raw cabbage leaves add some more textural contrast to the dish and that bite of freshness!
How to Store and Reheat This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe
This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe is great for storing in the fridge and for meal prep. Because the starches in the rice will naturally thicken as it cools, I highly recommend breaking apart your rice before reheating. You have a couple of options when it comes to reheating your noodles:
- Microwave. The most convenient way of reheating things. I like to microwave on the highest setting for two minutes.
- In a pan. The best way to reheat this dish. You can cook for 3 minutes over medium heat before serving again.
Garlic Butter Fried Rice Substitutions
This Garlic Butter Fried Rice Recipe is very flexible, and you can substitute some ingredients depending on what you have available. A few of my favorite substitutions are:
- Cauliflower rice. A great low carb option that works very well. I always cook the cauliflower rice until there’s no moisture in the pan left before adding the sauce ingredients.
- Honey. A great substitution for sugar.
- Oil. If you don’t have butter, you can substitute it for oil in a 1:1 ratio. It will have a less rich flavor, but will still taste delicious.
What to Make Next
Craving another easy meal? You’ll love my Thai Basil Ground Beef!
Want some noodles instead? Try my Mongolian Beef Noodles!
Feeling like switching to chicken? Cook my Sticky Sweet Chicken!
