Din Tai Fung Chicken Fried Rice Recipe
Din Tai Fung chicken fried rice with fluffy egg-coated rice and tender chicken. Learn the restaurant technique to make it at home in about 30 minutes.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 8 oz chicken breast boneless, skinless, about 1 thick breast
- ¼ tsp coarse sea salt
- 2 small dash ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp starch
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp water
For the rice:
- 2.5 cups cooked day-old cold rice short-grain white rice, sushi rice, or jasmine rice
- 3 large eggs
- ½ tsp coarse sea salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 tsp shiitake mushroom seasoning or chicken bouillon
- ⅛ tsp ground white pepper plus a dash more for garnish
- 2 scallions diced (separate white and green parts)
- 2 tbsp oil divided (0.5 tbsp for chicken; 1.5 tbsp for rice)
Instructions
Prep:
- Chicken: Thinly slice the chicken breast at an angle by holding the knife at about a 45-degree angle. This creates thin slices instead of thick strips.
- Transfer the chicken to a large bowl and season with salt, pepper, oil, starch, baking soda, and water.
- A small amount of water helps rehydrate the chicken breast and keeps it moist, but don’t add too much. Gently massage the chicken mixture until the liquid is absorbed.
- Chilled Rice: Before cooking, use your hands to gently separate the rice grains so there are no clumps. This dish cooks quickly, so there won’t be time to break apart the rice once you start stir-frying.
- Scallions & eggs: Dice the scallions into small rounds and separate the white and green parts. Crack the eggs into a small bowl but do not whisk them.
- Seasonings: Measure out the salt, garlic powder, white pepper, and bouillon powder.
Sear chicken:
- Sear the chicken breast: In a large 12-inch wok or sauté pan, preheat over medium heat until the pan feels quite warm (but not smoking). Add ½ tbsp oil. Add the chicken and quickly spread it into a single layer.
- Sear the first side over medium to medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Flip with a spatula, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer the chicken out once cooked and set aside.
Fried rice:
- Eggs: Using the same pan, preheat over medium-high heat. When hot, add 1½ tbsp oil. Pour in the eggs — they should immediately start bubbling. Use a wooden spatula to quickly break up the eggs, about 5 seconds.
- Rice: While the eggs are still barely cooked, add the white scallion parts and the rice. Turn the heat up to high and stir-fry the rice using a scooping and tossing motion. Scoop the rice from the bottom of the pan and toss the grains upward so they mix with the eggs, about 1 minute.
- Avoid pressing down on the rice with your spatula. Work around the pan, lifting and tossing from the bottom rather than smashing the grains.
- Season fried rice: Sprinkle in the seasoning mixture and keep scooping and tossing the rice to introduce air into the hot wok.This helps moisture evaporate and keeps the rice grains crisp.
Combine:
- Continue tossing until you hear the rice grains making a gentle popping sound. This means the grains are no longer wet and the texture becomes slightly crisp, about 1–2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Add chicken & green onions: Return the chicken to the pan and add the green scallion parts. Give everything a quick toss for 20–30 seconds, then turn off the heat.
Serve:
- Plate like Din Tai Fung: To plate like Din Tai Fung, lightly pack the fried rice into a small bowl. Level the surface and gently press it down so it holds its shape. Place a plate over the bowl and carefully invert it so the bowl is upside down.Lift the bowl and you’ll have a dome-shaped fried rice, just like the restaurant version. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Types of rice to use: Din Tai Fung uses California-grown short-grain white rice. In the U.S., this type of rice is commonly labeled as sushi rice.
- Use day-old rice: Day-old chilled rice makes the best fried rice. The grains are separated and slightly dry, so they stir-fry better and don’t turn mushy or sticky.
- Chicken color and tenderness: The chicken in Din Tai Fung fried rice stays mostly white with only a light golden color. This shows the heat is controlled carefully — not overly hot — so the chicken stays tender and moist.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 326kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 176mg | Sodium: 810mg | Potassium: 297mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.5g | Vitamin A: 279IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg
