The best fried rice...

I am having trouble finding a spectacular fried rice with no specific type being sought, just real good fried rice. Thus far my best option has been the beef fried rice at Wok's Up on Sheffield and while its really good and pretty much better than most I have tested, I am curious where people go to get what they believe to be the best fried rice in the city. Thanks.


Wok's UP
1751 N Sheffield Ave
(between Clybourn Ave & Marcey St)
Chicago, IL 60614

Good thread. I'd always figured fried rice was a bit too low-rent for folks around these parts.


I'd love any suggestions as well. I've been underwhelmed by all the versions I've tried outside of Chinatown, and some nights just call for fried rice delivery.

I like fried rice best when it's prepared old-school; cooked in good ol' lard and loaded with meat, preferably roast pork or shrimp. Plenty of scrambled egg and bean sprouts are pluses, too. My favorite places for it are Kow Kow in Lincolnwood and 65 on Michigan Avenue.

Kow Kow
6755 N Cicero Ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
(847) 677-7717

65 Chinese Restaurant
336 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 372-0306

Da Beef wrote:I am having trouble finding a spectacular fried rice with no specific type being sought, just real good fried rice.

Beef,

Lots of types of fried rice, what constitutes a "spectacular" fried rice from your viewpoint?

Me, I like the 'white' type, by which I mean little if any soyu with noticeable egg and lots of scallion. Meat, if any, depends on mood and if I'm making it at home I always add heat, usually both fresh and dried hot pepper.

There was a Korean run Japanese restaurant on Lincoln, Do Won, that made fried rice with dried shrimp. There was something about the combination of ever-so-slightly oily rice, veggies and the chewy brininess of the dried shrimp that just seemed to work for me.

Actually, I'm not sure I should put Do Won's fried rice in the past tense, they have revamped twice in the last two years, they seem to be a Korean BBQ restaurant at the moment, and it is possible they are still serving the dried shrimp fried rice. I will check it out and report back.

Enjoy,
Gary

Do Won
5695 N Lincoln
Chicago, IL
773-878-5888.

The best fried rice I ever had was at the sadly shuttered River Kwai on Belmont between Paulina and Ashland.

Rice, soy, fish sauce, probably a Tbs. of MSG, meat and green onions...that's it. Greasy, smoky, and delicious. My favorite was the spicy pork version sometimes with added large chunks of garlic.

I have not found anything even romotely close to it ever since

The best fried rice I ever had was this past weekend at Shanghai Terrace. It was seafood fried rice and not only was it delicious, but it had many chunks of seafood in it - scallops, lobster, etc. Yum!

While not a traditional Chinese variation on fried rice, I have a fond fond place in my heart for the version served at Ron of Japan witht he crown dinners ($2 upcharge the last time I went)

I think they add a lot of ground beef or pork to the fried rice which is mixed liberally with their special soy sauce and egg. I have always loved this preparation but it is found at a japanese steak house owned by jews so it might not be what you have in mind.

RON OF JAPAN
633 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook
Tel: (847) 564-5900

iblock9 wrote:While not a traditional Chinese variation on fried rice, I have a fond fond place in my heart for the version served at Ron of Japan witht he crown dinners ($2 upcharge the last time I went)

I think they add a lot of ground beef or pork to the fried rice which is mixed liberally with their special soy sauce and egg. I have always loved this preparation but it is found at a japanese steak house owned by jews so it might not be what you have in mind.

RON OF JAPAN
633 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook
Tel: (847) 564-5900

I have such fond memories of Ron of Japan. Every year when I was young I would force my parents to take me there for my birthday because of that shrimp with the mayonnaise-like sauce. But I also liked the fried rice a lot. The rest of my family also liked the food a lot, but apparently hated the effects of all the oil on their digestive systems and begged me to choose someplace else -- not my problem I thought. Sometimes, I honored their request. But I digress.

Anyway, during a trip down memory lane last year, I returned and surprisingly liked it almost as much as I did when I was a kid. Maybe my better judgment should steer me away from Ron of Japan, but I still love the place.

BR wrote:Every year when I was young I would force my parents to take me there for my birthday

We had the same issues in our family. When my parents asked where we wanted to eat dinner all three kids said "Easy, Ron of Japan" My folks always resisted because the felt it was overpriced as there was no kids menu and we each had to have our own $30 crown dinner with shrimp appetizers, but we did get to go on our birthdays...FASTFORWARD 2 weeks ago when the wife and i went before a movie at northbrook court. They now have a kids menu...i would have died for a kids menu at ron of japan when i was a kid.

