Hard to believe but summer is already winding down to a close, with lots of kids heading back to school next week. To ease you back into the daily grind, I’m sharing one of my easiest and fastest meals, Thai Chicken Fried Rice. It makes excellent use of leftovers; so excellent in fact that you’ll find yourself making extra batches of both rice and chicken so they will be on hand for this speedy family favorite. What makes this dish Thai? I use Jasmine rice, season it with a pop of funky fish sauce, and as a finishing touch I serve it with prik nam pla, the fiery hot sauce I shared last week. Some chopped cilantro, a couple slices of crunchy cooling cucumber, and a squeeze of fresh lime… it’s a feast of flavors in a simple little meal that you can make faster than you can say homework battles and soccer practice.

Leftovers Make Thai Chicken Fried Rice Magic!

One of the things I most love about this recipe is that it uses leftover, chilled rice (read about how chilled rice makes the best fried rice here) and also leftover chicken. You have some roast chicken from Sunday’s dinner in the fridge? Perfect! You can even use a store bought rotisserie chicken. Really any kind of leftover chicken will work. If your chicken was made with spices/herbs, you can give it a quick rinse and no one will be the wiser! Using up these leftovers isn’t just economical, it means your Thai Chicken Fried Rice is ready in less than 15 minutes. I start by prepping the garlic and scallions. Like all quick stir fried dishes, it is best to have all your ingredients measured and prepped before beginning.

I can’t say enough good things about cold rice in the fridge. It’s the Asian equivalent of sliced bread in the cabinet: a true staple and workhorse that’s always ready when hunger strikes. Not only can you count on it as a side for quick weeknight meals and fried rices, but it’s perfect for mid-day snacks with a little furikake or topped with a fried egg (insert link here). Since it stays fresh for several days, it’s handy to always have some.

One quick tip about using cold rice: it’s clumpy and in order to heat it evenly and thoroughly, you need to help it along. So use clean wet hands and use your fingers to gently crumble it until all of the lumps are broken up.

Have all of your ingredients right by the stove because you are adding oil and garlic in a smoking hot pan and garlic goes from golden brown to burnt in seconds. Keep a close eye because you will be be tossing in the chicken and in just a few seconds.

Once you add the chicken and rice, you want to use a pressing motion to sear the rice along the sides of the pan before scraping it off and mixing it back in. Searing the rice gives it that authentic flavor that is the hallmark of good restaurant fried rice. Cold rice tends to stick to the pan, but as it heats up, it will be easier to work with so just keep pressing, searing, and scraping.

Once the flavorings are added, give it another minute to fully absorb the fish sauce and then you’re done.

I like to serve my Thai Chicken Fried Rice garnished with some lime, cilantro and sliced cucumber and pass around the prik nam pla so everyone can make theirs as spicy as their heart desires.

Thai Chicken Fried Rice is the perfect meal for a busy school/work night, and I hope everyone at your table loves it! Leave a comment and let me know what you think, and of course tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen, we love hearing from you!

If you love Thai food as much we do try some of our other popular recipes like this Green Curry Tofu or Tamarind Shrimp.

Thai Chicken Fried Rice

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• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: serves 2

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Ingredients

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• 3 Tablespoons neutral oil
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 6 ounces cooked chicken (about 1 ½ cups roasted, grilled, or even poached is fine)
• 3 cups cold cooked rice (preferably Jasmine or a medium grain)
• 2 scallions 
• 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
• Ground black pepper

Garnishes:

• 1 persian cucumber trimmed and sliced
• 1 handful cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 lime wedges
• *Thai Fish Sauce With Hot Chiles 

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Instructions

1. Trim and mince the scallions, then set aside. 
2. Separate the rice with wet hands or a fork so that you don’t have any large clumps and set aside.
3. Heat a wok or wok pan over high heat for several minutes until very hot and smoking. 
4. Add the oil and the garlic. Swirl the garlic in the oil for a couple of seconds until lightly golden. 
5. Add the chicken and stir fry for a minute, mixing it well.
6. Add the rice and keep stir frying for a couple of minutes, pressing the rice into the sides of the pan to sear it and then scraping it off and mixing it back in. It may stick to the sides of the pan at first but it will become less sticky as it cooks. 
7. Turn off the heat and add the scallions, fish sauce, and ground black pepper to taste. Turn the heat back on and continue cooking for another minute. 
8. Transfer Thai Chicken Fried Rice to a platter or individual plates. Garnish with the cucumbers, cilantro, and lime wedges.
9. Serve with the chile fish sauce on the side for additional seasoning.

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Keywords: thai, fried rice, chicken, khao phat gai, fast, spicy,

One of our most popular menu items is our Green Curry Shrimp. And it’s easy to see why. It’s rich, creamy, spicy, and full of colorful veggies. I am a firm believer though that vegetarians deserve to get in on the fun too, and that’s how this Green Curry Tofu was born. I kept everything people love about the original, and swapped in crispy tofu for the shrimp. And for this version, I also use a commercial green curry paste which makes this a totally doable weeknight meal. Quick, easy, and delicious. Let’s do this!

