11 Types Of Fried Rice Around The World You Need To Try

Fried rice is how many people first experience Chinese cuisine. Delicious, customizable and affordable, it has all the makings of a dish that everyone can enjoy. The original sixth-century recipe was much like today's iteration, made with eggs, any available vegetables, and leftover rice. It was called Yangzhou fried rice, after its birthplace, and is one of several variations in China. Regional styles underscore how versatile this iconic dish is, a quality that helped it become a global staple following the mass migration of Chinese during the mid-to-late 19th century. 

Like pizza and pasta, fried rice is open to interpretation. In Thailand, fruit and seafood are incorporated, whereas in Nigeria, they use a turmeric-infused stock to flavor the rice, which can vary in type from country to country. You may be familiar with some of the variations included in this guide, but lesser-known ones from Peru and the Philippines are just as crave-worthy. Here are 11 distinct styles of fried rice from cultures around the world. 

Nasi goreng is a sweet and savory fried rice dish popular in Indonesia. Meaning fried rice in English, it is made with long grain rice, chicken or shrimp, shrimp paste, chili powder, and onions cooked with sweet kecap manis sauce, a syrupy Indonesian soy sauce with a smoky caramel sweetness and touch of star anise. It is then topped with a fried egg and served with fresh cucumber slices and tomatoes. Kecap manis adds a sweet touch to this fried rice variety, giving the rice a brown color and the meat a caramelized crunch.

Like other fried rices, nasi goreng is customizable. The meat can be substituted for veggies and the fried egg with an egg replacement brand. Dried fish is also sometimes used. It's known as a nutritious breakfast meal, but people eat it for lunch and dinner as well. Nasi goreng is one of 28 rice dishes around the world we think you need to try.

When the Chinese migrated to Peru, their culinary traditions merged, leading to the creation of Chifa, also known as Chinese Peruvian cuisine. Chinese fried rice evolved into arroz chaufa, the Peruvian version you should experience at least once. According to The Washington Post, fried rice was one of several economical dishes popular among Chinese immigrants in Peru between the 1840s and 1870s, a place where they faced discrimination and slave-like conditions. Chifa developed from immigrants having to make do with local ingredients, later becoming a ubiquitous part of Peruvian cuisine. 

Today, arroz chaufa is commonly available at Peruvian restaurants. It's cooked in a wok and made with scrambled egg, bell pepper, green onion, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and cumin, which adds an earthy spice to the profile you don't find in fried rice from China. It can also include chicken, pork, or a seafood medley.

Thailand's take on fried rice has a fruity flare. It's called khao pad sapparod, also known as pineapple shrimp fried rice. It uses many of the same ingredients as Yangzhou fried rice, but swaps eggs for pineapple chunks, a spice blend of ginger, curry powder, and coriander, chicken or sausage with shrimp, and a garnish of fresh cilantro. Combining aromatic spices, citrusy sweet flavor, and herbaceous freshness makes khao pad sapparod a vibrant departure from traditional fried rice.

Pineapple zest and wok-fried shrimp are a winning combo, and the use of aromatics brings out meaty flavor in the chicken and sausage. Rice is cooked with leftover fruit juice, stock, sesame oil and soy sauce and given a sweet and savory flavor. This Thai restaurant menu staple is mostly served on a plate or bowl, though is sometimes served in a halved pineapple boat, making it both tasty and eye-catching. 

India is a hop, skip and a jump from China, so it's no surprise fried rice found a way into the local culinary scene. It goes by the name vagharelo bhaat, or Gurajati fried rice, and combines elements from both Chinese and Thai styles, with an Indian touch of cumin, mustard seeds, diced chilis, red chili powder, turmeric and hing powder — also known as asafetida, a garlic and onion-like Indian spice. 

Valgharelo bhaat is primarily popular in western India near the state of Gujarat, and is traditionally eaten for breakfast. Each household puts a unique spin on it. People have it at restaurants and for lunch and dinner, too. Basmati and jasmine are the preferred rice varieties, or any long-grain rice. This style is generally vegan-friendly, but can be spruced up with paneer, chicken, tahini-based sauces and other ingredients complementary to Indian flavors.   

There are more variations of Chinese fried rice than you may know. In America, Yangzhou is most widespread, the first iteration that we covered. Another popular style hails from China's Fujian province, which has a coastal Cantonese cuisine known for its seafood. Fujian fried rice, also called hokkien fried rice, shares similarities to the Yangzhou style, but is more meat-focused than veggie and way more saucy. It traditionally features scallops, shrimp, and chicken, but other proteins can be substituted.

