Nigerian Style Chicken Fried Rice

Nigerian Style Chicken Fried Rice – Transform leftover rice into an easy fried rice dish that your family will love. This version of the Nigerian fried Rice dish delivers a delicious flavor with minimal efforts. It comes together in a little time with minimal effort making it perfect for a weeknight.

Chicken Fried Rice

This Chicken Fried Rice recipe is a little tweak to the classic Nigerian Fried Rice, and it features a mixture of vegetables, chicken, and rice.  This is a very simple, straightforward, and no-fail recipe but very tasty! 

Nigerian chicken Fried rice is one of those basic one-pot recipes anyone can make. It’s usually served as a main dish or a side dish, depending on what you throw into the mix.

Making fried rice is very simple — there isn’t only one way to do it — but there are a few tips that help you get the best results.

Fresh Rice or Leftover Rice?

Nigerian fried rice is quite different from the traditional Chinese Fried Rice where it is recommended to use a day old rice. For this recipe, you can use either freshly cooked rice (parboiled) or leftover cold rice. If you choose to use freshly cooked rice, make sure you choose the right type of Rice. I like to use the long grain parboiled rice or basmati rice. This type of Rice is very easy to work with when making Fried Rice likewise, Jollof Rice because it’s firmer and less sticky, therefore, making it very difficult to go wrong when working with it.

Another key to achieving a good result when making this fried rice is to allow the freshly cooked rice (parboiled) to cool slightly before using it. The rice should be cool to the touch before adding it to the pan. If you are short of time, simply spread the rice on a sheet pan so that the steam can easily escape or just place the cooked rice inside the fridge for a few minutes.

Finally, it is important that you always wash the rice before cooking it. This will help to remove the excess starch on the rice, which can cause the rice to be clumped together.

How to Make the Nigerian Style Chicken Fried Rice: Top Tips

Use either freshly cooked rice or leftover rice:

Unlike the Chinese fried rice, this recipe can either use freshly cooked rice or leftover rice. 

Freshly cooked rice: When you use freshly cooked rice, be sure not to overcook the rice. Cook till just done. 

If the rice is overcooked, it will become sticky and too soft to withstand all the tossing you’ll do when you are frying the rice. 

Day-old rice:  This rice has dried out enough to separate into individual grains, so it’s ready to soak up all the flavors you add and also withstand the tossing while frying.

I always like to steam extra rice whenever I cook it as a side dish. It freezes so well and making it a very handy convenience food to stash away for when you’re ready to fry rice. 

Note that:

The color of the Nigerian fried rice varies depending on the curry powder used. In this recipe, I used the red hot Jamaican curry powder.

Long-grain rice is preferred for this recipe because it won’t clump as much as short-grain rice would.

Be sure to cut the chicken up into bite-size so that the chicken can cook easily and easy-eating!

I used Chicken breast for this recipe. However, any boneless chicken part will work just fine.

Watch how it’s made:

Chicken Fried Rice Ingredient Ideas

Apart from the mixed vegetables that I used in this recipe, other vegetables  you can use are:

• Green onions
• Carrots
• Snow peas
• Celery
• Bell peppers
• Bean sprouts
• Cabbage

Other Protein you can use

• Bacon
• Pork
• Ham
• Shrimp
• Tofu
• Beef

More Fried Rice Recipes to Explore

We love fried rice meals, not because they are only tasty but they are so easy to make. Below are some of our favorites:

• The classic Nigerian fried Rice – a very simple yet delicious recipe. This version relies on a ton of fresh vegetables, Beef Liver, and a little bit of Oil for crisping it up.
• Easy Chinese Fried Rice – Tastes like a Chinese restaurant dish.
• Coconut fried rice –  Rice cooked in broth and coconut milk with lots of vegetables and protein. The end product is an enticing combination of textures, colors, and flavors. It smells heavenly and tastes even better!
• Easy shrimp pineapple fried rice – made with shrimps, sweet pineapple chunks, rice, vegetables, soy sauce, and scrambled eggs.
• Shrimp Fried Rice – This easy Shrimp fried rice has a fantastic flavor, not one that is overpowering but it is unique in its own way.

If you make this Nigerian Style Chicken Fried Rice Recipe, I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Instagram or Facebook. #cheflolaskitchen

Chicken Fried Rice

This version of the Nigerian fried Rice dish delivers a delicious flavor with minimal efforts. It comes together in a little time with minimal effort making it perfect for a weeknight.

4.75 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Lunch/Dinner

Cuisine: African, Nigerian

Keyword: chicken fried rice, fried rice, rice

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 People

Calories: 435.6kcal

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb Chicken Breast
• 4 tbsp cooking oil divided into two
• 1 tsp rosemary substitute with thyme
• 2 Tsp garlic Minced
• 1 Tsp Ginger Grated
• Salt to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Habanero pepper
• 1 onion medium-size [sliced]
• 2 Cups mixed veggies Sweet corn, green peas, diced carrots, and green beans
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 Tsp seasoning powder or seasoning cube
• 1 tsp thyme
• 5 cups cooked rice

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cut the chicken into bite-size and set aside.
• Preheat two tablespoons of oil, add the chicken, rosemary, minced garlic, grated ginger, salt, bay leaves, and habanero pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the remaining oil and onions and cook till onions become tender. Remove the habanero pepper, mince and set aside
• Add the mixed veggies and cook till heated through.
• Stir in the Curry powder, seasoning powder, thyme, and minced habanero pepper.
• Add the rice and cook stirring continuously on high heat until heated through.
• Serve hot.

Notes

Long-grain rice is preferred for this recipe because it won’t clump as much as short-grain rice would.

Be sure to cut the chicken up into bite-size so that the chicken can cook easily and easy-eating!

I used Chicken breast for this recipe. However, any boneless chicken part will work just fine.

Nutrition

Calories: 435.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 48.1g | Protein: 30.2g | Fat: 13.1g | Saturated Fat: 1.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 72.6mg | Sodium: 336.2mg | Potassium: 647.4mg | Fiber: 3.6g | Sugar: 1.1g | Vitamin A: 3156IU | Vitamin C: 12.4mg | Calcium: 45.7mg | Iron: 1.6mg

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