Thai basil fried rice turns yesterday’s rice into tonight’s dinner: cold, day-old jasmine rice fried hot and fast with a garlic-chile paste, egg, and a savory sauce of oyster sauce, fish sauce, and soy — finished with a big handful of Thai basil that wilts into every grain.
Because this recipe starts from leftover rice, safe handling of that rice matters — the food-safety section below walks through it.
Ingredients
Serves 4.
- 3 cups cooked jasmine rice, chilled overnight (from about 1 1/2 cups uncooked)
- 2 tbsp neutral oil, divided
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 Thai bird’s eye chiles, roughly chopped (to taste)
- 1/2 small yellow onion or 1 shallot, diced
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh Thai basil leaves
For serving: lime wedges and sliced cucumber.
Method
- Rice prep (the day before). Cook the jasmine rice, spread it on a tray or shallow container so it cools fast, and refrigerate within 1 hour of cooking. Chill uncovered or loosely covered overnight so the surface dries. Break up any clumps with your hands before cooking.
- Pound the garlic and chiles into a coarse paste with a mortar and pestle (or mince). Stir the oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar together in a small bowl.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Pour in the beaten eggs and scramble just until set but still soft; remove and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the same pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic-chili paste and onion; stir-fry 1 minute until fragrant and the onion softens.
- Add the cold rice. Toss and press with a spatula, breaking up every clump, and stir-fry 2 minutes until the grains are hot and some are lightly toasted.
- Pour the sauce over the rice and toss 2 minutes until every grain is coated and the pan is dry-ish — the rice should sizzle, not stew.
- Return the eggs to the pan. Turn off the heat, add the basil, and toss until wilted, about 1 minute.
- Serve hot with lime wedges and sliced cucumber.
Tips and ingredient notes
- Why day-old rice: refrigerated cooked rice loses surface moisture, so grains stay separate in the wok. Fresh rice clumps and steams.
- Heat: two bird’s eye chiles is medium-hot — adjust to taste.
- Sauce first: mixing the sauce in a small bowl keeps the wok from getting crowded mid-cook.
Storage and food safety — rice handling
Allergen note: contains fish (fish sauce), shellfish (oyster sauce), soy (soy sauce), and egg. Cooked rice can carry Bacillus cereus spores that survive cooking and can produce toxins if the rice sits warm too long — reheating does not destroy the toxins. Per USDA guidance for leftovers: refrigerate cooked rice promptly at 40°F or below, use within 3 to 4 days, and reheat only the portion you plan to eat until steaming hot throughout (165°F). Separately, the UK Food Standards Agency gives stricter advice specifically for cooked rice: cool it within one hour, keep it refrigerated for no more than one day, and reheat it no more than once.
Sources and references
- FoodSafety.gov — leftover and reheating guidance (165°F).
- UK Food Standards Agency — cooked-rice handling (cool within 1 hour).
Thai Basil Fried Rice
Ingredients
Method
- Rice prep (the day before). Cook the jasmine rice, spread it on a tray or shallow container so it cools fast, and refrigerate within 1 hour of cooking. Chill uncovered or loosely covered overnight so the surface dries. Break up any clumps with your hands before cooking.
- Pound the garlic and chiles into a coarse paste with a mortar and pestle (or mince). Stir the oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar together in a small bowl.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Pour in the beaten eggs and scramble just until set but still soft; remove and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the same pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic-chili paste and onion; stir-fry 1 minute until fragrant and the onion softens.
- Add the cold rice. Toss and press with a spatula, breaking up every clump, and stir-fry 2 minutes until the grains are hot and some are lightly toasted.
- Pour the sauce over the rice and toss 2 minutes until every grain is coated and the pan is dry-ish — the rice should sizzle, not stew.
- Return the eggs to the pan. Turn off the heat, add the basil, and toss until wilted, about 1 minute.
- Serve hot with lime wedges and sliced cucumber.