A quote from L.A. Son, Roy Choi’s cookbook/memoir:

"Ain’t nothing more ghetto than ketchup fried rice. This is a fiend’s meal. It’s like crackers and aerosol cheese spread. It’s like sugar on some white bread or frozen burritos. Basically, some trashy-ass f*cked-up, dumb sh*t. But it’s damn tasty!"


I love this recipe, it's one of those dishes you make when you've failed at grocery shopping for the week and there's nothing in your fridge. You pretty much need some cold rice, whatever veg you've got layin around, some ketchup and an egg. Leftover cooked rice works best for fried rice because it's not as sticky and wet as freshly cooked rice. 

If you ever cook too much rice, you can  store the cooked rice in individual portions in resealable plastic bags. Just date and label and defrost when ready to eat. This saves you time from having to cook more rice next time and it helps with food waste. You can reheat the frozen rice in the microwave for a few minutes until throughly heated. 


Now the key to good fried rice is frying the rice in hot oil over high heat. This gives the rice kernels a crispy texture. Just be sure not to move the rice around too often so it has time to form that crunchy crust that we like so much. 

I prefer making my egg sunny side up or over easy so the oozy yolk can be mixed into the rice, much like one of my favorite Korean dishes, bibimbap! Feel free to add some sriracha or hot chile sauce if you're looking for a kick. 


(serves 1-2)

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
  • 1/2 cup chopped scallions, about 2-3 stalks 
  • 1/2 cup chopped carrot 
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 cups day-old cooked rice 
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 spoonful of sesame oil
  • 1 egg 
  • spoonful of roasted sesame seeds 

Heat a large skillet or pan over high heat and add half of the oil. Fry the rice, making sure to break up the chunks evenly. Cook the rice until it gets crispy, remember, don't stir too often!

Move to one side of the pan. Add a touch more oil and add the carrots and half of the scallions and mix for a minute or two. Mix thoroughly with rice. Slice garlic clove and throw into rice mixture with ketchup and sesame oil. Mix around until rice fully absorbs the ketchup. Remove from the heat and empty rice onto a plate or glass tupperware container.

Clean pan quickly under water and return to heat. Dry additional moisture before adding oil to the pan. Heat oil over medium high heat and fry your egg however you like.

Serve by placing fried egg on top of the rice and garnish with sesame seeds and additional scallions if preferred. 

Fried rice can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days and frozen for up to 6 months. Just place leftovers in a plastic resealable bag and date and label for later use. Simply reheat in the microwave for a few minutes when ready to serve. 

