Flavorful rice fried with scrambled eggs, smoked tofu with vegetables. This quick and easy egg tofu fried rice is ready in less than 30 minutes. A great main dish made with simple ingredients and delicious for the whole family!
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I love this egg and tofu fried rice because it's a simple, easy and delicious meal! It's vegetarian for those who can't consume meat but are able to eat egg. It comes together quickly with leftover cooked rice and other simple ingredients!
I love this Chinese dish when I'm not craving anything meat heavy. The smoked tofu offers a lot of flavor to the fried rice making it a great plant based protein. If you can't find smoked tofu, substitute with extra-firm tofu but I suggest seasoning it.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Cold day-old cooked rice: the best kind of rice for fried rice is jasmine rice or substitute with regular white long grain rice. It's also recommended to use cold rice for fluffy grains. If you use freshly cooked hot rice, it can cause clumpy fried rice so please read how to resolve this below.
- Eggs
- Smoked tofu: or substitute with extra-firm tofu seasoned with an even sprinkle of salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
- Frozen Peas: or substitute with fresh peas or frozen or fresh chopped green beans.
- Frozen Carrots: or substitute with fresh diced carrots or frozen or fresh corn niblets.
- Onion
- Garlic cloves
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
- Unsalted Butter: or substitute with dairy-free butter if you have a dairy intolerance.
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Dark soy sauce: this is thicker and darker than regular soy sauce.
- Sesame oil: for that nutty flavor or omit if you're allergic.
- Salt and Black Pepper
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
Can I use same day cooked rice?
You may use same day warm cooked rice but it will create clumpy fried rice due to the excess moisture. To fix this: Spread out the hot rice in a thin layer on a large baking sheet. Place it in the freezer for 45-60 minutes fully exposed. Then break up the rice with a rice paddle or clean hands moistened with neutral oil to prevent it from sticking.
Expert Tips
- Use cold day-old rice for fluffy fried rice! The excess moisture causes for soggy fried rice that clumps together.
- Break up the leftover rice with a rice paddle or clean hands to expose the separate grains! This allows for the grains to toast in the pan and become evenly seasoned.
- If you're making fresh rice for this recipe, use a few tablespoons less water to steam the rice. Make sure to also dry it out by referring to the instructions above.
- Prepare the ingredients in advance as the cooking process is fast!
- Pat dry the tofu to remove any excess water.
- Pre-rinse the frozen mixed vegetables and strain out the excess water. This reduces the amount of cooking time as the water melts the frozen veggies and you're not overcooking your rice.
- If you have a steel wok, use it! When the hot oil hits a hot steel wok, it adds a smoky flavor to the dish.
- Use medium-high heat for the best fried rice. This temperature toasts the rice and prevents moisture from building in the pan.
- Butter is the key to making fried rice taste so good! Trust me on this one.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make egg tofu fried rice:
- Break up cold cooked rice with clean hands or a rice paddle and set aside.
- Dice tofu into ½-inch cubes and set aside.
- In a small bowl, beat eggs with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and 1 teaspoon of regular soy sauce together. Set aside.
- Heat ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Scramble eggs until they take shape. Remove and set aside.
- Heat another ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil and fry tofu until edges are browned. Remove and set aside.
- Add another ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil, add onion, peas, carrots and garlic. Fry until onions are translucent. Push everything to the side of the pan.
- Add remaining oil, rice followed by remaining regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, remaining sesame oil and butter. Toss everything together until rice is colored brown.
- Toss back in cooked eggs and tofu. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing egg tofu fried rice as the freezer will change the texture of the tofu and eggs.
Pairing Suggestions
Egg tofu fried rice serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- noodles like chow mein or lo mein
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Cashew Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Bang Bang Shrimp, Gochujang Chicken, Soy Garlic Tofu, Chinese Braised Tofu and more!
FAQ
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
Soggy fried rice is due to various factors and they can include not:
- using a high enough heat when stir frying
- using freshly cooked hot rice
- not breaking up the cooked rice prior to cooking or in the pan
- not letting the rice toast enough
Yes, feel free to add protein of your choice like chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, spam, hot dogs, or ham and cook the protein after you remove the cooked eggs.
Other Recipes You May Like
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Egg Tofu Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked jasmine rice cold day-old rice recommended
- 2 large eggs
- 3.5 oz smoked tofu or extra-firm tofu diced and evenly seasoned with salt, black pepper and garlic powder
- ¼ cup peas frozen kind, rinsed with water and strained
- ¼ cup carrots diced frozen kind, rinsed with water and strained
- ¼ cup onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or sub with dairy-free butter
- 1.5 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- salt to taste if needed
- black pepper to taste if needed
Instructions
- Break up cold cooked rice with clean hands or a rice paddle and set aside.
- Dice tofu into ½-inch cubes and set aside.
- In a small bowl, beat eggs with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and 1 teaspoon of regular soy sauce together. Set aside.
- Heat ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Scramble eggs until they take shape. Remove and set aside.
- Heat another ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil and fry tofu until edges are browned. Remove and set aside.
- Add another ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil, add onion, peas, carrots and garlic. Fry until onions are translucent. Push everything to the side of the pan.
- Add remaining oil, rice followed by remaining regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, remaining sesame oil and butter. Toss everything together until rice is colored brown.
- Toss back in cooked eggs and tofu. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot and enjoy!
Sheena
My kids and I loved this! Thanks for sharing.
christieathome
Happy it worked out for the family! Thanks so much for making my recipe!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
This is one tasty amazing fried rice and I love how it can be prepared in just 30 minutes. I think I just found a new weeknight dinner winner!
Barbara Parsons
I've made this several times now--sometimes changing out the veggies and sometimes adding some diced chicken in place of the tofu. It is a consistent palate pleaser. The instructions are so clear that it is "a walk in the park" to make it. In fact, I'm making it again tonight.
christieathome
Aw thanks so much for this kind review Barbara! I am really happy that you've made my recipe several times! It makes me really happy to hear. Diced chicken and swapping out the veggies is such a great idea. I hope you enjoy it again tonight! Have a great day! - Christie
Emily
I'm so grateful that I found this website! You do an amazing job creating authentic flavor profiles and doing so in a way that novice/intermediate chefs can follow. Thank you!
What is the best way to crisp up the tofu in this recipe?
christieathome
Thank you so much Emily! That's so kind of you to say! I really appreciate your comment! The best way to crisp up that tofu is frying it in the pan first in some oil over medium heat for 10-15 minutes to ensure all sides are brown and crispy before adding it to your fried rice. Hope this helps!
Linda
Delicious! Easy to make and I will be making again.
Brian
Just delicious! I made this the other day with some leftover rice in the fridge and it was so good as a meatless meal!