This Is The Best Kind Of Rice To Use For Fried Rice

There are a lot of delicious things you can order from the Chinese takeout menu, but one of the most popular is fried rice. According to a 2020 survey by Chowbus, rice orders beat out noodle orders by 52 percent, with Chinese restaurants using some 8.73 tons of rice to fulfill all of the fried rice orders placed through their app. While snagging a box of fried rice from the local carryout joint is quick and convenient, you can make an equally tasty bowl of the starchy side dish in your own kitchen.

When making fried rice at home, there are a lot of factors to take into consideration, like the type of soy sauce you toss in and the perfect temperature for the pan. One of the most important things, though? What kind of rice you use. Should it be white rice, sushi rice, basmati, or something else entirely? Here's the best rice for fried rice, according to food bloggers.

When it comes to choosing rice for fried rice, you want grains that aren't too long yet aren't too short. In other words, you want medium-grain rice. Taste of Asian Food explains that long-grain rice (like basmati) isn't plump enough and will make your fried rice dry and hard while short-grain rice (like sushi rice) will clump up and stick together too much. Medium-grain rice (like Thai jasmine rice or medium-grain white rice) is the perfect balance of sticky and plump yet not too much so.

While any medium-grain rice will do, you want to make sure it's cold before you make your fried rice, according to the blogger behind Gimme Some Oven. Using warm rice will lead to fried rice that's soggy and clumpy, which is less than ideal. If you have rice that's still warm from cooking, chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before starting your fried rice for the best results.