14 Expert-Approved Ingredients That Upgrade Fried Rice

Fried rice is a versatile dish beloved by many. An easy crowd pleaser, and a great way to utilize leftovers, this dish can easily be elevated from average to incredible with just a few simple ingredients. I've worked in kitchens for almost a decade and learned from the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean chefs I've worked under that, oftentimes, the key to making a simple dish incredible is in the seasoning. Using a few simple (but delicious) ingredients that bring a lot of flavor to the table will leave your dinner guests begging for your recipe.

Before you jump to throwing ingredients in a pan, make sure you understand the basics to cooking fried rice. It's not a complicated dish, but it requires a few simple techniques to make sure each bite has the consistency you're looking for.

Finally, fried rice is the perfect dish to utilize leftovers. Save that steamed rice until it's dry enough for the kernels to separate, and combine it with whatever shredded meat scraps or leftover vegetables you had from the night before. These basic leftovers will be given a second life when combined with any of the flavor-packed ingredients from this list.

Chinese-style black vinegars are fermented and aged for months at a time, resulting in a rich umami flavor along with the typical zing you'd expect of vinegar. From the first time you open the bottle, you'll notice an earthy yet acidic aroma, unlike any other condiment. This particular type of black vinegar, Chinkiang, is made from glutinous rice, and its malty flavor complements a sauce for rice dishes wonderfully.

There are many types of black vinegar available, all of which are fermented for varying lengths of time and use slightly different ingredients. Experimenting with different kinds can be quite an adventure, as the flavors can vary quite a bit from rich to overtly pungent. You can't go wrong with the yellow-labeled Chinkiang, which is one of the most widely available and commonly used black vinegar in restaurants, but if you find other brands, enjoy the surprise of trying new flavors.

While bacon works in a pinch, uncured, unsmoked pork belly can be a much more enticing ingredient that adds a nice bite to your fried rice. The perk to using raw pork belly rather than bacon is that you can cut it into bite-sized chunks rather than being stuck with small crumbles of thinly sliced bacon. The skin will get delightfully crispy when you sear it in a hot pan while retaining the enjoyable chew of fatty meat.

These juicy chunks of pork belly are sure to upgrade your fried rice into something bowl-licking good. Pair it with a well-rounded sauce and your choice of fresh ingredients. Carrots and peas will do in a pinch, but pork belly is a versatile protein that can pair with just about any vegetable well. Think sprigs of broccolini, green onion, roasted peppers, mushrooms, or bok choy. This is a great ingredient to get creative with and have fun with your flavors.

If you're not much of a meat eater, don't worry — you can still make a memorable fried rice with vegetarian ingredients. Mushrooms are a great natural alternative to meat. Besides their umami flavor and ability to take a great sear, they actually contain all nine amino acids and a branched-chain makeup that is incredibly similar to animal proteins. For those who don't consume meat, mushrooms are the perfect alternative to make sure you're getting enough protein.

When using them in fried rice, just about any mushroom will do. Cut them into your desired size (or just tear them if they're maitakes or chanterelles) and get a nice sear on them before adding any other ingredients. You can accomplish a beautiful golden brown Maillard reaction by making sure your pan is super hot with a good amount of oil before adding your mushrooms and not overcrowding the pan. This will allow all the moisture to evaporate evenly, creating a nice caramel color.

Pair them with complementary flavors, such as a sauce made of sesame oil, black vinegar, dark soy sauce, chili crisp, and brown sugar, or opt for some roasted peanuts and chili oil.

If you've ever had a dumpling sauce or tasted some chicken teriyaki that blew your mind with flavor, the secret may be in the soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is different from a typical light soy sauce in that it's aged longer, giving it a darker color, incredible depth of flavor, and a more viscous consistency.

Not all soy sauces are made equal — while many countries have a version of dark soy sauce, the Chinese kind is ideal for bringing a huge punch of flavor to this kind of fried rice. There are a lot of brands on the market you can play around with, although we recommend Pearl River Bridge Superior Dark Soy Sauce as the one that consistently brings the best quality.

Dark soy sauce has such a rich, umami-packed, almost sweet flavor it will totally overpower a simple shrimp fried rice. If you want to use this soy sauce to jazz up your fried rice, make sure you pair it with ingredients that stack up to its flavor (like pork belly or mushrooms). Also, a little bit goes a long way. Start with just a splash and give your rice a good stir and a taste before you add any more.

