Gordon Ramsay’s fried rice is a fast egg fried rice made with day-old jasmine rice, red chilli, garlic, ginger, broccoli, shredded greens, and eggs, finished with fish sauce and a squeeze of lime. Ready in under 10 minutes.
This recipe comes from the Ultimate Cookery Course and the YouTube video where Ramsay calls it “my fragrant fried rice made simple with advanced prep and ready in 5 minutes.” He describes it as “tasty, cheap and nutritious” and a great way to use up leftover rice.
The technique that makes this better than standard egg fried rice is the well. Instead of scrambling the eggs separately, Ramsay pushes the rice aside, cracks the eggs into the centre of the wok with spring onions and fish sauce, scrambles them right there, then folds everything together.
Gordon Ramsay Fried Rice
Course: DinnerCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
minutes6
minutes310
kcal11
minutesEasy fragrant fried rice from the Ultimate Cookery Course. Day-old jasmine rice stir-fried with chilli, ginger, broccoli, and greens, with eggs scrambled directly in the wok. A one-pot meal in under 10 minutes, roughly 310 kcal per serving.
Ingredients
Groundnut oil, for frying
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
3cm (1 inch) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
250g (9 oz) broccoli, cut into small florets
2 big handfuls of shredded greens, such as cabbage or spring greens
600g (1 lb 5 oz) day-old cooked jasmine rice (from 200g uncooked)
2 eggs, beaten
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
Fish sauce, to taste
Pinch of caster sugar
- To serve:
2 spring onions, trimmed and shredded
2-4 lime wedges
Directions
- Fry the aromatics: Heat a large wok or high-sided frying pan over a medium heat. Add a glug of groundnut oil and fry the chilli, garlic, and ginger for 30 seconds until aromatic.
- Cook the vegetables: Add the broccoli and shredded greens with 1-2 tablespoons of hot water to create steam. Cook over a high heat for about 1 minute until the water evaporates and the vegetables start to soften.
- Stir-fry the rice: Add the day-old rice and stir-fry, mixing it into all the vegetables. Cook for 1-2 minutes until hot all the way through.
- Scramble the eggs in the wok: Make a well in the middle of the rice. Add the beaten eggs, spring onions, and a couple of drops of fish sauce into the well. Scramble over a medium-high heat until cooked through and separating into clumps, then fold the egg into the rice.
- Season and serve: Add a pinch of sugar and season with fish sauce to taste. Serve garnished with shredded spring onions and lime wedges on the side.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay scramble the eggs inside the wok?
Most home cooks scramble eggs in a separate pan and toss them in at the end. Ramsay does it differently: he pushes the rice to the edges, cracks the eggs into the centre, and adds spring onions and fish sauce directly onto the raw egg.
The egg picks up that seasoning as it scrambles, so every clump is flavoured from the inside. Folding it through hot rice in one motion also means the residual heat finishes the egg without overcooking it. Soft and just set, not rubbery.
What did Uncle Roger think of Ramsay’s fried rice?
Nigel Ng reviewed Ramsay’s Indonesian Nasi Goreng video on YouTube and gave it his approval, praising the high heat, day-old rice, and correct wok technique. That Nasi Goreng is a spicier recipe using sambal and rendang paste, but the cold-rice-in-a-screaming-hot-wok principle is identical to this UCC version.
Ramsay calls that one “rice to die for.” That approval is notable because Uncle Roger has criticised other British chefs, particularly Jamie Oliver, for their fried rice methods.
Why fish sauce instead of soy sauce?
Soy sauce is the obvious choice for fried rice, but Ramsay reaches for fish sauce instead. It adds umami depth without the dark colour and heavy saltiness that soy sauce brings. It disappears into the dish rather than dominating it.
The pinch of sugar at the end balances the fish sauce, which is the same sweet-salty-sour principle behind most Southeast Asian cooking. If you use his Thai red curry or Thai green curry rice, you’ll notice the same fish sauce and sugar finish.
Can you leave out the broccoli and greens?
You can, but the dish becomes a different thing. Ramsay’s whole point is turning basic egg fried rice into “the original one-pot meal” by bulking it with vegetables. Without them, it’s just rice and eggs.
If you don’t have broccoli, pak choi, sugar snap peas, or shredded savoy cabbage all work. The greens need to be shredded small so they wilt fast in the wok. Anything that holds water, like courgette or spinach, will make the rice soggy. The same fast-wilt principle applies to the greens in his chicken stir-fry with rice noodles from the same book.
Does Ramsay have other fried rice recipes?
He has at least four across his cookbooks. The Korean-style Prawn Fried Rice in Quick and Delicious uses gochujang and kimchi for a spicy, fermented flavour. He also makes a Nonya Fried Rice and a Pineapple Fried Rice with chicken and cashews in his Great Escape book.
His Ramsay in 10 book has a kimchi fried rice served alongside bavette steak. This UCC version is the simplest and most weeknight-friendly of the lot. His rice cooking guide covers the basics for getting the base rice right before stir-frying.
Does fried rice store well?
Leftover fried rice keeps in the fridge for a day and reheats well in a hot wok with a splash of water. The broccoli holds its texture better than you’d expect. Avoid microwaving it because the rice dries out unevenly and the greens go limp.
One thing to be careful with: rice is one of the biggest culprits for food poisoning when left at room temperature. Cool any leftovers within an hour and refrigerate straight away. Ramsay warns about this in the same chapter, saying rice “should be cooled down as quickly as possible by spreading it out on a tray and placing it in the fridge.” His spicy sausage rice follows the same one-pot format if you want something heartier.