Prepping the Green Curry Tofu Veggies

I start by getting the sweet potatoes ready. These soft sweet nuggets are a perfect contrast to the spicy curry sauce.

Then I boil them for 6-8 minutes until tender. You want them tender but not fall apart mush.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, I get the veggies and tofu ready. I like the contrast of shapes when cutting my veggies so I’m using a couple of different styles. It’s totally not necessary but you should try to keep them roughly the same size.

It’s important to get a nice golden crust on the tofu. It adds a lot of texture and flavor to the dish. Use a non-stick skillet because tofu has a lot of moisture and that moisture loves to grab onto the surface of the skillet. If you use a regular stainless skillet, you will hate yourself as you struggle to keep the crust from adhering to the pan. It’s not impossible, but you will need to heat the pan for a long time and use a lot more oil. Do yourself a favor a use a non-stick skillet or a well seasoned cast iron pan.

Cooking Green Curry Tofu

Now that the veggies are prepped and the tofu has been fried, it comes together really quickly.

The secret to the lusciousness of restaurant curries is coconut cream. Now’s not the time to fall into the low fat trap. At least use full fat coconut milk rather than the watery light versions. Coconut fat is good for you and it is essential to create a rich and creamy curry. If you’re ultra concerned, eat a little less and save some for your next meal!

Because this is a vegetarian (and vegan) dish, we’re not using the traditional fish sauce. However, it’s important to give the dish that deep, salty, earthy flavor that fish sauce imparts. Today we’re mimicking that flavor with soy sauce and miso. Used in combination, you get a similar umami goodness. You can also experiment with coconut aminos and a little salt with good results.

One the veggies are added, lower the heat to medium and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the eggplant has softened, stirring the pan occasionally.

I like to garnish this with fresh herbs and serve with rice to scoop up all the luscious sauce. A fresh squeeze of lime is nice too!

Can’t get enough curry? Try:

• Coconut Curry Noodles
• Red Beef Curry
• Curry Sweet Potato Soup

I hope you love this easy, weeknight Green Curry Tofu. Please take a moment to rate and comment on the recipe, and you can show off your food pics by tagging us @funkyasiankitchen, we love hearing from you!

Green Curry Tofu

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• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 Minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Main
• Cuisine: Thai

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Ingredients

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• 4 Tablespoons Oil
• 1 Block Firm Tofu
• ½ large yellow onion, sliced
• 2 cloves large garlic
• 1 Tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
• 1–2 thai bird chilies (optional for those who really like extra spicy foods)
• 3 ounces baby spinach 
• 1 Chinese eggplant, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 small sweet potato
• 1 handful cilantro or basil

Sauce:

• 2 oz green curry paste (I used ½ 4 oz maesri brand can)
• 10 fl oz coconut cream
• ½ Tablespoon Miso 
• ½ Tablespoon Soy sauce or Coconut Aminos
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper to Taste 

For serving:

• Hot rice
• Limes Wedges

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Instructions

1. Peel and trim the sweet potatoes.
2. Dice the sweet potatoes into 1” pieces.
3. Place the sweet potatoes into a small pot and cover with 3 cups of water.
4. Place the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
5. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 6-8 minutes until tender but not falling apart. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
6. While the sweet potatoes are cooking, open the tofu package and then cut the tofu into small 1 ½“ pieces.
7. Set the tofu on a plate lined with a couple pieces of paper towel. Cover the tofu with some more paper towels (you can also use a clean kitchen towel) and gently press down on it to remove excess water. 
8. Heat a large 12” non-stick frying pan over medium heat for several minutes and then add 3 Tablespoons of the oil.
9. Place the tofu in one layer and let it cook undisturbed for 3-5 minutes until the bottom is crisp and browned.
10. Using a spatula, flip the pieces of tofu over and cook the other side for another 3-5 minutes until also crispy and browned. Take the tofu out of the pan and set aside.
11. Return the unwashed pan to the stove. Turn the heat to medium high.
12. Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil and the onions. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
13. Add the ginger, garlic, and curry paste. Stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. 
14. Add the eggplant, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, miso paste, and soy sauce to the pan.
15. Bring the pan to a simmer, stirring to melt the miso into the sauce. Then, lower heat to medium and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the eggplant has softened, stirring the pan occasionally. 
16. Add the tofu, stir and cover. Lower heat to a medium low and cook for an additional 2 minutes until the tofu is hot. 
17. Taste and adjust seasoning with a little salt and ground pepper as needed.
18. Add the spinach and stir to wilt. Garnish with some cilantro or basil sprigs.
19. Serve the Green Curry Tofu immediately with hot rice and lime wedges.

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Keywords: green curry, tofu, thai, spicy, coconut, sweet potato, vegan