I can’t compare my fried rice with potatoes with any take-out because I’ve never had any take-out, but I can attest that it’s delicious! I prefer fried rice that’s full of tasty mix-ins with lots of different flavors and textures. The natural sweetness of peas and shrimp is the perfect balance to the deeply savory ham and earthy mushrooms.

fried rice with potatoes on serving spoon

But the real stars of the show are the fluffy potatoes with their golden brown crisp exterior! These little nuggets of deliciousness go hand in hand with the rice. There’s just something magical about combining the two. If you have tried it before, you understand me, if you haven’t, you’re missing out!
In one mouthful, you get fragrant rice that stays firm and slightly sweet, buttery, tender potatoes. You get the best of both worlds. And when you add all the other mix-ins, this fried rice with potatoes simply gets fantastic!

Packed lunch

When I was in high school, my sister and I declared that we didn’t want to eat from the cafeteria anymore because:

they were remodeling and you had to queue for 20 minutes in the midday sun before entering
to be served reheated canned food
before rushing back to the other side of the school for extra credit lessons. So my amazing parents started to pack us lunch instead!

They would cook a huge batch of rice on Sunday and make enough tuna rice salad and fried rice to last us the whole week. I can still see my mum peeling carrots so we could have some raw veggies on the side. We never grew tired of opening our lunch boxes and seeing one of the same two meals over and over again. It was just too delicious! Plus, spending our lunch hour reading or hanging out with friends instead of queuing up under the sun to eat soggy bland food was a huge improvement.

Reflecting upon this now, I feel bad that my parents were spending some of their limited free time making us lunch, whereas my sister and I were old enough to cook for ourselves. It never came to my mind back then, I definitely took their efforts for granted. If I could go back in time, I would ask them to show me how to make the recipes, say thank you a thousand times over, and then gently nudge them out of the kitchen.

Versatile recipe

One of the things I love the most about making fried rice with potatoes is that it’s an extremely versatile recipe. You can always follow the directions but change up the mix-ins according to your tastes or what’s in your fridge/freezer.
You can use fresh mushrooms, fresh shrimp, any other proteins (poached chicken, sliced sausages, salmon fillet, ground beef,…), other vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, corn,…). As long as you use day-old long-grain rice, and that your mix-ins are cooked and warmed through before being stirred into the rice you’ll be good to go!

This is a recipe for simply seasoned fried rice with potatoes. The flavors mostly rely on salt, pepper and the deliciousness of the mix-ins. But if you prefer more seasoned darker-looking rice, pour 1 ½ tbsp of soy sauce + 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine (or cooking sake if unavailable) over the rice once you’ve spread it in the pan instead of using the salt & black pepper.

Step by step

Making fried rice with potatoes is basically the same as making normal fried rice, except that at some point, you’ll have to cook potatoes before adding them to the final product.

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. The ingredient list and full instructions are in the recipe card below.

Wash and cook the rice the day before. Let it dry up overnight in the fridge while you also thaw the frozen ingredients.
Heat a deep nonstick frying pan. Stir-fry the add-ins one by one until they’re cooked or warmed through, then remove them from the pan. Reheat the rice by stir-frying it and stir in all the mix-ins. Serve the fried rice with potatoes immediately.

Avoid mushy rice

To avoid your fried rice being mushy, you should:

never use freshly cooked rice. The rice should be cooked the day before so it has time to properly drain in the colander and dry up in the fridge. The longer the cooked drained rice can stay in the fridge, the drier it will get, and thus the end result will be firmer.
cook the add-ins separately
cook the add-ins long enough for them to release and evaporate all of their water before being stirred into the rice.
get the pan really hot. The heat needs to be sufficient to actually ‘fry’ and slightly crisp up the rice. Fried rice should be cooked quickly in a hot pan, not slowly over medium heat (it would take longer to get warm, and the rice might get mushy because of too much stirring).
serve immediately once it’s ready. So, set up your table in advance instead of keeping the fried rice with potatoes over low heat while you look for bowls or sauces, etc.

Reheating

I actually prefer fridge-cold fried rice to warm fried rice. I even make more fried rice so I can relax and be sure I’ll be able to eat some cold leftovers the day after. Since I know not everyone who feels this way, here’s how to reheat it if you don’t have a microwave.

Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a deep nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the fried rice with potatoes to the pan and stir in 1 to 2 tbsp of water (depending on how much rice you are reheating). Cover the pan with a lid and cook, stirring every minute with a wooden spoon, until the rice is completely reheated, about 5 minutes. Add a bit more water if you notice while stirring that some rice is sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Fried rice with potatoes

Author: Amélie
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield: 3 to 4 servings 1x
Category: Main course
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: Fusion

Print Recipe

Description

This fried rice with potatoes is full of tasty add-ins; savory ham, sweet peas, scrambled eggs, juicy shrimp, tender mushrooms… But the real stars of the show are the fluffy potatoes with their golden brown crisp exterior. These little nuggets of deliciousness take the fried rice to a whole another level!

Ingredients

Scale

300 g uncooked jasmine rice (1 ½ cups)
70 g frozen peas (½ cup)
200 g peeled and cooked shrimp (7 oz)
100 g dry-cured ham (3.5 oz)
450 g all-purpose potatoes (1 pound), such as Yukon Gold
115 g drained canned sliced mushrooms (4 oz)
4 eggs
4 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
2 tsp of fine sea salt, divided
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

Cook the rice the day before. Fill a medium saucepan two-thirds full with water. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. While the water heats up, put the rice in a colander and rinse it under cold running water until the water runs clear. Getting rid of the starch prevents the rice from clumping together. Add the rice to the boiling water, stir a few times and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the rice, uncovered, for 11 min. Drain and then set the colander over a mixing bowl and wait until the rice cools down to room temperature. Put the cooled rice into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. Day-old rice is perfect to make fried rice because it has time to dry up in the fridge. Moisture is the enemy of fried rice as it leads to a mushy end result. Thaw the peas (and the shrimp if you bought frozen ones) overnight in the fridge.
Prep the add-ins. Take the rice out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature while you prep the other ingredients. Cut the ham into 1cm (½ in) pieces and set aside. Peel the potatoes and wash them under cold running water. Dice them into 5mm (⅕ in) cubes and set aside. Place the peas, shrimp (if thawed) and drained mushrooms on several layers of paper towels. Pat dry with another piece of paper towel to absorb excess water. It’s important to get rid of as much moisture as possible if you want fried rice with perfectly separate grains that stay firm. Beat the eggs in a small mixing bowl until well combined.
Stir-fry the add-ins. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a deep nonstick frying pan (for which you have a lid) over medium-high heat. Add eggs and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until almost completely dry, about 2 min. Transfer to a plate. Heat 1 tbsp of oil again and add the ham to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown and crisp, about 4 min. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and add the potatoes to the pan. Mix the potatoes to cover them in the oil and cover the pan with a lid. Cook the potatoes for 10 min, stirring often. Remove the lid and cook uncovered for 5 min or until the water has evaporated and the potatoes have a crisp golden brown exterior and a soft center. Stir in 1 tsp of salt and transfer to the mixing bowl with the ham. Add the peas, shrimp and mushrooms to the now-empty pan and cook until completely warmed through and the water has evaporated, about 2 min. Transfer to the mixing bowl. If you bought raw peeled shrimp (they are gray), heat the mushrooms and peas together without the shrimp and then add them to the mixing bowl. Cook the shrimp alone in the pan, stirring frequently, until they turn pink, 1 to 2 minutes. If they are too big, cut them into pieces before transferring them to the bowl.
Stir-fry the rice. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and stir in the rice. Spread it into an even layer using the back of the wooden spoon. Sprinkle the other 1 tsp of salt and the black pepper over it and stir. Heat the rice until completely warmed through, pressing down on it while stirring often to break up clumps. This might take between 2 to 5 min. Add the mix-ins from the bowl to the pan and stir through. Lastly, add the scrambled eggs and use the edge of the spoon while stirring often to break up the eggs into small pieces. Serve.

Notes

Any leftover can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

I prefer jasmine rice when it comes to making fried rice because it holds its shape better and stays firm, even after having been boiled and stir-fried. It’s also less sticky when cooked, so the rice doesn’t really clump together once cold. It’s less of a hassle then to separate the grains while stir-frying. You can pick another long-grain rice if you can’t find Thai jasmine rice.