Why Your Takeout Beef Fried Rice Tastes Bland Now

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Skip the takeout! This easy beef fried rice recipe is better than your favorite restaurant, ready in minutes, and packed with tender steak strips and bold, savory flavor.

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Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to skip takeout? I can totally understand that! You won’t miss your favorite fried rice after you’ve tried this amazing Chinese beef fried rice recipe! Featuring tender top sirloin strips in a flavorful sauce, this fried rice is the perfect healthy weeknight meal and it’s easy to make for the whole family!

If you want to learn more about how to eat more at home, then you’ll want to check out my top 5 tips to explore your potential in the kitchen - Make Cooking Fun! - free guide! One of the tips I list is how to use your favourite meals from restaurants to try to replicate them at home! I’ve been loving Asian food lately, and I certainly want to incorporate them more into my daily cooking! The New Year is an excellent opportunity to visit some destinations unseen, so if that’s China for you, then be sure to make this fried rice recipe as part of your Live to Cook one month challenge! Get the free downloads by signing up to my newsletter!

Be sure to watch the video to follow along as I prepare our amazing homemade beef fried rice recipe! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already, and don’t forget to hit the bell button so you receive the notifications when the recipe videos go live! I love sharing the videos along with the written recipes so you have all the tools you need for guaranteed success! Let’s get cooking!

Why You’ll Love This Beef Fried Rice Takeaway Recipe

Fast: Gotta be honest here in that the prep is actually longer than the cooking process! It can seem tedious to chop and lay everything out, but it’s well worth it when the actual dish cooks in a heartbeat!
Great ingredients: Tender and juicy beef, scrambled eggs, and the best part… no need to go out of your way to get niche ingredients! Dark soy sauce is not accessible to us all, so I’m making this work with regular old soy sauce!
Plenty of variations: You can customize this delicious fried rice base to truly make it your own and work with what you have in the fridge!
Nutritious: We have lots of healthy and colorful veggies that are loaded with fiber and vitamins! Additionally, we’ve got healthy fats and protein from the beef. Sirloin is a lean cut of beef so there’s not too much added fat. This nutritional combination keeps you full while being super tasty!

What’s the secret to good fried rice?▼

To me it’s all about how well the texture of the rice is. To achieve the perfect texture, you’ll need to have stale rice. You need to make it a day prior or at the very least, the morning of to give the rice enough time to get dry and be ready for a stir fry. Next comes an assortment of veggies and well seasoned meat. The best part of a stir fry is it can really be used to enjoy your favourite vegetables. And finally, a wok and high heat plays a huge role in getting that takeout like finish and flavour to the dish.

What’s the best rice for beef fried rice?▼

I recommend a medium grain white rice for stir fries. As mentioned previously, the stale rice helps have a great texture and all the flavours really stick onto the rice.

I used jasmine rice for this recipe as that’s authentic. However, when I make stir fries I also like to use arborio rice, or otherwise, Spanish rice such as valencia bomba or carnaroli. Mainly because these rices are medium grain sized and are not as fragile as basmati. I also enjoy the thickness of the grain, its more filling for me. If you have none of these available to you, classic basmati rice is absolutely why!

What about Dark Soy Sauce?▼

You’ll see soon that this recipe doesn’t include a combination of both dark soy sauce and regular (light) soy sauce. Instead, I’m using only regular soy sauce. The main reason for this is because I couldn’t find dark soy sauce anywhere near me!

Let’s begin by what exactly is soy sauce? Soy sauce is a thin dark sauce that contains wheat, fermented soy beans, salt and fungi. While mainly used in Chinese cooking, other Asian cuisines such as Japanese, Thai, Korean and Indonesian (and Indo-Chinese/Hakka for that matter!), have adopted using soy sauce in their recipes. Light soy sauce tends to refer to reduced-sodium soy sauce, as “regular” soy sauce contains a fair amount of sodium due to the salt added as a preservative!