Sesame oil has an incredible nutty taste that works well with many ingredients. Its unmistakable aroma fills the air when you add it to a hot pan, and it also pairs perfectly with dark soy sauce or black vinegar to create a well-rounded sauce (try adding a bit of sugar, too).

Sesame oil, when it's refined, has about the same smoke point as olive oil, and when it's toasted, it has an even lower smoke point. A low smoke point indicates you wouldn't want to use it on too high of heat while you cook your fried rice, or it might burn and lose its delicate aroma. A touch of sesame oil to finish the rice will preserve its inviting flavor while adding a bit of creamy mouthfeel to your dish. If you can't get enough of that buttery flavor, try garnishing your fried rice with toasted sesame seeds for a bit of added crunch.

A can of Spam used to be a budget buy, but these days, it's really more of a luxury. Still, a single can could stretch over a few meals, so if you're looking for ways to dress it up into delicious dishes, fried rice is a great option.

Spam fried rice likely originated in Hawaii, where many Spam dishes (like Spam musubi) were born. But Spam has also become super popular in South Korea, where some American-made products like individually wrapped slices of super-orange American cheese have become commonplace in the Korean diet.

Spam (when cooked properly) is rich and fatty and takes on a delicious dark sear. It's easy to make it the star of your fried rice, where a few simple vegetables and some scrambled eggs can play supporting roles. Spam is pretty salty on its own, so if you use it, keep in mind it won't take much soy sauce or added salt to round out this dish.

Gochujang is a chili paste that's an absolute staple of Korean cooking. If you ever fly a Korean airline, you're likely to get a toothpaste-esque tube of it along with your in-flight meal, as no Korean meal is complete without gochujang. Fried rice (or bokkeumbap in Korean) is no different. Gochujang will add a pop of color along with a consistent depth of spice and is commonly used in Korean fried rice dishes.

If you're using gochujang in your fried rice, you might consider using other Korean techniques to differentiate it from typical Chinese fried rice. For example, Korean fried rice is likely to use short grain rice rather than long grain. Short grain rice naturally has higher starch content, so the grains tend to stick together more than you would see in Chinese fried rice. Also, the classic topping to Korean fried rice is a beautiful sunny-side-up egg rather than a scramble.

Gochujang will pair well with just about any ingredient your heart desires (as long as you can handle the heat), so add a dollop to Spam, kimchi, pork belly, or vegetarian fried rice, and enjoy.

Kimchi is a type of fermented vegetable made in Korea for thousands of years. These days, it's most often made with napa cabbage or radishes, both of which you can easily make at home or buy from most grocery stores. It's sometimes tart from fermentation and, more often than not, loaded with spice from Korean chili flake. Typically used in Korean-style fried rice, kimchi brings enough flavor to be the star ingredient in vegetarian fried rice but is also versatile enough to be used in combination with other ingredients.

The tang kimchi from fermentation works perfectly to cut through richer ingredients like fried Spam, pork belly, and rich sausages. It would also go great with mushrooms in vegetarian fried rice. Use it in combination with eggs, meats, or other vegetables, and if you really love some kick, combine it with a scoop of gochujang.

Garlic is a beautiful, versatile ingredient that, while not native to the Americas, has been used in Central Asia for close to five thousand years. If you've ever roasted garlic, then you know that in a creamy, browned state, garlic has a surprising depth of flavor and even sweetness to it. Black garlic is roasted garlic taken to a whole new level. It adds a new level of umami depth and intrigue to many dishes and will take your fried rice from 0-100 in no time.

Black garlic is made by fermenting garlic heads in a warm (but not hot) environment for several weeks. It goes from firm, white cloves to creamy and pitch black in just a matter of time. The resulting black garlic is soft and spreadable and can pair wonderfully with a sauce of dark soy and chili crisp or be roughly chopped and tossed in with your rice to create little flavor pockets in every bite of your fried rice.

Sausage is typically made with a certain amount of fat to keep it flavorful and packed with seasonings that will elevate your leftover-ingredient fried rice into something mouthwatering.