Some of the flavoring agents include soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, sesame oil, five spice powder, oyster sauce, paired with an umami-rich blend of chicken stock, oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce, sugar and white pepper. Unlike vagharelo bhaat and nasi goreng, which are considered breakfast foods, Fujian fried rice is typically eaten for lunch and dinner. It can also be found at casual and fine dining restaurants.

South Korean fried rice features one of the country's national dishes: kimchi. Kimchi fried rice, or kimchi bokkeumbap, is not only very popular in Korea, but it might be one of the best styles of fried rice, period. This spicy variation consists of long-grain rice, kimchi, fried egg, radish, green onions, garlic, green pepper, and sesame oil, and can be customized with pork, chicken and more. It's a great alternative to traditional fried rice and a way to use kimchi that's nearly expired.

Along with being widely available throughout South Korea, it's a well-known Korean dish around the world, delicious and beneficial for gut health. Kimchi is a powerhouse food loaded with vitamins A and C, minerals, amino acids, and probiotics, among other nutritious qualities. Chef Deuki Hong and food writer Matt Rodbard's Kimchi fried rice recipe features chopped bacon and fried eggs drizzled with gochujang-infused butter. However, for heat-sensitive palates, this style is just as tasty with mild kimchi and soy sauce.

Southeast of China, many Filipinos start the day with sinangag, a simple and pungent fried rice dish made with salt, pepper, fried egg and copious amounts of garlic. Not to be confused with the sour soup sinigang, sinangag literally means garlic fried rice in Tagalog and is one of the country's most beloved breakfast go-tos. People frequently eat it with lunch and dinner, too, sometimes adding spam, tocino pork, longanisa sausage or bangus fish. Tocino pork and longanisa sausage have a sweet and savory flavor that Filipino food is known for, and bangus fish features prominently in the cuisine.

You can further personalize it with ingredients from popular Filipino dishes, like adobo chicken or lechon. If you love the intense taste of garlic, this fried rice style is definitely worth trying and one of the easiest to make at home. You can also find it on the menu at most Filipino restaurants.

Nigerian fried rice is a far cry from the Chinese variety. For one, it's made using Nigerian-style stock, composed of bony cuts of meat (beef, chicken, or both), red onions, green bell pepper, chili peppers, bay leaves, fresh ginger and garlic, curry powder, dried thyme, salt and water. The same stock is used to flavor jollof rice. For two, the stock is just part of a complex dish that features long-grain rice (mostly basmati), onions, carrots, more curry powder, dried thyme, turmeric powder, coconut milk, liver, prawns, and vegetables of various consistencies.

The ingredient list could be mistaken for Middle Eastern if you're unfamiliar with Nigeria's culinary history, which has Arab influences. Unlike Chinese fried rice, this version is traditionally prepared in parts then cooked together, so takes over twice as long as this fried rice recipe. The rice is cooked in stock rather than using leftover rice, giving the dish an overall fresher taste than China's.

Fried rice has even captured hearts in the Middle East. Persians refer to it as tahdig, which means bottom of the pot, and it consists of jasmine rice, salt, turmeric, almonds, prunes, dried apricots and dried dates. Textural and tasty, this unique fried rice variation is sometimes called the "holy grail" of Persian cuisine, often enjoyed at home, in restaurants, and even by royals. It's crunchy, buttery, aromatic, and savory all in one. 

Most iterations of fried rice can be traced back to China; however, tahdig might be one of the only originating in Persia. Along with completely distinct ingredients, it takes an hour to cook. And that's the modern approach. Traditionally, Persian cooks would spend several hours preparing just the rice. Tahdig has evolved considerably over the years and is now made in numerous ways. There's potato tahdig, eggplant tahdig, shrimp tahdig, and even chicken wing tahdig, to name a few.

Japan combined an omelet with fried rice to create omurice (pronounced o-muraisu), a fluffy, eggy, flavor-loaded take on China's iconic dish. Omurice is a portmanteau of how omelet is pronounced in Japanese and was inspired by Western-style breakfast. The omelet has a slightly undercooked consistency that makes it easy to break apart, blend into the fried rice underneath and drizzle with ketchup. It's a fairly recent addition to Japan's culinary lexicon, appearing sometime between 1900-1922. Debatable origins aside, it hasn't taken long for omurice to become a beloved dish.

Omelets and fried rice are both extremely versatile, and when combined, open the door to endless flavor combinations. A classic omurice may consist of a simple omelet atop chicken fried rice. Or, you can satisfy your cravings with a meat lover's omelet and pork fried rice. The popularity of omurice even extends beyond Japan. In Taiwan, a variation called danbaofan exists, and there's one in Korea named  omeu-raiseu, shaped like a tornado swirl.