Now, when you compare the regular soy sauce versus “dark” soy sauce, then the typical soy sauce is actually referred to as “light” soy sauce here, whether it is higher in sodium content or not. The dark soy sauce is visibly different because it is thicker and - as the name suggests - darker than regular soy sauce. The dark colour of dark soy sauce comes from the fermentation process. Dark soy sauce consists of the soybeans fermenting for a longer period of time than regular soy sauce.

Because of the fermentation process, the taste of dark soy sauce is different from the typical soy sauce. There are also additional ingredients, including palm sugar molasses and dark brown sugar. Therefore, the dark soy sauce is more on the sweet side than the regular salty soy sauce.

Additionally, dark soy sauce has a different use than regular soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is used for braising, for marinating protein, and for adding colour to a dish. On the other hand, regular soy sauce is also used for cooking but can also be used as a dipping sauce because of its thin consistency.

With regard to the last point, dark soy sauce is commonly used in combination with regular soy sauce for stir fries to give that iconic Chinese takeout appearance. However, I really couldn’t find any dark soy sauce near me and I didn’t want to go out of my way to purchase it on Amazon (though feel free to do so here if you really want to try it out!).

Do I have to Use a wok for Fried Rice?▼

A good wok is able to handle high heat and allows you to use less oil to cook food due to its non-stick coating. The high ends and shape of a wok also allows you to effectively toss the food for even cooking. If stir frying is your end goal, theres nothing better than the tool designed exactly for that job.

Equipment for Fried Rice

Tips for a Steak Fried Rice That’s Better Than Takeout

Remember to use stale or day old rice for this recipe, planning ahead for this dish is key.
Prepare every ingredient needed for the stir fry before cooking to ensure everything is at an arm’s length while stir frying.
Make use of a wok that retains heat well - this will help cook the dish faster and more efficiently.
A stir fry needs a level of organization, so plan your steps towards the dish before starting to cook since time becomes blurry when the wok gets hot.

Ingredients for Steak Fried Rice

Scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card, with all ingredients and their quantities. You can save this recipe for later and the recipe card will also allow you to scale the entire recipe based on how many portions you want to make. All the ingredient quantities will be automatically adjusted, so you don’t have to figure this out!

Ingredients for beef fried rice laid out on a white cutting board: diced red onion, carrots, peas, beef, garlic, ginger, eggs, cooked rice, and various Asian sauces and seasonings.

Rice: You want to use leftover cooked rice for best results. I’m using white jasmine rice.
Eggs: We’ll scramble eggs our pan and then add these back into the fried rice with the meat and veggies.
Vegetables: The veggies we’ll use here are onions, green onions, carrots and peas.
Oil: For this recipe, we’ll be using both sesame oil and vegetable oil. I used the sesame oil for the nutty flavor for the seasoning. On the other hand, the vegetable oil is to fry our ingredients, and it has a more neutral flavor. This balances out the strong flavor that comes from the sesame oil. A good alternative for sesame oil if you don’t have it or want to switch it up is peanut oil.
Soy sauce: Unlike other fried rice recipes with beef, I’m using solely light soy sauce. No need for you to go out of your way to get niche ingredients! The color won’t be super dark but it’ll be just fine and very delicious!
Oyster sauce: This will help to achieve a dark color without the use of dark soy sauce.
Granulated sugar: To complement the strong flavors in our sauce and to sweeten it slightly.
Rice wine vinegar: Added to our sauce and adds a nice tanginess. You can also use Shaoxing wine if you can find it near you.
Garlic: Finely chopped. This will be added with the beef and it will create an incredible fragrance and flavor to the dish.
Beef: I’m using top sirloin for our fried rice. It was pre-cut into stir fry strips, and this makes it really easy to cook quickly and to save some time in prep.
Cornstarch: We’ll coat our beef in cornstarch to help get it nice and crispy when we fry it.
Spices: Salt and pepper are all we need to season the veggies and meat!
Green onion: For garnish. You can also top with sesame seeds.

How to Make Beef Fried Rice

Rinse the rice well and then add to a saucepan. Add 2 1/2 - 3 Cups of vegetable broth or water and bring to a boil. Boil the rice until tender, drain any excess liquid.

