Fried rice is a classic weeknight dish for Asians everywhere. There are so many different types, and you can usually find a fried rice dish in any Asian country you visit, from Indonesia's nasi goreng to Korea's kimchi fried rice. Chinese sausage fried rice, or cơm chiên lạp xưởng, is the type of fried rice that my family makes most often.
Pin Chinese Sausage Fried Rice (Cơm Chiên Lạp Xưởng) to try later!
We always have some Chinese sausage (which is called lạp xưởng in Vietnamese and lap cheong in Cantonese) in our fridge. I love the fatty, salty, sweet and savory flavor it brings to any meal. You can find them in the refrigerated section of most Asian grocery stores. They are a vibrant red color, and last forever. My favorite brand is California Sausage Inc. I buy the red label, which is just pork sausage. The blue label contains sausages made with pork and chicken.
My trick for a perfectly fluffy fried rice that isn't soggy or mushy is to use the rice that comes with my Chinese takeout order. I rarely eat all, if any of it with the food I order. I stick it in the fridge and save it for fried rice the next day. If you don't want to order takeout every time you want to make fried rice, any rice that you have cooked and put in the fridge for a day or two will work. Refrigeration changes the starch structures and dries out the rice a bit, which is important for the overall texture of your dish. I would not recommend using newly cooked rice for any fried rice.
🥣 Ingredients
You will need:
- ½ cup Chinese sausage/lạp xưởng (about 90g), diced small
- 3 tablespoon neutral oil, like vegetable or canola
- 1 medium sized onion (about ¾ cup or 140g), diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large carrot (about ¾ cups or 110g), diced
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups of cooked white rice, at LEAST 1 day old (about 650g)
- 3 stalks of green onion/scallion, chopped (about ⅓ cup or 40g)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce or Maggi seasoning
- ½ cup of frozen peas
- salt and pepper to taste
🔪 Instructions
Start by cooking down the Chinese sausage in a large, heavy bottomed skillet on medium high heat. Some of the fat in the sausage will render out, flavoring the rest of the ingredients. Depending on how lean your sausage is, you might need to add more oil to the pan.
Remove the sausage and set aside. Add more oil if necessary and cook the diced onion until it is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, before adding the diced carrots. Continue to cook the vegetables until the carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.
Remove the vegetables and set aside. Add beaten eggs and scramble them to your desired texture. Remove the eggs and set aside.
Add the rice, sausage, and vegetable mixture back to your pan. Add more oil if necessary, as well as the soy sauce, salt and pepper. Cook until the rice has warmed through and absorbed all of the seasonings. Taste as you go, adding more soy sauce, salt or pepper as necessary. If the rice sticks to the pan, add a tiny bit more oil.
When the rice is warmed through and cooked, turn the heat down to low and add the scrambled eggs, frozen peas and scallions. Mix through to heat the peas and break up the scrambled eggs.
💭 Tips and substitutions
If you don't have stale, day old rice on hand but you REALLY want fried rice, you can speed up the process with some fresh rice. Spread freshly cooked rice on a baking sheet with some parchment paper. Stick the uncovered sheet into the freezer for 30 minutes. This will dry out your rice a bit. The finished product is a good approximation of fried rice with stale rice.
This cơm chiên lạp xưởng is a great backbone for all sorts of cơm chiên. Fried rice is meant to be a dish that easily uses up leftovers, so mix and match the proteins and vegetables to your liking. Use up leftover cooked chicken, steak or whatever you have on hand instead of Chinese sausage. If you have frozen carrots and peas, use that instead of fresh carrots. I like to add canned corn as well. If you have a bell pepper, dice that up and add it to the onions. The possibilities are endless! Just adjust the amount of oil you use to make sure nothing sticks to the pan.
🍚 Serving suggestions
This dish has everything you need for a standalone meal: protein, carbs and vegetables. If you'd like to serve it as a side dish to a main, like a stir fry or soup, you can use less Chinese sausage. Add more Chinese sausage/other proteins to bulk it up for a standalone meal.
🥡 How to store or make in advance
If you're serving fried rice to guests, you can make this dish a day in advance. It'll last about a week in the fridge, making it a great meal prep dish. You can freeze it up to 6 months and refry it it in a skillet to reheat.
If you plan on freezing and reheating, do not use eggs in the recipe and undercook all of your vegetables slightly. Reheat the rice in a skillet and mix in a scrambled egg when you're ready to eat it.
👪 Serving size
This recipe easily serves 4-6 full sized bowls. It will serve more if you serve it as a side dish rather than a main.
Chinese Sausage Fried Rice (Cơm Chiên Lạp Xưởng)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Chinese sausage, diced (about 90g)
- 3 tablespoon neutral oil, like vegetable or canola
- 1 medium onion, diced (about ¾ cup or 140g)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 cups cooked white rice, at LEAST 1 day old (about 650g)
- 3 stalks green onion/scallion, chopped (about ⅓ cup or 40g)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce or Maggi seasoning
- ½ cup frozen peas
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook down the diced Chinese sausage in a large, heavy bottomed skilled on medium-high heat
- Remove the sausage and set aside. Add more oil to the pan if you did not get enough rendered fat from your sausage and cook the onions until they are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds before adding the diced carrot. Cook the vegetables until the carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the vegetables and set aside. Scramble the beaten eggs. Remove the eggs and set aside.
- Add more oil to the pan if necessary and add the rice, sausage and carrot/onion mixture back into the pan.
- Add the soy sauce, salt and pepper to the rice. Mix well to coat the rice in all of the seasonings and warm it through. If it begins to stick, add a bit more oil.
- Turn the heat down to low and add the scallions, scrambled egg and frozen peas. Mix just enough for the peas to warm through and the scrambled eggs to break up into the rice, about a minute.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Please tag @BunBoBaeBlog on Instagram or leave a rating or comment on the blog!
Don't miss a single recipe! Sign up with your email below for recipes in your inbox.
Loved this recipe? You might also like:
Leave a Reply