Skinnymixer’s Special Fried features in the Takeaway section of the cookbook SkinnyAsia 2.

We couldn’t have Chinese Honey Chicken in the SkinnyAsia 2 cookbook without a Special Fried Rice to go with it!

This one has prawns, bacon, chicken, egg, vegetables and optional Chinese sausage, all tossed through cold jasmine rice with a savoury soy, oyster sauce and sesame dressing.

This is a proper fried rice, cooked in a Wok or frypan – not like our Chicken Not Fried Rice recipe that cooks completely in the Thermomix.

Each component is cooked separately before the cold rice hits a screaming hot wok and starts to toast. Everything goes back in at the end with the sauce for proper wok-fried flavour without overcooking your prawns, chicken or vegetables.

Methods: Thermo cooker + Conventional preparation, wok cooking
Best Rice: Cooked and refrigerated overnight

What’s in Special Fried Rice?

Prawns or baby shrimp
Bacon
Chicken thigh
Egg
Peas, corn and carrot
Spring onion
Garlic
Optional Chinese sausage – often in the supermarket as ‘Chinese Style Pork Sausage’ (Lap Cheong) it has a sweet and savory flavour. You can get this at Coles or Woolworths.
soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos
oyster sauce or make your own Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
Chinese cooking wine (or Dry Sherry for Gluten-free) See our Tips for Cooking Gluten-Free Asian Food.
sesame oil
sugar
white pepper

Chinese Cooking Wine can be found at your local supermarket in the Asian section

The Number One Secret: Use Cold Rice

Don’t use freshly cooked, steaming-hot rice for fried rice.

Freshly cooked rice still contains lots of moisture and the grains are soft and sticky.

Put that straight into a wok with all your other ingredients and you’re much more likely to end up with soft, clumpy or soggy fried rice.

For this recipe, spread your cooked rice over a large tray so the steam can escape, then refrigerate it for at least 4 hours.

Even better?

Cook the rice the day before and refrigerate it overnight.

The grains become firmer and drier, making them much easier to separate and toast in the wok.

Can I Use Leftover Rice?

Absolutely.

In fact, properly refrigerated leftover rice is perfect for fried rice.

If you know you’re making Special Fried Rice tomorrow, cook extra jasmine rice with tonight’s dinner and you’ll already have one of the main steps done.

For food safety, cool cooked rice promptly, refrigerate it and keep it properly chilled until you’re ready to cook.

Before it goes into your hot wok, use clean hands or a spoon to gently separate any big clumps.

Have EVERYTHING Ready Before You Start

Fried rice moves quickly once the wok is hot.

That’s why the recipe specifically tells you to prepare all your ingredients before you start cooking.

Have your:

Cold rice
Whisked eggs
Prawns
Bacon
Chicken
Chinese sausage – gluten-free if required
Vegetables
Garlic
Spring onion
Prepared sauce

ready beside the stove.

Once you start cooking, you don’t want to stop and chop something while your rice sits in the wok.

What is Chinese Sausage?

Chinese sausage, often called lap cheong, is a firm, cured sausage with a distinctive sweet and savoury flavour.

You’ll usually find it at Asian or Chinese grocers, and some larger supermarkets may also stock it in their international section.

For this recipe, slice it thinly before cooking.

It’s quite rich and strongly flavoured, so one sausage goes a long way alongside the bacon, chicken and prawns.

We’ve made it optional because the fried rice is still packed with flavour without it.

If you’re making the Low FODMAP variation, make sure you check the ingredients in your particular Chinese sausage.

You can find Chinese Sausage at Coles, Woolworths in the Asian food section.

Frozen Vegetables Work Brilliantly Here

No need to make Special Fried Rice unnecessarily complicated.

A bag of frozen peas, corn and carrot is perfect.

Let the vegetables come to room temperature before cooking so you’re not adding a large amount of icy-cold food to your hot wok.

Then stir-fry them separately like the other ingredients.

Can I Make Special Fried Rice Ahead?

The rice should absolutely be made ahead.

Cook and refrigerate it at least 4 hours before you need it, or preferably the day before.

You can also chop and prepare your meat, vegetables and sauce ahead of time so everything is ready to hit the wok.

For the best fried rice texture, though, we recommend doing the actual stir-frying close to serving.

Dietary & Recipe Variations

SEAFOOD FREE
Replace the prawns with additional chicken and use Vegetarian Oyster Sauce.

EGG FREE
Omit the eggs and double the chicken.

GLUTEN FREE
Use tamari or another gluten-free soy sauce, gluten-free oyster sauce and dry sherry in place of Chinese cooking wine. Check your Chinese sausage if using.

LOW CARB
Replace the jasmine rice with cauliflower rice, halve the sauce and use the compliant vegetables, sweetener and Vegetarian Oyster Sauce specified in the book.

SUPER SKINNY
Use shortcut bacon and chicken breast and leave out the Chinese sausage.