Marinate the meat by mixing together the meat, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, cornstarch and rice wine vinegar. Mix well and set aside until the rest of the ingredients and wok is ready.

Raw marinated beef and corn mixed together in a glass bowl during fried rice preparation.

Honey or sesame oil being drizzled from a spoon over a bowl of marinated raw beef, rice, and scrambled eggs for fried rice.

Diced raw beef marinated with ginger, garlic, and sesame oil in a glass bowl.

In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and mix well.

Beaten eggs in a white bowl being whisked together for beef fried rice recipe.

And in another bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar and black pepper. Mix well.

Spoon drizzling amber-colored sauce into a white bowl with red peppers and sauce ingredients mixed together.

Sauce being poured into a white bowl containing soy sauce, oyster sauce, and other mixed ingredients for fried rice.

Homemade fried rice sauce in a white bowl with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and spices mixed together.

Heat a wok or large pan on medium high heat and add the 1-2 tsp of vegetable oil. Once hot, add the marinated meat and sauté until each side is a light golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Beaten eggs being poured into a hot wok with oil for scrambling in fried rice preparation.

Ground beef being sautéed in a wok with a wooden spoon, partially cooked with pink and browned pieces visible.

Cubed beef and scrambled eggs mixed together in a white bowl during beef fried rice preparation.

Add more vegetable oil and then pour in the eggs, scramble until creamy and then set that aside as well. At each stage you might need to add splashes of water to wipe the wok clean.

Empty wok with oil being heated on stovetop before adding ingredients for fried rice.

Scrambled eggs being poured into a hot wok for beef fried rice preparation.

Scrambled eggs in a white bowl, cooked until creamy and set aside for fried rice.

Add the rest of the vegetable oil and add the onions and carrots. Sauté until fragrant and then add in the green peas. If you notice any browning on the pan, add a little splash of water or vinegar to prevent it from burning.

Diced onions and carrots sautéing in oil in a wok during fried rice preparation.

Chopped green onions being added to a wok with sautéed vegetables including peas and carrots for fried rice.

Season with a small pinch of salt to help cook the veggies. Cook until the veggies are halfway done. They should have a shine and still have some of their crispness.

Add the prepared sauce and mix well. Add the rice to the wok/pan, along with the meat and eggs and toss well to combine. Garnish with green onions, taste and adjust seasoning with soy sauce as needed.

Vegetables cooking in a wok with diced carrots and peas being stirred with a spatula.

Cooked rice being stirred with mixed vegetables and meat in a wok during beef fried rice preparation.

Beef fried rice with scrambled eggs, diced vegetables, and rice being mixed together in a wok.

Beef fried rice being stirred in a wok with vegetables, rice, and meat being mixed together with a spatula.

Serve hot immediately garnished with chopped scallions.

Beef fried rice served on a white plate, garnished with green onions and diced carrots and peas mixed throughout.

Spoonful of beef fried rice with corn, meat, and green onions being lifted from a plate.

Variations for Fried Rice with Beef

Change the protein: Nothing is stopping you from following this recipe but just using a different protein! You can use ground beef, but some other excellent protein options can include pork, chicken, and shrimp. If you want to keep things vegetarian, try tofu, soy chunks, or tempeh.
Switch up the veggies: Got other veggies laying in your fridge? No problem! As I share in my Make Cooking Fun!!, you should really be using what you have on hand! This steak fried rice recipe is the perfect canvas for you to finish your vegetables to prevent food waste and enjoy a different combination each time!
Swap the rice: Experiment with bomba rice, arborio, basmati, or even brown rice to find your favourite! If you want to lower the carbs, you can even go ahead and use cauliflower rice!
Add spice: Feel free to add some chilli garlic sauce in the stir fry sauce or even sriracha!

Storing Leftover Steak Fried Rice

If you have any leftover Beef Fried Rice, simply transfer the contents into an airtight container and place in the refrigerator. Beef Fried Rice will stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days. All you need to do to reheat is to place in the microwave and heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until entirely warmed through.

