What to Serve with Fried Rice: 39 Delicious Ideas to Make it Better Than Last Time
What to serve with fried rice! Here are the best side dishes to eat with fried rice for a fantastically delicious dinner.
When a craving for Chinese fried rice hits, there are just no substitutes. It’s seriously comfort food at its finest.
White rice, brown rice, or jasmine rice (or even leftover rice!) is combined with small pieces of fresh veggies, an egg, and often meat like chicken, pork, beef, or cooked shrimp.
Whether you make homemade fried rice, get takeout from your favorite Chinese restaurant, or heat up a frozen version from the grocery store, you know you’re always in for a treat.
Of course, the great debate is if fried rice is a main dish or a side dish, and it’s totally up to you!
It can be served as a meal all on its own, but you may want to fill out your meal a bit more with a main course or other sides.
So if you’ve been wondering what is good to serve with fried rice, here’s a great list of ideas!
Main dishes to serve with fried rice
1. Stir fry
Delicious and healthy stir fry is loaded with veggies, your favorite protein, and a super tasty sauce.
Stir fry sides can include noodles, zoodles, or of course fried rice!
2. Chicken teriyaki
Easy, 15-minute chicken teriyaki tastes like it came from a restaurant, but you can make it quicker than it would take you to put on your shoes and drive to pick it up.
Serving it over fried rice makes it a soul-satisfying meal everyone will gobble up.
3. Sweet and sour pork
Sweet and sour pork (or sweet and sour chicken) is the perfect combo of crispy and juicy bite-sized pork in a fantastic sauce.
It’s tangy with a nice balance of sweet flavor that you won’t soon forget.
4. Lemon chicken
Lemon, garlic, and herbs (and maybe a little white wine) turn regular ol’ chicken into something super memorable.
These baked lemon chicken breasts are equal parts easy and flavorful, and just the perfect main dish to pair with fried rice.
5. General Tso’s
General Tso’s chicken is an amazingly delicious Chinese dish that’s the perfect mix of sweet and spicy.
The crispy chicken is bathed in a delicious sauce that also tasted really good over fried rice.
6. Shrimp tempura
Crunchy shrimp tempura makes a great dippable appetizer or main dish to pair with fried rice.
Shrimp is coated in a tasty tempura batter and fried, but are surprisingly light as fried foods go.
7. Beef & broccoli
Flank steak and broccoli get tossed in a mouth-watering sauce made from hoisin, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and soy sauce.
You can whip beef and broccoli up in under 20 minutes, and it’s the ideal dish to serve with rice.
8. Asian turkey meatballs
Asian-glazed turkey meatballs are deliciously sticky and sweet.
Ground turkey gets seasoned with Asian cuisine flavors, formed into meatballs, and tossed in a tasty sauce.
Serve them with fried rice and a veggie, and watch everyone lick their plates clean.
9. Honey chili garlic shrimp
You can throw together this sweet chili garlic shrimp dish in about 15 minutes, but no one would guess it was so easy!
It’s perfect for busy weeknights, or when you’re just too tired for an in-depth cooking process.
10. Garlic teriyaki chicken thighs
These easy garlic teriyaki chicken thighs are dripping with flavor and tender goodness.
You can make them right on your stovetop, and serve them with fried rice for an easy and delicious meal that’ll feel restaurant-quality.
11. Ginger beef
Crispy ginger beef feels like your favorite indulgent takeout.
The sauce is the perfect combo of zesty and sweet!
12. Spicy fried chicken wings
If you’ve never tried Chinese wings, you’re in for a treat with this spicy fried chicken.
The spice comes from seasonings, instead of the buffalo sauce you’ve had on other chicken wings.
13. Soy ginger salmon
This easy soy ginger salmon will probably become a new regular on your menu.
It’s healthy, flavorful, and really quick and easy to make!
14. Roast duck
Lemon, garlic, and balsamic glazed roast duck is tender and juicy, but with crispy skin everyone will rave about.
Roast duck is quite common in Chinese cuisine, which makes it the perfect main dish for fried rice.
15. Orange chicken
Chinese orange chicken takes crispy fried chicken and drenches it in a delicious orange sauce.
This recipe is SO much better than your typical takeout or frozen orange chicken.
16. Pepper steak
Pepper steak stir fry takes thinly sliced flank steak and bell peppers, and simmers them in a savory sauce you’ll love.
Perfect for those nights when you just want a delicious, quick dinner you can make and eat in the comfort in your home.
17. Chili lime pork tenderloin
Whip up the quick marinade for this chili lime pork tenderloin, and reap the benefits of so much added flavor.
It just goes to show that a few simple ingredients can evolve into a deliciously memorable dinner.
18. Indian butter chicken
Butter chicken, also known as murgh makhani, is one of the most popular dishes in Indian cuisine, and rightly so.
It’s bathed in an addictly silky sauce, making it perfect to serve over fried rice.
19. Sushi
You can grab ready-made sushi at most grocery stores these days, if you really want to make life easy.
Or try your hand at homemade sushi – it makes a really fun at home date night!
20. Sesame garlic tofu
If you’ve wondered what to serve with fried rice for vegetarians, pan-fried sesame garlic tofu is it!