My definition of a good fried rice includes shrimp, beef, BBQ pork or a combo of all three mixed in with fresh bean sprouts, green onions and some scrambled egg and I actually prefer the rice to be a dark brown not sure what it is that causes this and the most important thing is that it tastes good and becomes addicting. I agree with the fried rice at River Kwai, its a shame that place is no more. I also have enjoyed the fried rice at Ron of Japan, but im still looking for a place that serves a large portion of rice that stands out far above the rest.

Quick note: I just ordered the beef/BBQ pork combo fried rice from Wok's up and im afraid that it has either declined or my preferred taste has changed.

Not to threadjack, but I really miss River Kwai on Belmont (as noted above). Although I didn't realize it was gone, and hadn't tried going there in a long time, the thought that I could always get that perfect fried rice at 2am kept me happy at night.

The worst part was the wait--they had one, MAYBE two, woks going, and the owner was notorious for placing others' orders ahead of yours if he didn't know you. I remember waiting over an hour for food, in that tiny, crappy "dining room" they had. Wow.

Oh, and sometimes the owner would decide not to open for whatever personal reason, and you wouldn't know until you were out front knocking on the front door.

The owner was named Deja ( or at least that was the Americanized version of his name), the guy on the wok was his brother, and his sister made the soups, curries, and grilled items (only available sporadically)

The fried rice with a couple satay pork skewers on top and a cup of the house made peanut sauce would be on my short list of final dinners.

Deja had some serious heart issues in the late 90's through 2001 or so involving extended hospital stays. They never really recovered as he was the driving force behind the store. I was a hard core regular at Gunther Murphy's in the Moynihan days and Kwai was pretty much the culinary backdrop to much of the early and mid 90's for me.

I had my first Potak there ( a memorable night with two of the bartenders from the Abbey at 4am), my first taste of fish sauce, and countless plates of fried rice and pork curry. Damn I miss that place.

I always new it was Tuesday as I would get an intense craving, knowing full well they would be closed that night.

I love bbq pork, or beef fried rice

My favorites:

#1
Fabulous Noodles
Lisle

#2
Lee's Chinese Garden
Naperville

I might be a total sucker, but I like the fried rice at Papajin in Wicker Park

Best Fried Rice ive tried living in the chicagoland area over 25 years is 100% the bbq pork fried rice at China Chef in Morton Grove. Why I like it better than others is because the fried rice is more darker brown in color and has a richer taste than others I have tried. Maybe they use more oyster sauce or soy sauce in there mix?

China Chef
5920 Lincoln Ave
(between Marmora Ave & Mason Ave)
Morton Grove, IL 60053
(847) 967-6050

I saw fried rice on the menu
at a Thai place the other day.
It sounded unusual (pineapple?)
but I've yet to be disappointed
with a dish there yet.

This is a great thread. I've been on a quest for killer fried rice in the Loop (where I work) and in the Mount Prospect area (where I live) and have generally been displeased with what I've found.

For me, the more ingredients the better. Definitely have to have eggs and scallions. Carrots, peas, and bean sprouts are a plus. The rice should be flavorful on its own. Beef, shrimp, chicken, pork, and other seafood are also welcome in my fried rice.

Most of what I've found is pretty bland on its own. The best fried rice in the Loop I've found is Silk Road. The beef fried rice is the tastiest. Plus they make it fresh. That means you wait a bit longer but it's worth it. In the Mount Prospect area, it's Chinese Munch In. I usually opt for the combo fried rice or the cajun shrimp fried rice if I'm in the mood for some heat.


Silk Road
19 S La Salle St
Chicago, IL 60603
(Silk Road has various other locations in the Loop as well)

Chinese Munch In
1091 E Golf Rd
Arlington Heights, IL 60005

SCUBAchef wrote:I saw fried rice on the menu
at a Thai place the other day.
It sounded unusual (pineapple?)
but I've yet to be disappointed
with a dish there yet.

Yeah...Thai fried rice can include pineapple and tomato. I'm not a fan.


I had some truly bizarre fried rice at Kona Grill in Indianapolis last week: it actually had some sweet wok hai, but they'd used short grain rice which turned the mass into a pretty dome of sticky, gummy, gutbomb ugh...

I actually ordered fried rice with beef from Spoon once. It was hotter than hell and quite tasty.

SCUBAchef wrote:I saw fried rice on the menu
at a Thai place the other day.
It sounded unusual (pineapple?)
but I've yet to be disappointed
with a dish there yet.

