Japanese fried rice, known as “Yakimeshi” in Japan, is such a flavourful and delicious recipe that is super easy to make! This is because it doesn’t require any special ingredients, and you can create it with things you probably already have in your kitchen.
What is Yakimeshi?
Yakimeshi, which literally means “fried rice”, is another staple dish for Japanese people just like Nikujaga(Japanese Beef & Potato).
Make the most of your leftovers
It’s a particularly cheap dish to make with leftovers because you can use nearly any vegetables or meat, then all you need to do is cook the rice (or use leftover rice too!).
Midweek Quick Dinners
It’s a common dish we make during the week because it’s so quick and easy. Usually we always have leftover rice that needs to be used, so it’s the perfect midweek meal!
Simple lunch on Weekends
My Mom often made this fried rice for lunch on Saturdays. My mother was kindergarten teacher, and schooling in Japan used to be 6 days a week. So, she had to work Saturdays. Yakimeshi, the Japanese fried rice, was something she could quickly make for us because we always had leftover rice.
As good as take away fried rice
This recipe is as good as the Japanese fried rice Yakimeshi from Japanese restaurants or take away stores. One reason is because the rice grains are separated perfectly so each single rice grain is fried individually. (We describe this as “Para para”, which means it has a loose, crumbly texture)
Is your home cooked Yakimeshi soggy and mushy?
Have you ever thought when you cook Japanese fried rice Yakimeshi, that it never tastes the same as the takeaway store? Why is that? Fried rice sounds so simple and easy to cook. Are your Yakimeshi rice grains sticking together, soggy or mushy?
The reason that restaurants’ Yakimeshi is so good
It’s because the rice is cooked on a very high temperature and constantly flipped like a chef does with a wok.
But I don’t have a wok and muscles!?
I don’t have a big wok nor the muscles either, to keep flipping the rice by tossing my wok around. But wait! There is an amazing trick for people like me who have no muscles, and don’t have a gas cooktop with a high temperature setting (which gives you have greater control over the frying temperature)
My secret weapon
My trick to getting super tasty and non-sticky fried rice, is to add Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise. I know! I use a lot of mayonnaise for many recipes. I read a tweet somewhere about the technique of using mayonnaise in making pancakes which went viral recently. I thought that finally the world is catching up with using mayonnaise for everything!
This is not a paid ad by the way, I’ve just really loved this mayo ever since I was little. I hope you try it out in the fried rice and enjoy the recipe!
Science behind my secret
The egg yolks and emulsified vegetable oil coat each grain of rice when it is fried with mayonnaise. So the Japanese mayonnaise really separates the rice grains. The amazing thing is, that you can’t even taste the mayonnaise and it makes the fried rice much richer in flavour.
Never failed, foolproof Yakimeshi Japanese fried rice
I have been using this trick and it never fails to achieve that “para para” (which means it has a loose, crumbly texture) fried rice, just as if the Yakimeshi was cooked at a restaurant.
Variations of Yakimeshi Japanese fried rice
Check out other fried rice ingredients I have shared on Chopstick Chronicles. For example, Kimuchi Fried rice, Ketchup Rice, Black sesame Chahan, Sobameshi (this is heavenly carb loading), Japanese curry fried rice.
If you liked my recipe for Japanese fried rice “Yakimeshi”, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I see your wonderful creations!
Yakimeshi – Japanese Fried Rice 焼き飯
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups of cooked rice
- 2 tbsp Kewpie Japanese Mayonnaise
- 2 slices short cut bacon
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup green shallots
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise well with the cooked rice.
- Chop the green shallots and bacon into small pieces.
- Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan over high heat then add the rice and fry for a few minutes.
- Put the rice to one side of the pan and add the eggs and scramble them.
- Once the egg is half cooked, stir it into the rice.
- Add the bacon and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the shallots and salt and stir for a bit.
- Remove from the heat and sprinkle a bit of pepper and serve!
Can we use American mayo?
