Ancient Chinese Egg Fried Rice 金包銀蛋炒飯 is a very significant dish in Chinese cooking. It's one of the oldest rice recipes in Chinese history and dates back to the Sui Dynasty. There is also evidence that it could date back to 3rd century BC from what is now Xinjiang. It's likely that the first fried rice dish was made from millet or sorghum instead of rice.
It wasn’t until the Sui Dynasty that the egg fried rice turned into pretty much the dish we know today. At that time, not everyone could afford to eat rice or eggs. So it was a luxury food at the time. They call this ancient egg fried rice dish, “gold wrapped silver egg fried rice”. The gold is the egg and the silver is the rice. The egg coats each piece of rice thus making it "gold wrapped silver". And each piece of rice must be independent of each other. In other words, they can’t stick together. They should be fluffy and also have a slightly al dente texture without being chewy. It’s said that this was one of Empress Dowager Cixi’s favorite foods. They served this dish during the Manchu Feast 滿漢筵席(mǎn hàn yán xí), a banquet hosted by the Qing Dynasty emperors during celebrations.
What makes Ancient Chinese Egg Fried Rice 金包銀蛋炒飯 so important? It's one of the dishes that can test a chef's culinary capabilities. Something with so few ingredients will separate the cooks from the chefs. And if you’re a pro, you’ll even be able to get some toasting on the rice without adding soy sauce. The Yangzhou Fried Rice evolved from egg fried rice during the Qing Dynasty when wealthier people wanted to add meat and seafood to their fried rice. It's one of the most popular rice dishes today.
When I wrote my Bacon and Egg Fried Rice recipe, I didn’t have my carbon steel wok yet and so I wasn’t exactly able to get the “wok hei” (hot wok aroma) that I wanted. This time, my wok was perfectly seasoned and I was able to achieve the “wok hei”. Yay!!! I got my wok from Amazon and it's now my most used piece of cooking equipment:
Joyce Chen , Classic Series Carbon Steel Wok Set, 4-Piece, 14-Inch, Charcoal
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
My Ancient Chinese Egg Fried Rice 金包銀蛋炒飯 recipe will show you how to make the perfect egg fried rice that I’m pretty sure Uncle Roger would approve of 😄. Maybe except for the fact that I did not add MSG to it! But they didn’t have MSG in ancient times.
If you’re feeling rebellious, try using pork fat instead of oil to make this dish. Then add the pork cracklings to the rice too. Use less salt and sprinkle some sweet soy sauce on top….yum!
You can also try this recipe with my Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken 鹽酥雞.
Ancient Chinese Egg Fried Rice 金包銀蛋炒飯
Ingredients
- 600 g Leftover cooked rice
- 4 Large Eggs
- 4 stalks Green onions , chopped
- 2 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp White pepper powder
- 5 tbsp Oil
Instructions
- Loosen the cooked rice and set aside
- Beat 4 eggs and pour it onto the loosened cooked rice.
You can also choose to fry the rice on its own first and then add the egg onto the rice in the wok. I find that the result is similar 
- Use your hands to mix the rice with the egg until all the rice has been coated with egg
- Chop 4 stalks of green onions and set aside
- Heat wok at high heat and wait until the wok is at around 175˚C or 350˚F
If the wok is not hot enough, your rice may become too wet - Add 4 tbsp oil to the wok and use the spatula to help coat the wok
Note: the whole frying process should not take more than 8 minutes. If it’s taking you longer, you could be overcooking the rice and you’ll make it too chewy - Add the rice coated with egg into the wok. Spread it out and let it fry for 10 seconds
- Stir-fry until the rice is fluffy and the egg is cooked
- Add chopped green onions and mix well
- Sprinkle 2 tsp of salt and ½ tsp of white pepper powder and stir-fry until the salt and pepper is evenly distributed
If you like to use soy sauce, you can substitute 1 tsp of salt with 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Fish sauce would be a good alternative if you don’t want the rice to have a brown colour - Taste test and make adjustments
- Add 1 tbsp of oil onto the rice and mix well
this is an optional step but I find that it helps to keep the rice moist after you remove the rice from the wok 
- Turn off heat
- Serve
This egg-fried rice should be very delicious
Hi Hot pot player, thank you for your comment. Have you had a chance to make it? Happy cooking!