Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

In This Recipe

Why It Works

• Charring the green onions (cebollitas) and cabbage develops smoky, savory depth that mimics the flavor you’d get from high-heat grilling or wok cooking.
• Frying the rice in the chorizo’s rendered fat infuses each grain with warm spices and porky richness, eliminating the need for additional seasonings.
• Adding chopped pickled jalapeños and a splash of their brine brightens the dish with acidity and gentle heat, balancing the richness of the meat and cheese.

This Mexican take on fried rice was inspired, surprisingly, by a dish at an Italian steakhouse. For my anniversary dinner at Be.Steak.A in Campbell, CA, I skimmed past the pastas and bistecca to order what looked like a rogue menu item: fried rice tossed with fennel-spiked sausage, pickled Calabrian chiles, and Pecorino Romano. It arrived loaded with warm spice, tangy heat, and just enough cheese to add a slightly funky flavor and glue the grains together. I loved it. Not just the flavors, but the whole idea of taking an Asian stir-fry framework and rebuilding it with flavors that fall outside the usual expectations. I also knew I couldn’t afford to go back every time I wanted to eat it again.

So I recreated the dish at home, using the Mexican-American flavors and ingredients I know best—the ones that live in my kitchen every day. I swapped the Italian sausage for chorizo, traded the Calabrian chiles for pickled jalapeños (plus a splash of their bracing pickling liquid), and showered everything with cotija instead of Pecorino. The result is something I now cook weekly, because it relies on ingredients I almost always have on hand and adapts to whatever produce odds and ends I have. It also hinges on a technique I love in Italian, Asian, and Mexican cooking: adding ingredients in small batches to a ripping-hot pan so they char, caramelize, and build layers of flavor.

Start with Char

If there’s a Mexican analog to wok hei—breath of the wok—it’s the blistered, flame-kissed edges of carne asada and cebollitas grilled directly over coals. Cebollitas—scallions with extra-plump bulbs—char beautifully, turning smoky, savory, and slightly sweet. For this recipe, I cut the bulbs into petal-shaped pieces and sear them alongside cabbage; the cabbage softens and chars while the onions blacken at the edges, giving the fried rice a dose of fire-flavor right up front. Cebollitas are available at most Latin grocers, but if you can’t find them, regular scallions will work, though the larger bulbs of cebollitas add more varied texture and bite.

Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

Cooking the Chorizo

I love using Mexican chorizo in this fried rice because it brings built-in seasoning and deep, meaty heft to the dish. Its warm spices and rich fat do the heavy lifting, so you don’t need to dig into a pantry’s worth of spices to build flavor. Make sure you’re using fresh Mexican chorizo—the loose, raw ground meat kind—not cured Spanish chorizo. The tube-style versions found in many supermarkets will work in a pinch, but they tend to be watery and don’t brown as easily. Whenever possible, buy chorizo from the butcher counter at a Latin American grocery store—it crisps up better and usually tastes brighter and porkier. The rendered fat becomes the stir-fry medium, flavoring the rice with warm spices and meaty flavor. Get the chorizo as crisp as possible—it’s the main source of crunch in an otherwise soft, fluffy dish.

Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

Adding a Hot and Sour Element

Pickled jalapeños are the backbone of this fried rice. They balance the richness of the pork and cheese with vinegary brightness and a gentle heat that wakes the whole dish up. The real secret weapon is the pickling liquid itself, infused with flavor from the chiles and spices. A tablespoon is enough to sharpen the other flavors in the dish without overpowering them. If you have other pickled chiles on hand, feel free to experiment—just adjust the quantity if you’re using something punchier, like habanero. A squeeze of lime at the end also plays well with the tangy, spicy profile.

This dish is not only delicious, but it comes together in less than 30 minutes and is easy to customize with ingredients you have on hand.

Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

Keep Screen Awake

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable or canola oil, divided

3 Mexican green onions (cebollitas), white bulbs quartered and separated into individual layers, greens thinly sliced for serving (84 g; see note)

1 cup (70 g) diced green cabbage (cut into 1-inch pieces)

1/2 pound (227 g) fresh loose Mexican chorizo (casing removed, if needed)

3 cups cooked white rice (18 ounces; 525 g; see notes)

4 medium cloves garlic, minced

3 pickled jalapeños from one can (about 1/4 cup; 45 g), finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon pickling liquid

Kosher salt

Cotija cheese, for serving (optional)

Lime and cilantro for serving (optional)

In a wok or a carbon-steel or cast iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat until just smoking. Add onion whites and cook, undisturbed, until charred, about 1 minute. Add cabbage and cook, stirring continuously, until wilted and charred, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; set aside.

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Reduce heat to medium-high and add chorizo to skillet. Cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to bowl with cabbage, leaving the fat in skillet.

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If skillet is dry, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add rice and cook, stirring and tossing frequently, until it is pale brown and toasted, with a lightly chewy texture, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and softened, about 1 minute.

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Return cooked onion whites, cabbage, and chorizo to skillet. Add pickled jalapeños and a tablespoon of reserved pickling liquid. Toss to combine. Season with salt to taste. Sprinkle with cotija and onion greens, and serve.

Serious Eats / Lorena Masso

Special Equipment

Flat-bottomed wok, carbon steel skillet, or cast iron skillet

Notes

Mexican green onions, also known as cebollitas, are scallions with larger bulbs. If substituting scallions, cut whites into 1-inch segments and thinly slice the greens for serving.

For the best results, use Chinese-style medium-grain rice, jasmine rice, or sushi rice. Rice should either be cooked fresh, spread on a tray, and allowed to cool for 5 minutes, or transferred to a loosely covered container and refrigerated for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. You can also use leftover cooked rice for this recipe.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The fried rice is best eaten immediately.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
454	Calories
7g	Fat
85g	Carbs
12g	Protein

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Nutrition Facts Servings: 2 Amount per serving Calories 454 % Daily Value* 7g 9% Saturated Fat 2g 12% 12mg 4% 542mg 24% 85g 31% Dietary Fiber 5g 19% Total Sugars 2g 12g Vitamin C 19mg 96% Calcium 110mg 8% Iron 5mg 27% Potassium 414mg 9% *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)