What's Inside: Transform your holiday leftover ham into an easy ham fried rice with pantry ingredients and simple steps in one pan.
Leftover ham on hand? Make this homemade easy fried rice perfect for two people on busy weeknights, ready in 15 minutes. Put your leftovers from your Christmas or Easter Ham to great use! Plus, you'll find meal prep tips to make this even faster.
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Fried rice is one of the meals I make every other week at home. It’s perfect for leftovers of any kind, and it’s super simple to make using only one pot. Even though it’s not a Panamanian recipe, it’s one of my favorites to eat at different Chinese restaurants.
If you are a fried rice fan, you can try my chorizo fried rice and my squid fried rice recipes which will surely be a hit at your home!
This recipe is a winner in my book, I made it for my mom to carry for lunch, and her coworkers raved about it.
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❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy to whip up – cooked in one pan or wok!
- Great way to use leftovers -use your favorite veggies or leftover meat you have on hand. It's a clean-out fridged type of meal.
📋 Ingredients & Substitutions
To make this recipe, you’ll need the following:
- Oil: used for frying. I recommend using a mild-flavored oned like avocado, canola, or vegetable oil.
- Onion: replace with the white of the green onion or use shallot instead.
- Frozen peas and carrots: add them right in without thawing. If you don't have them, you could use canned ones, frozen peas only, or grated carrots.
- Cooked ham: this recipe is perfect for using your leftover holiday ham, but if it's not that time of year, you can buy cooked ham from the deli or use diced cooked ham steaks.
- Cooked white rice: one of the main ingredients of the dish. You can use brown rice if that is what you have on hand. Make sure either one needs to be day-old rice. Check a trick below in case you don't have any on hand. You could also use cauliflower rice as a low-carb option.
- Garlic, eggs, and green onions for garnish.
- For the fried rice seasoning:
- low-sodium soy sauce: substitute it with coconut aminos or liquid aminos. This will give it a sweeter flavor due to its flavor profile.
- oyster sauce, sesame oil.
As for utensils, you’ll need a wok or a large frying pan, a spatula, a chopping board, a small bowl, and a knife.
Wok
This is my favorite. It has a great surface area to cook with. It's perfect for cooking fried rice and stir-fries.
📝 How To Make Ham Fried Rice
This recipe takes a couple of minutes to prepare. Since it goes fast, you must have all the ingredients prepared on the counter. Let's start the step-by-step process of cooking ham fried rice:
- First, mix the sauce ingredients, low sodium soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil, in a small bowl and set aside. This will be used later to give flavor to the dish.
- Then, beat the two eggs in a small bowl and set aside as well.
- In the wok or large frying pan, heat it over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil, swirl it around the wok, and add the onions to cook until it becomes translucent. Next, add the garlic and saute for a minute or until fragrant, infusing the oil with the garlic flavor. You can add more garlic if you are a fan.
- Now add the cooked ham and continue mixing all the ingredients.
- Then add the frozen peas and carrots, mixing all the ingredients in the wok. Keep stirring the ingredients constantly.
- Now move the mixture to a side of the wok, and on the free side, add the beaten eggs, and try to spread the mixture to the walls of the wok. This will make a large fried egg. You can break it apart with your spatula when it starts to set. Mix with the other ingredients. You want larger pieces of egg still visible in the final dish.
💡 Tip: Stir frequently the ingredients. This will ensure that the rice will not steam and the grains will separate from each other.
- Add the cooked leftover rice, and stir all the ingredients together so the rice gets coated with the oil in the wok.
- Add the sauce and continue stirring for a couple of minutes until the sauce has coated all the ingredients.
- Garnish with some chopped green onion, serve hot, and enjoy!
Do you love ham? Check out this red beans and ham recipe with leftover ham.
👩🏽🍳 Meal Prep Tips
Here are some meal-prepping tips for the recipe:
- Cook a big batch of white rice in advance and freeze it in 1-2 cup portion size into a freezer bag. This will make putting dinner on the table faster. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
- When you have leftover Christmas ham or from easter, freeze it in 1-cup portions and thaw it the night before in the fridge.
