Thai-Style Pork Fried Rice

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This Thai-style pork fried rice comes together in under 30 minutes, and it makes a satisfying one-dish meal.

thai pork fried rice

Somewhere near the top of the list of things that make me happy as a mom is discovering a weeknight recipe my whole family loves—and if it can be made inexpensively from pantry staples and a just few fresh ingredients from the supermarket, all the better. This Thai-style pork fried rice, a variation on my favorite traditional fried rice, is one of those recipes, and it comes together in under 30 minutes. I use ground pork, which, while not traditional, is so much easier and more flavorful than pork tenderloin or pork chops. This fried rice reheats beautifully in the microwave, making it the perfect dinner for those nights when everyone is running in different directions.

what you’ll need to Make Thai-Style Pork Fried Rice

Fried rice ingredients including peas, ginger, and sriracha.

Before we get to the recipe, a few words on the ingredients. I’ve made this dish with jasmine rice and regular long-grain white rice — both work well. While most fried rice recipes call for cold rice (so that the rice doesn’t stick together when fried), it doesn’t make much difference in this recipe, so feel free to make the rice ahead of time or at the last minute — whatever is most convenient for you.

To flavor the rice, I use a combination of fish sauce and oyster sauce. Fish sauce is a salty, savory condiment often used in East Asian cuisine. It adds a rich umami flavor to sauces, marinades, and salad dressings. Oyster sauce is a thick, dark brown condiment made primarily from oyster extracts. Despite its name, oyster sauce doesn’t taste strongly of oysters; rather, it has a salty, savory, slightly sweet flavor. You can find both sauces in the Asian section of most supermarkets.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Egg cooking in a skillet.

In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Season the beaten eggs with a generous pinch of salt, add them to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until scrambled. Transfer the eggs to a plate and set aside.

Spatula scrambling egg in a skillet.

In the same pan (no need to wash it), heat the remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the light green scallions, garlic, and ginger.

Scallions, garlic, and ginger in a skillet.

Cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute.

Spoon stirring scallions, garlic, and ginger in a skillet.

Add the pork and continue cooking, breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.

Ground pork in a skillet with vegetables.

Add the cooked rice, peas, broccoli, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and red pepper flakes.

Rice and vegetables in a skillet with ground pork.

Cook, stirring to evenly combine, until the rice and vegetables are hot.

Rice mixture in a skillet.

Stir in the dark scallion greens and cilantro.

Scallions and cilantro in a skillet with rice.

Mix in the scrambled eggs.

Scrambled eggs in a skillet with a rice mixture.

Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve with Sriracha, if desired.

thai pork fried rice

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Thai-Style Pork Fried Rice

This Thai-style pork fried rice comes together in under 30 minutes, and it makes a satisfying one-dish meal.

Servings: 4 (as a main course)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 bunch scallions, finely sliced, light and dark green parts divided
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger (see note)
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 4 cups cooked white rice (from 1⅓ cups uncooked rice)
  • ½ cup frozen peas, defrosted
  • cups cooked broccoli florets (see note)
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
  • Sriracha, for serving (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Season the beaten eggs with a generous pinch of salt, add them to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until scrambled. Transfer the eggs to a plate and set aside.
  2. In the same pan (no need to wash it), heat the remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the light green scallions, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Add the pork and continue cooking, breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Add the cooked rice, peas, broccoli, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring to evenly combine, until the rice and vegetables are hot. Stir in the dark scallion greens, cilantro and scrambled eggs. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve with Sriracha, if desired.
  3. Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
  4. Note: Defrosted frozen broccoli florets will work in a pinch, but they tend to get a bit mushy so fresh-cooked (or leftover fresh-cooked) broccoli is preferable. You can also substitute any other leftover cooked vegetables you have in your fridge.

Nutrition Information

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  • Per serving (4 servings)
  • Calories: 701
  • Fat: 35 g
  • Saturated fat: 11 g
  • Carbohydrates: 63 g
  • Sugar: 4 g
  • Fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 31 g
  • Sodium: 1455 mg
  • Cholesterol: 221 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Gluten-Free Adaptable Note

To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.

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Comments

  • I made it with ground chicken (white meat) and whole grain rice and it was delicious. Thanks!

    • — Carol Hinckley
    • Reply
  • Delicious, fast and easy! We whipped this up in less than thirty minutes and we were so surprised by the complexity of flavors! Would love to try it with different ground meats and perhaps some chili’s for a pop of heat and color. Great base recipe to get creative! Will definitely make this again.

    • — Elizabeth Mallon
    • Reply
  • Just washed up the dishes from this wonderful meal. My husband and I throughly enjoyed it. Husband was a little skeptical on this one but agreed it was worth 5 stars. Thanks Jen for another winner!!

  • Yum. Yum. Yum. We loved this and it came together very fast. I used brown rice that I made the day before and 1/2 the sugar. Everything else I did exactly as written. Has anyone tried adding shiitakes?

  • My family loves fried rice and this was a great addition to our meal
    Rotation!

  • Hello!!! This is a great recipe. I decided to try a paleo/whole 30 version and it turned out great. I first substituted ground pork for ground turkey but of course you can choose any ground meat. Then I substituted the rice for cauliflower rice. I didn’t just add a bag of riced cauliflower, I first sautéed it in a little avocado oil, salt and pepper until it was browned. Lastly, I left out the sugar.
    What’s so nice about Once upon a chef is that you can take her awesome recipes and make it your own depending on your diet. Now this recipe is perfect the way it is but if you need to make it a little lighter you can. Thank you for all of your recipes!!! The family loves them😊

  • The Thai Pork Fried Rice was delicious! My husband and I are previewing recipes in advance of our children and grandchildren visiting us during the Christmas holidays. This recipe is a real crowd pleaser and one that will make even our littlest grandson happy and satisfied. We added carrots since we didn’t have broccoli on hand, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Thanks so much for this excellent recipe.

  • This dish, as all of Jenn’s dishes, is amazing! I added a ton of veggies! Great way to get the house smelling good, and the little ones to eat veggies!

    • — Nader Jazayeri
    • Reply
  • The only Thai recipes I have made have come from this website! I followed the recipe but used brown basmati rice and only 2 eggs, as I am not fond of scrambled eggs. I added chopped and steamed carrots as I thought the dish needed color. (Everything seemed to be brown-colored, except the broccoli and peas). My family loved it – that’s why the 5 stars and have asked me to put this into our dinner rotation. I prepped everything while the rice cooked and easily made this dish in 40 minutes – from start to table. The recipe is ample – there were 2 lunch servings left from serving 3 people for dinner.

  • This is so good !! Every recipie I try from your site or your cook book is amazing !! Made this yesterday and it turned out great ! Thank you !

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