Thai fried rice is my favorite type of fried rice...especially when it comes topped with a deep fried egg!. My favorite versions are served at Siam's House and GNR Winner Elephant Thai.

Siam's House
7742 N Milwaukee Avenue
Niles, IL
(847) 967-2390

Elephant Thai
5348 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL
(773) 467-1168

Watching this thread unspool reminded me of another place, Jim Ching's on Randolph. Ching's food, while typical carryout fare, is consistently good and plentiful.
The fried rice is dark and full of meat, just the way (uh- huh, uh-huh) I like it.

Jim Ching's Restaurant
733 W Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 258-8800

"Real" Thai fried rice is very lightly pan-fried, and is not brown, so the OP might not like it. However, khâo khlûk kà-pì (Thai shrimp paste fried rice with all the fixins) and Thai crab meat fried rice (esp. TAC's) are among my favorite foods.

Another alternative fried rice that you might try is "chaufan" (like chow fun) from a Peruvian or Ecuadoran spot. It's like Cantonese fried rice meets paella with vienna sausages thrown in (sometimes).

PS, among more traditional Chinese-Am fried rices, my favorites have the same sort of "wok hay" scorch as good noodles. I've never tried fried rice at Katy's, but they might do a nice job.

I dined recently at Sticky Rice with a friend and her friend, a Thai food novice from Staten Island. My friend's friend remarked that his favorite Thai dish was pineapple fried rice. I told him not to get his hopes up that it would be on the menu, but lo and behold, it was. For $9.50!

At that price, pineapple fried rice is the second most expensive thing on the menu, ringing in at 45 cents less than the whole red snapper. Having never eaten fried rice at a Thai restaurant (although after reading this thread, I may try TAC Quick's shrimp paste preparation), or any fried rice at all since college, I have no idea why on earth it would be priced like that.

While I probably know better than to pose this question to LTH, has anyone had the pineapple fried rice at Sticky Rice? Is it presented in an intricately carved, gold leaf covered half pineapple? Or is it $9.50 to discourage tools like my friend's friend from ordering it, thus subsidizing the ant larvae omelets, fried silk worms, and kao soi? If it's the latter, bravo Sticky Rice for gently cajoling people to try something outside of their comfort zone!

My all time favorite fried rice was the Zen Energy rice that they used to make at Big Bowl. I used to make a meal out of it, but they dropped it years ago.
It was a combination of different whole grain rices stir fried with Chinese medicinal herbs and berries. You could order it with meat or vegetarian.
I wish I knew the exact recipe....

Christopher Gordon wrote:Yeah...Thai fried rice can include pineapple and tomato. I'm not a fan.

The fried rice with gourami at Spoon is fantastic.

Try the beef fried rice at Lao Sze Chuan, and then request for it to be "spicy". My wife and in-laws practically demand we order this dish on every visit.

cilantro wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:Yeah...Thai fried rice can include pineapple and tomato. I'm not a fan.

The fried rice with gourami at Spoon is fantastic.

and I'll iterate: I don't like sweet fried rice unless that "sweetness" is borne upon the angelic wings of a pig whose belly's been lacquered in red dye no. 4 and a healthy dose of 5 spice(the better to squick through those pearly gates)

The pork fried rice from China Star is nice and brown and flavorful with tons of bbq pork chunks!...mmmm...porky!!

China Star
8105 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Niles, IL

My favorite fried rice ever is from a little strip-mall Chinese place in the suburbs of St. Paul called Chin's Kitchen. I try to go there when I'm home visiting my parents...go figure.

The best fried rice I've tried in Chicago is at Emperor Wok next to the Famous Footwear in the mini-mall on Fullerton. I like the BBQ Pork version - Fresh sprouts and onion, and tasty Chinese BBQ Pork chunks. Very flavorful by itself. A little greasy - but a good "Hong Kong style" greasy...not "lube your car" greasy.


Emperor Wok
1730 W. Fullerton Ave.
773-388-8800

Chin's Kitchen
1533 W Larpenteur Ave.
Falcon Heights, MN
651-646-0748

Go figure that my other two (and now only two) places to eat fried rice pop up on this thread that is now loaded with good choices. Due to the fall of Wok's Up, I would now say that my go to spot for fried rice is the above mentioned Emperor's Wok, its everything it was described as and now my go to spot in the neighborhood for a good batch. I always tend to order the jumbo shrimp and beef combo from emperor. Also mentioned above was Jim Ching's on Randolph and ill second that as well, for a time it was my favorite and they do brown it nicely but their shrimp just wasnt edible for me during a time when thats the only way I liked it, with shrimp.