Hi Onyekachi Nkenke, You can but with different result as Japanese mayonnaise and American mayo are different. If you don’t have Japanese mayo, why not to make one yourself https://www.chopstickchronicles.com/japanese-mayo-the-best-homemade-recipe/
Hi there,
I would love to try this recipe today.
Just wondering if I can use kewpie roasted sesame mayo instead ?
Looking forward for your reply
Hi Nav, I recommend to use just original Kewpie mayo because roasted sesame mayo has different ingredients and may not work.
Thank you for the recipes…. So simple yet so yummy..
It’s in our family menu now. The kids love it .😋
Thank you Shanty 😀
Gracias por compartir tus recetas, están muy buenas. Soy una amante de la comida japonesa. Soy de Perú. Un abrazo.
Muchas gracias por leer mis recetas y por tu mensaje bonito! 😀 Thank you for reading all the way from Peru!
Hi! Excited to try this recipe tonight. It calls for shallots but looks like scallions in the picture. Would you please clarify that it is shallots and not scallions? Thank you!
Hi David, Are you in America? I think green shallots are called scallions in Amaerica. 😀
Hi there. Going to try the recipe in a few minutes. I noticed the same thing though – Looking at the picture, those are Green Onions, or Scallions here in the US. Shallots here are not green, nor thin; they seem a cross between garlic and onions and come in large cloves with a pinkish skin, They taste like a delicate combination of garlic and onions as well. I usually see them used in French and Vietnamese cuisines.
Anyway, thanks for the recipe, going to try it now. =D
Hi Brian, How did you go with your fried rice? hope it was delicious. Thank you for letting me know re:green onions, scallions or shallots. vegetable names are confusing because same vegetables called differently
Love this recipe..thank you. My son loved it. Going to make it again. We love kewpie…never looked back since we found it.
Thank you so much for the recipe. My son and my husband loved it. Will be making this again. Love the mayo…always using kewpie mayo and never looked back.
Fantastic Shirley 😀
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! We had to cook it two times in a row, we couldn’t get enough of it! I love your Website! Thank you for sharing <3
You are welcome s.blaettler 😀 and thank you for your kind words 😀
Just made this and absolutely loved it! Cooked the rice according your advice and it came out spot on. Will be adding this to my recipe collection.
Thanks!
You are welcome, Zachary 😀 I am glad that your cooking fried rice went well 😀
amazing i love it!
thank you very much
hello I want to try n have a few queries..
1. Do we need to use a special type of rice for this dish?
I make a Chinese.fried rice but we add soy sauce. I really want to try the mayonnaise and see the difference. 2. is it that great? can I use any mayonnaise or Just Japanese?
3. If in need of Japanese.mayo, what can I use it for with the leftovers?
regards
Chamila
Hi Chamila, I am in Australia and the rice that Japanese would use is called “Sushi rice”. It is white short grain rice. Hope you can find something similar. The reason I use Japanese mayo is to make fried rice is not soggy and the rice grain stick together. Japanese mayo is basically egg yolk, oil and vinegar which coat each grain of rice and prevent sticking together. If you can not get mayo, omit this that does not affect the taste and flavour at all and I use soy sauce too 😀 When you have some left over Japanese mayo, you can use it for salad, and I use for everything including PancakePancake!
yes we have sushi rice. Would Jasmine rice also work here? Usually i use Basmati rice for my fried rice as we eat Basmati at home (indian family origin).
Hi Chamila, yes I sometimes use Jasmine rice or Basmati rice too. If you are using those rice you may not need to use Japanese mayo because those type of rice are quite dry compare to Japanese sushi rice.
