Why You Should Pre-Cook Your Protein For Better Fried Rice

When hunger takes hold and you're in the mood for a filling meal packed with protein, veggies, and savory flavor, fried rice is your best bet. There are so many easy and delicious fried rice recipes to choose from, or you can pick your favorite add-ins to customize the dish to your tastes — but following the proper order in which to cook everything will truly make or break your meal. For the best fried rice possible, you should cook your proteins first. 

It can be tricky to get every ingredient to cook evenly and thoroughly in fried rice, and cooking meat in advance takes the guesswork out. This will ensure the safety of your food, the coming-together of all the flavors, and a more enjoyable texture. For the sake of food safety, you'll want to cook chicken, fish, beef, or other animal proteins first to prevent cross-contamination and the risk of "Fried Rice Syndrome," a food poisoning named for its propensity to live on starchy foods such as rice. Preventing this comes down to properly cooking all of your fried ingredients and ensuring that your leftovers are stored and reheated correctly for safe consumption.

Pre-cooking the protein also allows for optimal flavor combinations. After fully cooking your meat and removing it from the pan to re-add to your rice later, the any drippings left behind can be used to sautee your vegetables and rice.

Preparing your fried rice in the right order is knowledge you can apply to all your favorite recipes. For example, with a chicken fried rice recipe, you'll want to start with cut-up pieces of chicken, which will cook quicker and more thoroughly than a larger chunk. Once you're sure everything has been fully cooked, remove the meat from the pan and add your vegetables into the mixture of oil and chicken fat. This will help to infuse the flavors of the chicken into the rest of your dish as you cook and add other ingredients like scrambled eggs, then the rice, and finally, the chicken again.

The same order goes for a pork fried rice recipe, while for a classic shrimp fried rice, it's important not only to pre-cook your seafood, but to marinate it prior to stir-frying for flavor. Although prepared meats like hot dogs already come fully cooked, it is still advisable to chop and char them for both safety and taste when making budget-friendly hot dog fried rice. For a twist on tradition, you can try a hibachi-style steak fried rice recipe that starts with searing seasoned steak. As long as you take care to pre-cook your proteins, your favorite fried rice will always taste extra nice.