The variety of sausages to choose from is practically endless, but if you're looking for a place to start, you can't go wrong with any East or South East Asian varieties, which are often used in fried rice variations in South Korea, China, and Thailand. Chinese lap cheong sausage has a delectable sweetness to it, which will shine in fried rice, whether combined with eggs, mushrooms, or green vegetables. Sai uoa sausage from Laos is absolutely loaded with spices like lemongrass, chili, and ginger and will pop in fried rice. You might even consider using a dash of coconut milk or shredded coconut to complement the tropical flavors.

When experimenting with different sausages as main components to your fried rice, just make sure to taste them first to understand what other ingredients will best complement its particular flavor. That being said, you can never go wrong pairing sausage with scrambled egg and green onion for a delicious breakfast-style fried rice, or add a runny fried egg to top your dish in true Korean fashion.

Have you ever eaten at a Sichuanese restaurant and been shocked to find your tongue tingling halfway through your meal? While those new to the spice might worry they're having an allergic reaction, those familiar with the cuisine utilize the numbing capabilities of Szechuan peppercorns to be able to tolerate even more spice in different forms.

Referred to as mala spice in Sichuan cuisine, "ma" refers to the numbing effects of the rusty-pink peppercorn, while "la" refers to a more common spice that comes from chilis. Chilis and Szechuan peppercorns are often combined into oils and crisps or simply cracked and toasted and served in dishes like La Zi Ji (fried chicken with crispy chilis). 

These peppercorns are an enticing ingredient to elevate your fried rice. Pairing with many ingredients, you can grind the peppercorns and sprinkle them over the top for an intriguing tingling effect, toast them into chili oil, or toss the crack kernel in for a more dramatic crunch. These peppercorns do have an acquired taste, though, so if you're feeding more cautious eaters, they might not find the effects very enjoyable.

Pickles are a great way to bring a punch of flavor to fried rice and cut through any rich fat or protein. We're not talking about dill or hamburger pickles that can be purchased in a store, though.

If you love the tart, vinegar flavor of pickles, try pickling your own shaved carrots or bell peppers at home. Use complementary flavors in the brine, like Sichuan peppercorns, rice vinegar, garlic, or ginger. You can definitely use pickled cucumbers, but avoid the typical American ones that are overtly sweet or use a lot of dill. A good, crunchy pickled cucumber typically starts with a garlic and salt soak, followed by a rinse and then brine. Persian cucumbers, which are smaller than a typical English cucumber, are a great option for this.

Keep in mind that pickles are best served cold, so rather than tossing them in the pan, wait until your fried rice is complete in its serving bowl and add some crisp and refreshing pickles as a topping, perhaps alongside fried peanuts or toasted sesame seed. The contrast of warm and cold will add a bit of intrigue while also cutting through any potential spice from your fried rice seasoning.

Perhaps you've seen the distinctive red jar in an Asian grocery or, if you're lucky, on the Asian food aisle at Safeway. The label of Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp proudly features a photo of its founder, "The Godmother" Tao Huabi, who first introduced the product in 1984. This spicy chili crisp (which isn't really as spicy as you might think) is the OG version of a long list of products and variations. 

You may have heard about the chili crunch controversy directed at David Chang of Momofuku, but in reality, chili crisp as a condiment has been a part of Chinese cuisine for centuries. It goes with just about everything — eggs, noodles, meats, vegetables, and, yes, rice dishes. The toasted flavor combined with the incredibly enjoyable texture adds more than one element to fried rice. Use it in combination with fried shallots or peanuts for extra crunch and to amp up the roasted flavor.

The key to choosing the perfect protein that will make your fried rice shine is picking something rich that will stand out when tossed into plain rice. A good amount of fat is key, and a stand-out flavor that hits your palate hard. You can't go wrong with pork in many forms — almost any cut will check all those boxes. But if you're all porked out, duck is another great option to upgrade your fried rice into something craveable. The rich aroma of duck fat will coat the plain rice with flavor, adding a creamy mouthfeel and juicy chunks of seared duck.

If you have a whole breast, it will make for truly gourmet fried rice. But fried rice is really all about repurposing leftovers, and you can just as easily use leftover duck scraps, shredded or chopped, along with a bit of duck fat to really encapsulate the flavor.