Fry

Jean-Georges's Ginger Fried Rice

October 24, 2012
4.6
13 Ratings
Photo by Linda Xiao
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 25 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Jean-George Vongerichten brings us a world-brightening fried rice you could have right now -- not tomorrow -- if you really wanted. Adapted slightly from "The Minimalist: Fried Rice, Dressed Simply" (New York Times, January 27, 2010) —Genius Recipes

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup peanut oil if you're Mark Bittman, chicken fat if you're Jean-Georges
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 cups thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and dried
  • 4 cups cooked rice, preferably jasmine, at room temperature (see note below)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 4 teaspoons soy sauce
Directions
  1. In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly. Alternately, you can pour the oil into a heat-proof bowl through a fine-mesh strainer, then return the flavorful oil to the pan, reserving the ginger and garlic bits.
  2. Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons oil and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Season lightly with salt.
  3. Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through. Season to taste with salt.
  4. In a nonstick skillet, fry eggs in remaining oil, sunny-side-up, until edges are set but yolk is still runny.
  5. Divide rice among four dishes. Top each with an egg and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger over everything and serve.
  6. Note: Use leftover cooked rice if you have it. Here are some tips if you're cooking the rice fresh, to make sure it isn't too soggy: When the cook time is done, leave the rice undisturbed in the pot (uncovered) for 5 minutes. Spread the rice on a tray (or two) to dry out. While you prep the rest of the ingredients, put it by an open window or a fan, or pop the tray in the fridge or freezer if you have room. Jaden Hair at Steamy Kitchen also recommends starting with 1/4 to 1/3 less water when cooking the rice.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

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    HalfPint
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    MCBrown
  • luvcookbooks
    luvcookbooks
  • ctgal
    ctgal
  • Susan
    Susan
Genius Recipes

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

39 Reviews

HalfPint August 21, 2023
So much flavor for simple ingredients. It is not a quick recipe (unless you have the ginger/garlic/leek oil made in advance) but once the oil is made, it becomes a great weeknight meal with a fried egg.
 
whatiseenow February 14, 2022
Absolutely delicious. Scrambled the eggs instead of doing over easy, and I could easily eat half of this in one sitting. Will add some veggies next time.
 
MCBrown November 15, 2021
I loved this recipe. I used everything as is. That Korean idea of putting interesting bits on top and then stirring them up worked so well! For those who said this feeds fewer in their family, same! We had this conversation after we ate it. I don't NEED more food, I just want to keep having those flavors! I made it Bittman style. Maybe someday, I'll save up the chicken fat enough to make it the way Jean-George meant it to be. 😏
 
Queezle_Sister April 29, 2020
Fried rice hardly needs a recipe, but this one is a useful guide. I used much less oil (maybe 2T), I scrambled the eggs separately, and a slightly different mix of vegetables. But this recipe did give me confidence to walk into the kitchen and prepare the fried rice of my gingery dreams.
 
Jay April 27, 2019
I like the crunchy ginger and garlic at the end, but the amount of oil is ridiculous. You could cut it in half and get a better result. Leeks are nice, though...
 
Jillian M. November 9, 2018
LOVED this! Made it with peanut oil, but to be honest, this serves two in my household! You could definitely add more veggies or tofu, and I used a diced up white onion because it was all I had and it was great. I've made it twice with left over white basmati rice and also brown, but was most delicious with the white.
 
luvcookbooks October 28, 2018
Just made this for dinner. Less oil and added two chopped red peppers and a cup or so of leftover shredded Brussels sprouts to the red onion I substituted for the leeks. With all the vegetables, it was a one dish meal. :)
 
macfly18 August 20, 2018
This was surprisingly good given how simple it was. We didn't have eggs, so subbed pan-fried tofu for the protein. And added a carrot/red onion/jalapeno slaw for some acid and heat.
 
JoAnne L. June 12, 2018
I made this with leftover brown rice, sans the fried egg as I’m Vegan. I added small cremini mushrooms sliced thin and sautĂ©ed lightly in one Tablespoon of sesame oil. I reduced the peanut oil to 1/3 cup and mixed the soy sauce (I use Tamari) into the finished product before serving. The flavors were good but my husband and I still found the rice to be too greasy or oily even after the reduction of the peanut oil. I will try this again but reduce the oil further and at my husbands suggestion, use less peanut oil and more sesame oil as I usually do when making fried rice. I did enjoy the crispy, salty ginger and garlic topping and the sweetness of the leeks!
 
ctgal June 2, 2018
This is a surprising and wonderful recipe! The combination of salt, sweet (soy sauce), crunchy (ginger and garlic), and rich (the egg running into the rice) is perfect! I would never have imagined that it would have the punch it did. Thank you for a delicious and unique recipe.
 
Susan May 31, 2018
As my spouse said, “you don’t ever have to make any other fried rice ever again.” This is nothing short of fabulous. Make it. Eat it. You won’t be sorry.
 
Mae July 27, 2017
This was a nice way to change up how I had been making fried rice. I made a few changes just because of what I had on hand, and in some cases preference. I used a yellow onion instead of leeks and vegetable oil instead of peanut. Also I added some Napa cabbage in with the onion. I didn't use any eggs. Instead I steamed some broccoli and red bell pepper. I ran out of sesame oil, so I mixed together some soy sauce, peanut butter, and agave and drizzled that over the top. I love the fried garlic and ginger, and cooking everything in that infused oil was delicious!
 
Megan March 1, 2015
This was truly scrumptious.
 
Morgan November 30, 2014
"peanut oil if you're Mark Bittman, chicken fat if you're Jean-Georges" is the best part about reading this recipe!
 
Maddie M. November 25, 2014
Yum. I loved this! Just made it with shallots instead of leeks (due to what was at my disposal) and loved it. Only changes I made were the shallots and mixing the fried garlic/ginger after turning the heat off in the pan (that just made sure they were evenly distributed throughout the dish). So simple, but so good.
 
arcane54 November 8, 2014
I've been switching this up a bit by adding some finely chopped chicken or thinly sliced pork. I make half the recipe (one for tonight/one for tomorrow) but always make the full recipe of garlic and ginger crispy-bits. They're a great additon to salad, eggs, stirfries...
 
Beth February 20, 2014
My husband and I made this last night. We were fearful that it would be a little bland, but it came together nicely. It is definitely a keeper!
 
prem K. January 27, 2014
Try adding diced onions fried seperately, with a dash of amchur(mango powder)cilantro and a sprig of curry leaf.For me, scrambled egg works not the runny yolk!
 
Nancy M. October 14, 2013
This seemed like a pretty boring recipe but I love anything with a gooey egg on top so I tried it. What a happy surprise. It's delicious.
 
Ghost H. July 15, 2013
What I thought when I kept seeing this recipe in a few different places was that what a French chef knows about fried rice and how good a fried rice can be. And I finally tried it and I was a convert. Since then I tried his fried sushi cakes recipe as well. Both awesome!
 
Marion B. April 22, 2015
You might know this by now, but J-G is married to a Korean American woman. She has had a show (on PBS, I think) that has features about Korean cuisine and then she and J-G cook something together that usually marries French and Korean.