“Sometimes after a long day, even I don’t have the energy to deal with the hassle of chopping vegetables, pulling out woks and smoking out my kitchen,” Jamie Oliver admitted.
Putting together the one-pan bake of rice, bacon, ham and chicken – and other tasty goodies – the meal can be cooked in the oven for 45 minutes.
“The recipe was a smash hit,” Jamie Oliver recalled after first posting about his super easy chicken rice meal.
“Truth is, it’s delicious – the flavour is fantastic, the rice is fluffy and moist,” the British chef asserted.
Here’s how to make Jamie Oliver’s baked chicken fried rice that is easy to make, and even easier to eat.
Jamie Oliver’s baked chicken fried rice recipe
Ingredients
Baked fried rice
300g long-grain white rice, uncooked
375ml low-salt chicken stock
One-and-a-half tablespoons of light soy sauce
One tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
Two cloves of garlic, finely minced
A quarter teaspoon of white pepper
270g frozen diced vegetables, (carrots, peas and corn mix) still frozen
100g chopped bacon or ham
Marinated chicken
500g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 1.5cm pieces
One tablespoon oyster sauce
One tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
One tablespoon light soy sauce
Two teaspoons sesame oil
One clove of garlic
To finish
Two eggs, scrambled (optional)
Two teaspoons sesame oil
One green onion stem, finely sliced
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Place all the baked fried rice ingredients, except the vegetables and bacon, in a 23 x 33cm metal pan (not ceramic or glass).
Shake to spread the rice evenly, ensuring all the rice is submerged under the stock. Sprinkle the vegetables evenly across the surface, then sprinkle the bacon on top, then cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the marinated chicken ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside to marinate while the rice cooks.
Remove the foil (reserve foil), then spread the chicken in a single layer across the surface of the rice. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, cover with the reserved foil and rest for 10 minutes. Use a rubber paddle to turn the rice over and gently break it up.
Making the scrambled egg (if using)
Jamie Oliver said: “I tried all sorts of ways to bake the egg in the oven along with the rice, but it just didn’t work or got unnecessarily fiddly. It’s just easiest to cook it on the stove.”
Whisk the eggs, then scramble them in a non-stick frying pan over medium–high heat with a teaspoon of oil until just cooked. Transfer to a bowl, then add to the rice.
Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with the green onion. Gently toss the fried rice to mix it through, then serve!
Another bonus about this recipe is that the dish can be stored in the fridge for up to three days, and in the freezer for three months.
