Ketchup Fried Rice

5 from 21 votes

Ketchup fried rice in 15 minutes with cold leftover rice. Cooking the ketchup down before the rice goes in is what makes it taste rich instead of raw.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Japanese, Korean

Servings:

Calories: 432.35kcal

Author: Jamie

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons avocado oil
½ cup chopped onions
1 medium carrot chopped
1 cup chopped broccoli
2 cloves garlic
2 cups cooked rice use cold leftover rice
2 Tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon soy sauce
½ cup frozen peas
salt & pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon chopped scallions
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

Break up any clumps in the cold rice with a fork or your fingers before you start cooking.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick or carbon steel pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and broccoli and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion edges turn translucent.
Add the ketchup, soy sauce, garlic, and a generous amount of black pepper, along with the butter if using. Stir together and cook for 1 minute; the ketchup should thicken and darken to a deeper brick color.
Add the cold rice and toss for 2 minutes, until every grain is evenly coated and the rice sizzles.
Add the frozen peas and toss for 1 minute, until warmed through and still bright green. Taste and season with salt.
Optional crispy bottom: add a bit more oil to the pan, press the rice into a flat, even layer, and leave it undisturbed until the bottom layer sets into a crust and the sizzle changes. Watch it closely.
Garnish with chopped scallions and sesame seeds and serve hot.

Notes

Cold rice. Day-old refrigerated rice is strongly preferred. Chilled grains firm up and stop sticking together, so they fry and separate instead of steaming. Freshly cooked rice will clump unless you cook it firm and spread it out to cool and dry first.

Cook the ketchup down. Do not skip step 3. Cooking the ketchup before the rice goes in drives off moisture and softens the acidity, which keeps the finished dish from going soggy.

Adding protein. Cook diced chicken, ham, bacon, shrimp, or Spam first, remove it from the pan, and return it with the peas in step 5.

Seasoning swap. Replace the soy sauce with ½ teaspoon Worcestershire for a spicier, more savory background.

Make it omurice. Beat 2 eggs with a pinch of salt, cook them in a buttered nonstick pan over low heat into a thin sheet, and drape it over the rice.

Storage. Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheating in a hot pan with a bit of oil or water is best, but microwaving also works in a pinch.

Nutrition