Having a Japanese mother, we ate fried rice a lot! Back in the mid to late 60s, it was common to use hotdogs, ham, and even Spam. I actually preferred just egg. She was creative and used leftovers sometimes. Peas would end up in there somehow and I hated peas. Peas are spherical and green and pleasant to look at but I didn’t like to eat them. They are more like “plate decorations.” I used to pick mine out and give them to my sister. One time, during the summer and school was out, my dad wouldn’t let me go outside to play unless I ate all the peas. I pushed them around on the plate for nearly an hour and he finally let me go outside. Just my memories from childhood. Omuraisu was like the same fried rice wrapped in egg. She never added ketchup to the rice but it was served at the table as a condiment. Thanks for not having peas in this recipe!:D
Konnichiwa Chieko san, thank you for sharing your story. I can so relate to your story. I hated meat fat, and I used to push them around and sit hours and hours at dinner table because I just could not put them in my mouth….
Funny! And now I cook all the time. For me, my friends, and as a caterer. Seriously, I only use peas to this day for their color in a dish. Snap peas and snow peas are great but the lowly pea is not. I will have to buffer that statement is whether you can find them fresh off the vine. That’s a different story.
I can envision you sitting at the table pushing that fat around and I’m sure it would resemble me pushing peas.
This fried rice looks delicious! love how easy it is to put together, yet t packs so much flavor, this is a winner in my books
Thank you Albert 😀
Hi. Can we use the rice immediately once its cooked and is still hot or i have to leave the rice to cool first ?
Yes you can Chris 😀
Hi, Thanks for sharing the simple and tasty recipe of Yakimeshi. Can I replace bacon with any other item?
Hi Andreya, yes of course you can replace with ham, chicken, mince, shrimp, salmon anything you fancy 😀
Why only 4 stars Andreya? It sounds like you haven’t even tried the recipe before rating it? What a fauxpas!
Thank you s.blaettler for 5 stars 😀
Hi ! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ve been looking for different ways to cook fried rice for a change of tastebuds.
Just asking, would you recommend us to stir-fry onions and garlic prior to cooking the rice ? Cuz my family normally does that to fried rice, and they look at me weird if I don’t do that. But just asking would it affect the taste or not ?
Hi Nur Muzdalifah, Thank you for trying my Yakimeshi recipe. Stir-frying onions and garlic first does not affect the taste I think ;D
I made this today for lunch and it was fantastic. I’m so excited to have the leftovers tomorrow!
Thank you Sara, I am so happy to hear that you cooked it and loved the Yakimeshi 😀
This looks awesome! I can’t wait to try this dish as it’s super simple to make. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Felesha 😀
I love how easy and quick this is. Fried rice – I just love the subtle colors and little morsels of flavor that you get.
Thank you Mark. Fried rice is simple, easy, quick and delicious. It is always a winner:D
Bacon and fried rice… I am all in!! This would be a big hit at my house. 🙂
Thank you Ramona:D Your family will love it 😀
This looks delicious! Fried rice is one of my favorite go-to dinners. Never thought to add mayo though, interesting!
Thank you Sarah, yes try Japanese Mayo! it seriously makes huge difference 😀
What is the difference between japanese mayo & regular mayo? If I do not have japanese mayo does can I substitute with regular mayo?
Hi Erika, Japanese mayonnaise are thicker and only made from egg yolk, oil and rice vinegar. I have not tried other mayonnaise but theoretically, other mayonnaise will work too. I am going to write Japanese mayonnaise recipe on the list I would like to share on this blog. Thank you for your comment 😀
Hello. This looks delicious! I am having trouble finding Japanese Mayo that I can just pick up at a store where I am located, though. I’d like to use my left over sushi rice from last night’s dinner to make this. Do you have a link to homemade Japanese Mayo?
Hi Tabitha. Thank you for your inquiry. I have received so many request on homemade Japanese mayo. I will post it very soon 😀 Meanwhile, you can just omit the mayo or use mayo made out of egg yolk and oil, not whole egg mayo.
I tried regular mayo and the taste was absolutely not the same. I stick with Japanese mayo for the best flavor!
I agree with you tj 😀 or if you don’t have Japanese mayo, just omit the mayo all together.
I love dishes like this – hunt around in your fridge, see what’s there and chuck it in! Great, simple recipe full of flavour 🙂
Thank you Emma. You are right, you can chuck in anything and they are so delicious:D