The tofu gets crispy, and the sauce is to die for.
21. Gobi manchurian
Gobi manchurian is an Indian Chinese dish made from crispy cauliflower bathed in a sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy sauce.
It’s the perfect vegan or vegetarian dish to go with fried rice, but even carnivores will love this one!
Side dishes to serve with fried rice
22. Egg rolls or spring rolls
Spring rolls are crunchy and super flavorful, making them almost everyone’s favorite part of the Chinese restaurant experience.
The filling is made from pork and veggies, with a crispy outer shell, and they’re oh-so-very dippable.
(Feel free to buy them frozen from your grocery store if you don’t feel like making them from scratch!)
23. Fried egg
A sunny side up, poached, or fried egg is a surprisingly delicious way to top fried rice.
The yolk spills out over the rice and becomes a sauce that you just can’t duplicate.
24. Wontons
Wontons are a Chinese dumpling with many variations – most commonly deep fried or steamed.
Either way, just make sure to have extra on hand, since everyone will come back for more!
25. Soup
Just like at Chinese restaurants, it’s so fun to serve a cup of soup alongside your fried rice and favorite main course.
There are SO many delicious Asian soups, so feel free to take your pick!
The best Chinese soups include:
26. Potstickers
Potstickers are a type of Chinese dumplings, with a thinner, more tender wrapper than wontons.
They have a really tasty filling most often made of ground pork and shredded vegetables.
27. Chickpea potato curry
Chickpea curry and potato, also known as chana aloo curry, is a vegetarian stew made from inexpensive and commonly-found spices.
It’s so flavorful that carnivores won’t even notice that it doesn’t contain meat!
28. Chinese broccoli
Chinese broccoli is one of the healthiest leafy greens out there.
It gets sauteed in rice wine, ginger, and garlic over high heat.
It’s an easy vegetable side dish that goes with almost anything, and will be right at home next to fried rice.
29. Asian slaw
This easy, crunchy, colorful Asian slaw is a great make ahead side dish that works with so many different dinners.
It’ll give you the perfect excuse to buy those colorful purple cabbages you always see at the store.
Or feel free to pick up a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix to make life super easy.
30. Sambal potatoes
These delicious Sambal potatoes is made from diced baked potatoes and tossed in a Sambal sauce made from red chili paste.
They’re so crispy and flavorful!
31. Sauteed mushrooms
Sauteed mushrooms make such a great side dish or topping for so many types of food.
The teriyaki sauce gives them an Asian flair that pairs well with any fried rice dinner.
32. Sweet and sour vegetables
Pineapple and frozen vegetables make this easy, 15-minute sweet and sour vegetable side dish quick and inexpensive.
It’s the perfect combination of tangy and sweet!
33. Chinese garlic cucumber salad
This Chinese garlic cucumber salad is full of tangy (and slightly spicy) goodness.
It’s surprisingly addictive, and goes with any easy fried rice recipe or stir fry perfectly.
34. Sesame roasted brussel sprouts
Honey sesame roasted brussels sprouts have only 5 ingredients, but they’re sure to become a new staple in your rotation.
The addition of teriyaki sauce and toasted sesame oil adds a nice Asian flair, not to mention a more complex flavor profile.
35. Chilled tofu & garlic appetizer
This sliced tofu and garlic appetizer is ideal for serving vegetarians or vegans.
Soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and scallions give it so much flavor.
Plus, it only takes 10 minutes to throw together!
36. Hoisin roasted asparagus
You’ll love the flavor twist on this hoisin-roasted asparagus.
Hoisin gives this dish so much depth, and roasting or grilling the asparagus adds a smoky flavor that can’t be beat.
37. Kimchee
Kimchee is fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radishes.
It can help cut the greasiness of Chinese food, and some people even put it right in their fried rice.
38. Japanese pancakes
Okonomiyaki are savory ‘pancakes’ made from cabbage, flour, and egg, and often topped with bacon and grilled to a crunchy golden brown.
It looks a lot like a pizza, actually!
Feel free to customize it for your favorite toppings and put your own twist on this Japanese delicacy.
39. Pineapple
There’s just something about grilled pineapple.
The grill caramelizes the sugars in the pineapple, and gives it a smoky touch that you’ll love.
Pineapple is a common ingredient in Chinese recipes, so it’s a great side dish for fried rice and your favorite main course.
Toppings for fried rice
When serving fried rice, it’s best to set out a sauce or two as well.
The best toppings for fried rice are:
- Soy sauce
- Green onions
- Oyster sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Fish sauce
Ready to serve fried rice for dinner?
I hope this list of fried rice sides and main dishes has given you lots of inspiration for what to serve next time you make it.
Rice has a mild flavor on its own, but these great side dishes can add so much variety to your meal plan or dinner party!
What to serve with fried rice! Here are the best side dishes to eat with fried rice for a fantastically delicious dinner. 1. Choose which main dish and other side dishes you'd like to serve with your fried rice
What to Eat with Fried Rice
Ingredients
Instructions
2. Gather the ingredients and prepare the meal
3. Serve a delicious fried rice dinner
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