Din Tai Fung Fried Rice – At Home in 20 Minutes! (VIDEO)

About Din Tai Fung and Din Tai Fung “Copycat” Recipes

For those who may not be aware, Din Tai Fung is a popular Taiwanese restaurant chain from Taiwan. They’ve opened up multiple locations in the United States and are only continuing to grow. They’re famous for their signature Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings) but honestly, their entire menu is solid. My only criticism is that I find their dishes to be on the pricier side – so I totally understand why I get so many requests for making Din Tai Fung dishes at home!

In the last two years, I’ve been asked to share recipes for basically the entire Din Tai Fung menu – I’ll be continuing to update this list but for now, check out my recipes for:

• how to make the famous Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad – you’ll be shocked when you realize how easy it is
• Din Tai Fung Green Beans, which are green beans fried in shallow oil and loaded with garlic – basically everyone’s favorite vegetable side dish

Ingredients for making Din Tai Fung Fried Rice at Home

The best part about making Din Tai Fung Fried Rice is not only how easy it is, but the fact that you are able to build so much flavor with not that many ingredients (basically a home cook’s dream)!

Protein and Rice

• Shrimp: Because one of the signatures of this dish is the large whole shrimp on top of the rice, I used U10-15 shrimp here. However, any size will work (and won’t compromise the taste)! Just make sure your shrimp is raw.
  • While it won’t be exactly like Din Tai Fung’s Fried Rice, you can use a different protein if you prefer.
• White Rice:
  • While Din Tai Fung uses Nishiki medium grain rice, I prefer long grain white rice for this recipe because it has a lower moisture content than medium or short grain rice. When cooking on a home stove, you want a rice with a lower moisture content which means that it will be easier to get a fluffy (not mushy) fried rice with separated grains. Jasmine rice is the ideal rice for this dish.
  • Fresh rice will not work, as it will be too moist and your fried rice will be soggy. You have two options:
    • You can use leftover old rice (rice that was cooked previously and refrigerated for at least one day).
    • You can cook rice in preparation for this dish and lay it out on a baking sheet uncovered, in the refrigerator overnight. This will help dry out the rice.
• Eggs

Cooking Din Tai Fung Fried Rice: Recipe Instructions

1. Cook Your Shrimp

The first step in this recipe is to marinate your raw shrimp. We will be using a very simple marinade consisting of kosher salt, white pepper, baking soda, and neutral oil. The baking soda will help firm up the shrimp and keep them crisp.

After marinating the shrimp, cook them in a pan over medium high heat with 1 tbsp of neutral oil for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked through. You don’t want too much color on them if you’re going for that signature Din Tai Fung Fried Rice look!

2. Sauté Scallion Whites and Cook Eggs

After the shrimp have been cook and are removed, heat another 3 tbsp of oil in the pan. Sauté the scallion whites for a few seconds until fragrant. Add 4 large eggs and use your ladle or spatula to break them up and scramble. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes until the eggs are about 70-80% cooked through and still slightly soft.

3. Add the White Rice

Add the day old white rice and mix thoroughly – you want the egg and scallion incorporated with the rice. Continue cooking over high heat until the rice is relatively dry and you are able to see the rice grains separating in the pan. NOTE: This can take anywhere from 3-4 minutes depending on the heat of your stove.

Add the seasonings and give it another good mix.

5. Add back Shrimp and Scallion Greens

Once the fried rice is nicely seasoned and dry (always taste and season according to your preference), add back your cooked shrimp and scallion greens. Give it another good mix to incorporate and your Din Tai Fung Fried Rice is done!

Serve immediately with and enjoy!

How to Plate Just like Din Tai Fung!

If you want to plate your Din Tai Fung Fried Rice just like the restaurant, set aside your cooked shrimp and DO NOT add it back into your cooked fried rice. Instead:

• Take a medium sized bowl and place your cooked shrimp on the bottom of the bowl.
• On top of the shrimp (on the bottom of the bowl), pack in your fried rice.
• Make sure your fried rice is packed in tightly – this will help the rice take on the shape of the bowl. You are essentially using the bowl as a mold.
• Once you are confident your fried rice has been packed in, take a flat plate and place it upside down, on top of the bowl (like a lid).
• Flip your plate and bowl on to a flat surface. The plate should now be on the bottom.
• Remove the bowl gently – you may need to shimmy it around to help the rice ‘release’ from the bowl. Voila – you should now have a similar presentation to how Din Tai Fung plates their Fried Rice!

Cooking With a Wok (Alternatives)

By now, you know that I LOVE cooking with my carbon steel wok! It is my #1 most recommended kitchen tool, as I believe it is perfect for high-heat cooking and results in restaurant quality Chinese food!

If it is your first time cooking with a wok, make sure to read my “How To Season a Wok” post. There is a video included that shows exactly how to season your brand new wok and how to maintain it so it lasts for years.

If you cannot or do not want to use a wok, you can use a large pan, cast iron, or even a dutch oven.

My KEY TIP would be to avoid crowding your pan – crowding can lead to your Din Tai Fung Fried Rice not cooking thoroughly and becoming mushy. If you think your dish will be crowded, use a larger pan, cast iron, or dutch oven, OR cook in batches.

If you tried this Din Tai Fung Fried Rice or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!