Thai Fried Rice (Khao Pad)
Cold jasmine rice stir-fried hard and fast in a hot wok with egg, garlic, onion and tender chicken, seasoned with soy and fish sauce and finished with a squeeze of lime. Simple, fragrant, and endlessly comforting.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Loosen the cold rice
Tip the cold cooked rice onto a tray or large bowl and break up any clumps with your fingers, so every grain is separate. Cold, slightly dried-out rice is the secret to fried rice that stays fluffy instead of turning mushy and sticky in the wok.
- 600 g cooked jasmine rice
✅ Done when: the rice grains are loose and separated, with no large clumps left
Cook the chicken
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds until fragrant, then add the chicken and stir-fry until it is fully cooked through and lightly golden at the edges.
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 250 g chicken
✅ Done when: the chicken is opaque all the way through with no pink inside
Scramble in the egg
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Add the rice
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Season and add vegetables
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Serve
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Loosen the cold rice
Tip the cold cooked rice onto a tray or large bowl and break up any clumps with your fingers, so every grain is separate. Cold, slightly dried-out rice is the secret to fried rice that stays fluffy instead of turning mushy and sticky in the wok.
- 600 g cooked jasmine rice
✅ Done when: the rice grains are loose and separated, with no large clumps left
Cook the chicken
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds until fragrant, then add the chicken and stir-fry until it is fully cooked through and lightly golden at the edges.
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 250 g chicken
✅ Done when: the chicken is opaque all the way through with no pink inside
Scramble in the egg
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Add the rice
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Season and add vegetables
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Fried rice itself traveled to Thailand with Chinese immigrants, who brought the technique of stir-frying leftover rice in a hot wok. Thai cooks adapted it with their own pantry: fish sauce instead of only soy sauce, jasmine rice instead of the drier Chinese long-grain varieties, and bright finishing touches like lime and fresh chilies.
Over time khao pad became one of the most common dishes in Thailand, sold everywhere from street carts to upscale restaurants, usually named after whichever protein goes into it, such as khao pad gai for chicken or khao pad goong for shrimp.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It is fast, cheap, deeply satisfying, and endlessly adaptable, which is exactly why it became Thailand's everyday comfort food, loved by locals and visitors alike.
💡 Fun Fact
In Thailand, fried rice is almost always served with a wedge of lime and a small side of sliced chilies in fish sauce, so each person can adjust the sourness and heat at the table.
Thailand, nationwide, closely linked to Thai-Chinese communities
13.76°N, 100.50°E
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