- Double the recipe by doubling all the ingredients except for the cooked rice. Add 1 cup for each extra person/meal you are making.
- To half the recipe, simply half all the ingredients and follow the exact cooking directions.
❓FAQ
The main tip for avoiding fried rice from being mushy is to use high heat when cooking and stir constantly. When adding the liquid ingredients, pour it on the edges of the wok to help it evaporate quickly, and it will serve only to flavor the rice. Also, start with cold-cooked rice.
You can use freshly cooked rice to make fried rice. Here are two tips you can use:
1. Cook the rice with less water (about ¼-½ cup less) so it’s harder and easier to fry.
2. Prepare it normally, but cool it before using it. Place it on a baking sheet and distribute it around, then place it in the fridge for about 15 minutes, so the excess water evaporates from the grains and they can fry nicely.
I’m using leftover Christmas ham in this recipe, but other options are deli-cooked ham or spam, and for a more authentic flavor, you can use char siu pork.
🔖 Recipe Variations
- Want to add another protein? It's great with chicken or shrimp. Cook the protein before your start cooking the fried rice. Add about 1/2 cup of cooked protein.
- Served with a fried egg on top.
- For added texture, you can add chopped peanuts or cashews.
- Want a low-carb version, use raw cauliflower rice instead of rice and follow the same steps.
- Want it spicy? Add a pinch of pepper flakes.
- Prefer to leave out the ham, follow the same steps and make egg fried rice.
- Not a veggies fan? Omit them, but make sure to use garlic and green onions. These are key for adding flavor to the recipe.
🍽 Serving Size and Suggestions
- The recipe is intended for two people. Since it has all macros included, it can be served as a main dish. It serves 2 big portions or 3 smaller portions.
- As the main dish, you can serve it with some steamed broccoli or sauteed green beans. You can even fry up some spring rolls with it.
- If you prefer to serve it as a side dish, you can get from 4-6 portions.
- Add veggies and roasted chicken with oyster sauce or a vegetable and ham stir fry for servings as a side dish.
Storage & Reheating
- Refrigerate: store it in a glass or an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Make sure to let it cool just a bit. Don't let it out for more than 2 hours.
- Reheating: use the microwave or sautee using a wok or skillet until pipping hot, and add a small piece of butter to amplify the flavors. *Only reheat the rice once.
Other Recipes You'll Love
If you tried this easy ham fried rice recipe or any other recipe at Nashi Food, don't forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! We love knowing about your cooking experience.
Ham Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cup cooked ham, diced
- 1 cup frozen peas & carrots
- 3 scallions or green onions, used for garnish
Utensils
- Spatula
- 2 small bowls
- Chopping board
- knife
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the flavoring ingredients, low-sodium soy sauce, and sesame and set aside.1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
- Beat the eggs in the other small bowl and set aside.2 eggs
- Heat the wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add the oil and swirl it around the wok. Add the onions and fry until starting to become translucent. Next, add the garlic and fry until fragrant and start to brown.2 teaspoons oil, 1 small onion, 1 clove garlic
- Mix in the cooked ham and stir frequently. Then add in the peas and carrots and continue stirring.1 ½ cup cooked ham, 1 cup frozen peas & carrots
- Push the ingredients to the side of the wok, and spread the beaten eggs so they can fry. Once set, break it apart and mix it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Now, add the cooked rice mix once again, and add the flavorings mixture and stir frequently so the rice doesn't steam and it's coated. Turn off the heat.
- Garnish with chopped green onions, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Cook a big batch of white rice in advance and freeze it in 1-2 cup portion size into a freezer bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
- When you have leftover ham, freeze it in 1-cup portions and thaw it the night before using it in the fridge.
- Double the recipe by doubling all the ingredients except for the cooked rice. Add 1 cup for each extra person/meal you are making.
- Refrigerate: store it in a glass or an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- Reheating: use the microwave or sautee using a wok or skillet and add a small piece of butter to amplify the flavors.
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