PALEO
Use cauliflower rice, omit the Chinese cooking wine and Chinese sausage and follow the compliant sauce, sweetener and vegetable substitutions in SkinnyAsia 2.

VEGETARIAN
Double the eggs and replace the meat and prawns with extra-firm tofu and oyster mushrooms. Use Vegetarian Oyster Sauce.

LOW FODMAP
Omit the garlic and use garlic-infused olive oil. Choose compliant vegetables, sauces and Chinese sausage if using.

HALVED / DOUBLED
The recipe can be halved in the Thermo cooker while keeping the rice cooking water the same. For a double batch, use the conventional method so you have enough room to cook everything properly.

What to Serve with Special Fried Rice

There’s enough chicken, prawns, bacon, egg and vegetables in this recipe for Special Fried Rice to be a meal in its own right.

But if you’re planning a Chinese fakeaway feast, try serving it with these dishes from SkinnyAsia 2:

Chinese Honey Chicken
Beef & Black Bean Stir Fry
Egg Foo Young
Chinese BBQ Plum Wings

Or put a few dishes in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves.

Get the Recipe

The complete Special Fried Rice recipe, including Thermo cooker and conventional rice preparation, wok method, Special Fried Rice sauce and all dietary variations, is available in SkinnyAsia 2.

From the Testing Team

Nicole K. – Whole family loved it. Said it was as good as our fave Chinese takeaway. Felt it needed a bit more Chinese sausage so when I make it again I’d probably just add more sausage and leave out the bacon.
Angie G. – My favorite fried rice for dinner tonight yumm This time I subbed chicken with chorizo and it turned our great, but bit on a hot side though. Thi chorizo was much spicier to the one I usually buy lol. Served the fried rice with crumbed chicken cutlets topped with heaps of Chinese Honey (Chicken) Sauce that I made the other day, soo good, love that sauce
Renee H. – I fed it to my kids and they have always been obsessed with my own version of fried rice. This was bloody delicious. Everyone loved it though. 10/10. Oh also I bought Chinese sausage and I couldn’t add it as a few of us didn’t like the taste. I think maybe it was the sweetness? I had purchased chorizo in case I couldn’t get it and we liked it with chorizo instead.
Mel C. – Luckily I had some of this before I went to work, because they complained there wasn’t enough! Safe to say, it’s a hit. Can’t double it, because it won’t fit in the wok
Amanda E. – This is amazing! Love all the proteins! Needs more Chinese sausage, 1 isn’t enough. I did get sidetracked and “caramelised” it a little too much, but still good I used precooked prawns. They were perfect!! Even better, it makes so much The kids are happy they have lunch tomorrow too!!
Julie H. – Oh wow how bloody delicious is this. Can see why everything cooked separately it just makes such a difference. This was dinner tonight
Tanya H. – Non pork version using chicken breast (480g) and rogue using basmati. All three teens loved it! I loved the method of cooking all the elements separately. Came together so well and tasted amazing!
Jess A. – Yummmmm!! Best homemade fried rice I’ve ever made
Shauna D. – Absolutely bloody amazing! My fried rice/nasi goreng loving hubby absolutely loved it and said it was way up there as his favourite meal of creamy Tuscan prawn linguine! Coming from fussy him, it’s a high compliment. Absolutely delicious
Veronica B. – Wow absolutely delicious loved this Fried Rice i substitute the Chinese Sausage for a glutenfree option I played around with – 200 g Woolworths Diced Chorizo, 2 tsp gluten-free tamari, 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil, ½ tsp Chinese five spice, 1 tbsp water

Method: Place all ingredients into the Thermomix bowl. Cook 8 min / 120°C / Reverse / Soft speed. Let the mixture stand in the bowl for 5 minutes so the flavours soak into the chorizo. Yum yum yum

Some other Thermomix Chinese Takeaway recipes you might love:

Want to know more about SkinnyAsia 2 cookbook?

SkinnyAsia 2 is a collection of Thermomix & Conventional cooking recipes. All of our cookbooks have a strong focus on Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Egg Free, Low Carb, Paleo, Vegetarian and Low FODMAP.

We cover a wide range of dietary variations in the cookbook – LC: Low Carb, GF: Gluten-free, DF: Dairy-free, LM: Low Fodmap, SS: Super Skinny, V: Vegetarian

FAQs

Why does my rice need to be cold before making fried rice?

Cold, refrigerated rice is firmer, drier and easier to separate than freshly cooked rice. That allows the individual grains to toast in the hot wok rather than becoming soft and clumpy. Refrigerate the cooked rice for at least 4 hours, but overnight is even better.

Do I need Chinese sausage for Special Fried Rice?

No. Chinese sausage is completely optional. It adds a distinctive sweet, savoury and slightly rich flavour, but there’s already plenty going on with the bacon, chicken, prawns and egg. If you can find Chinese sausage, it’s a delicious addition, but you can leave it out without needing to replace it.

SkinnyAsia2: Special Fried Rice