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!

Recipe by Anadi Misra

Easy Better Than Takeout Beef Fried Rice Recipe

Skip the takeout! This easy beef fried rice recipe is better than your favorite restaurant, ready in minutes, and packed with tender steak strips and bold, savory flavor.

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20 min

Prep

10 min

Cook

30 min

Total

servings

easy

Level

Ingredients

Tap any quantity to scale

For the stir fry

(475 g) white jasmine rice , cooked at least 24 hours prior.Shop →
large eggs
(130 g) onion chopped
(130 g) carrots chopped
(100 g) green peas
(15 ml) vegetable oilShop →
salt(to taste)Shop →
pepper(to taste)Shop →
green onion, chopped, for garnish

For the marination

filets, top sirloin, trimmed and cut thin
garlic cloves, mincedShop →
(2.5 cm) piece ginger, minced
(15 ml) sesame oilShop →
(8 g) corn starchShop →
(11.3 ml) rice wine vinegarShop →

For the sauce

(30 ml) soy sauceShop →
(15 ml) oyster sauceShop →
(4 g) granulated sugarShop →
(11.3 ml) rice wine vinegarShop →
(15 ml) sesame oilShop →
Black pepper to taste

Instructions

1
Rinse the rice well and then add to a saucepan. Add 2 ½–3 cups of vegetable broth or water and bring to a boil. Boil the rice until tender, drain any excess liquid.
Rinse the rice well and then add to a saucepan. Add 2 ½–3 cups of vegetable broth or water and bring to a boil. Boil the rice until tender, drain any excess liquid.
2
Marinate the meat by mixing together the meat, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, cornstarch and rice wine vinegar. Mix well and set aside until the rest of the ingredients and wok is ready. In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and mix well. And in another bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar and black pepper. Mix well.
Marinate the meat by mixing together the meat, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, cornstarch and rice wine vinegar. Mix well and set aside until the rest of the ingredients and wok is ready. In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and mix well. And in another bowl, prepare the sauce by mixing the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar and black pepper. Mix well.
3
Heat a wok or large pan on medium high heat and add the 1–2 tsp of vegetable oil. Once hot, add the marinated meat and sauté until each side is a light golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Heat a wok or large pan on medium high heat and add the 1–2 tsp of vegetable oil. Once hot, add the marinated meat and sauté until each side is a light golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.
4
Add more vegetable oil and then pour in the eggs, scramble until creamy and then set that aside as well. At each stage you might need to add splashes of water to wipe the wok clean. Add the rest of the vegetable oil and add the onions and carrots. Sauté until fragrant and then add in the green peas. If you notice any browning on the pan, add a little splash of water or vinegar to prevent it from burning.
Add more vegetable oil and then pour in the eggs, scramble until creamy and then set that aside as well. At each stage you might need to add splashes of water to wipe the wok clean. Add the rest of the vegetable oil and add the onions and carrots. Sauté until fragrant and then add in the green peas. If you notice any browning on the pan, add a little splash of water or vinegar to prevent it from burning.
5
Season with a small pinch of salt to help cook the veggies. Cook until the veggies are halfway done. They should have a shine and still have some of their crispness.
Season with a small pinch of salt to help cook the veggies. Cook until the veggies are halfway done. They should have a shine and still have some of their crispness.
6
Add the prepared sauce and mix well. Add the rice to the wok/pan, along with the meat and eggs and toss well to combine. Garnish with green onions, taste and adjust seasoning with soy sauce as needed. Serve hot immediately garnished with chopped scallions.
Add the prepared sauce and mix well. Add the rice to the wok/pan, along with the meat and eggs and toss well to combine. Garnish with green onions, taste and adjust seasoning with soy sauce as needed. Serve hot immediately garnished with chopped scallions.

Nutrition per serving

650

Calories

23g

Protein

98g

Carbs

17g

Fat

Fiber

Sugar

863mg

Sodium

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Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen