P.F. Chang's Fried Rice (Copycat Recipe, Chicken or Shrimp)
This P.F. Chang's fried rice recipe makes it the way they do at the restaurant. The meat is marinated in an alkaline soy brine and cooked in hot oil first, and their dark sauce is what turns the rice brown. It covers four proteins plus the vegetarian version, and makes 4 servings in about 50 minutes plus marinating time.
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How P.F. Chang's Makes It
Most of the flavor in P.F. Chang's fried rice comes from one sauce. They call it dark sauce, and when I made the video it was a base sauce they were using at the restaurant in a lot of their stir-fry dishes.
It's chicken broth and sugar, with soy sauce, mushroom dark soy sauce, oyster sauce and rice wine stirred in. A quarter cup of it goes into each batch of rice, and that's where the color and the slightly sweet flavor come from.
The other part people overlook is the meat. From what I found, when I made the video the restaurant was marinating its meat for 24 hours in an alkaline soy brine, which is just water with baking soda and soy sauce.
Then the meats get deep-fried and the shrimp get simmered in water, all before anything goes into the fried rice. So by the time the wok is hot, every protein is already cooked, and the stir-fry itself only takes a couple of minutes.
For the rice, I spoke with several people at different locations and got conflicting answers on the brand, so I'm pretty sure each restaurant gets whatever its supplier has. The only one that came up more than once was Riceland long-grain white rice. It's easy to find, so that's what I use, but any American long-grain white rice will work.
What I Changed for the Home Version
Updated October 2026: I added step photos and rewrote the post. The recipe card now says the dark sauce and the cooked meat keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge, the USDA's figure, and that frozen shrimp thaw in the marinade in the fridge, which takes a few hours.
The dark sauce makes a lot more than one batch needs. It keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, and it's the same dark sauce I use in my P.F. Chang's Mongolian beef recipe, so the leftovers don't go to waste.
A few things changed for a home kitchen. When I made the video, P.F. Chang's used pork loin or pork sirloin, but at the grocery store you usually have to buy a big piece of either one. Thin center-cut pork chops come from the same part of the pig and cost a few bucks, so that's what I use.
They've since taken pork off the fried rice menu, but it's still one of the options here. The shrimp are the same size the restaurant was using, 41 to 50 count, frozen, peeled and deveined, and they thaw right in the marinade.
I use the marinade as a brine rather than putting the baking soda straight on the meat. If you've ever done that and noticed an off flavor, dissolving it in water with the soy sauce gives you the same tenderness without that taste. Rubbing the baking soda on and washing it off after about half an hour works just as well, but the brine is easier.
Why This Recipe Works
- A 24-hour alkaline soy marinade. The baking soda raises the pH of the water, which makes it harder for the protein in the meat to tighten up in the heat of the oil and the wok, so it stays tender.
- Meat cooked in hot oil before the stir-fry. The meats go into 350°F oil for about 2 minutes, until the edges start to brown, so the stir-fry only has to heat them back up.
- A dark sauce poured around the edges of the wok. The sauce goes onto the hot metal first and caramelizes a little, which gives the rice a toasty flavor.
What's in P.F. Chang's Fried Rice?
P.F. Chang's fried rice is long-grain white rice stir-fried with an egg, bean sprouts, julienned carrots, green onions, white pepper and the dark sauce, plus your choice of protein. The vegetarian version leaves out the egg and the meat, and adds shiitake mushrooms along with blanched broccoli and snap peas.
There's no garlic or ginger in this one, which surprises a lot of people, and no sesame oil at the end either. If you like them, toss some in. It's also a little sweeter than my fried rice recipe, which is the more classic 1970s to 90s takeout style.
P.F. Chang's Fried Rice Ingredients
The full list with amounts is in the recipe card below. These are the ones worth knowing about before you shop.
Long-grain white rice. Jasmine rice is softer and stickier, so it won't come out quite the same. Stick with an American long-grain white rice like Riceland.
Lee Kum Kee low-sodium soy sauce. When I made the video, P.F. Chang's was using the green-bottle low-sodium one from Lee Kum Kee, in both the marinade and the dark sauce, and it's what I use in both. Regular Lee Kum Kee or Kikkoman will work fine.
Lee Kum Kee mushroom dark soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is there more for color than for flavor, and the mushroom version adds some savoriness that plain dark soy sauce doesn't have. You only use a tablespoon. Most Asian grocery stores have some version of mushroom soy sauce, and plain dark soy sauce works if that's all you can find.
Oyster sauce. When I made the video, P.F. Chang's was using Lee Kum Kee's Panda brand, the green bottle, which is the gluten-free one with no added MSG. All of Lee Kum Kee's oyster sauces are good, but if you can find their premium oyster sauce, the one with the bucolic scene of a mother and son harvesting gigantic oysters on the label, that's the one I'd go with.
If you'd rather not use oyster sauce, a vegetarian oyster sauce made from mushrooms works and is actually quite good.
Minor's Original Chicken Base. When I made the video, this is what the restaurant was using for the chicken broth in the dark sauce. It's a paste that comes in a tub, and you can find it on Amazon. If you'd rather not buy a whole tub, Knorr or Lee Kum Kee Asian-style chicken bouillon powder works fine.
Michiu rice cooking wine. It's a rice wine that's very popular in Cantonese and Taiwanese kitchens. Shaoxing wine is easier to find and works fine here, though it's darker and has a stronger flavor.
Baking soda. Only half a teaspoon, dissolved in a cup of water. Make sure it's baking soda and not baking powder.
Chicken breast or thighs. When I made the video, P.F. Chang's was using boneless, skinless chicken breast. Thighs work too, with the same marinade, and they have a little more fat.
Julienned carrots. Most grocery stores sell bags of matchstick carrots if you don't feel like cutting them yourself.
How to Make P.F. Chang's Fried Rice
Start with the meat, since it has to marinate for at least 2 hours, and make the dark sauce while it does. Once the wok is hot, the fried rice takes about 3 minutes, so have everything measured out and next to the stove before you start.
1. Wash and cook the rice
Wash the rice under several changes of water until the water runs clear, then cook it. If you're using a rice cooker, you can use the rice straight from the cooker once you've dialed in your ratio of water to rice.
On the stovetop, it's usually around 1 to 1½ parts water to 1 part rice, and it takes a little experimenting.
2. Let the rice cool
Spread the rice out on a baking sheet so it cools down quickly. Rice from a rice cooker only needs to come down to room temperature, because the steam from hot rice makes the fried rice mushy.
Rice cooked on the stovetop is wetter, so once it's cool, cover it lightly and keep it in the fridge overnight to dry out a little more.
3. Make the alkaline soy marinade
Add 1 cup of water to a large bowl, then whisk in half a teaspoon of baking soda until it dissolves. Then add a third of a cup of low-sodium soy sauce and whisk it in.
4. Slice the meat thin
For chicken, pull off the tenderloin, cut the breast lengthwise into strips about 1 inch wide, then slice each strip across the grain about ⅛ inch thick. Cut the pork the same way as the chicken.
For flank steak, cut 1-inch strips with the grain first, then turn each strip, tilt your knife to about a 30 to 40 degree angle and slice it about ⅛ inch thick. If you slice flank steak the wrong way, the long fibers make it chewy, and if it's hard to get thin slices, put the beef in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to firm it up.
5. Marinate the meat
Put each meat in its own container of marinade and keep it in the fridge the whole time, at least 2 hours and up to 24; I go the full 24. For shrimp, pour the marinade over the frozen shrimp and let them thaw in it in the fridge, which takes a few hours.
6. Pat the meat dry
Take the meat out of the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels. Any marinade left on the outside makes the oil spatter.
7. Cook the meat in hot oil
Heat a few inches of neutral oil to 350°F in a wok or a deep fryer. Working in small batches, add the meat and keep it moving so the pieces don't clump together.
It takes about 2 minutes, depending on how much you're frying, and it's ready when you see the edges start to brown. Drain it on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
8. Simmer the shrimp
The shrimp get cooked in water instead of oil. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then lower it to a simmer.
Cook the shrimp for 1 to 2 minutes, until they're pink and opaque, and let them cool completely on paper towels.
9. Make the dark sauce
Start by adding the water and the chicken base to a small pot over medium heat, then the sugar. Bring it up to a simmer and whisk just until the sugar has dissolved.
Then kill the heat and add the low-sodium soy sauce, the mushroom dark soy sauce, the oyster sauce and the Michiu, and whisk until everything is mixed in. Let it cool before it goes in the fridge.
10. Cook the egg and heat the meat
Heat a tablespoon of oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Crack in the egg and let the whites set around the edges, then stir it until it's almost cooked through.
Add 6 ounces of your cooked protein and stir until it's hot. For combination fried rice with all the meats, use about 2.5 ounces of each.
11. Fry the rice
Add the cooked rice and press it down with the back of your spatula, breaking up any big chunks while you mix in the egg and the meat. Then add the bean sprouts and the green onions, followed by the carrots, and stir until the vegetables start to soften. Add the white pepper and stir it in.
12. Dark sauce around the edges
Pour a quarter cup of the dark sauce around the edges of the wok, not on top of the rice. Work it into the rice until you can't see any white chunks left, then turn off the heat.
Give it a taste and adjust the salt; I usually add about a teaspoon of table salt.
How to Make the Vegetarian Version
It's basically the same process, with vegetables in place of the egg and the meat. Pour boiling water over the dried shiitake mushrooms and let them steep for about 30 minutes, then drain them, squeeze out the extra water and slice them.
Pinch the ends off the snap peas to pull off the string, then blanch them with the broccoli florets in boiling water for about a minute and drain them.
Make the dark sauce with a vegetarian mushroom bouillon and a vegetarian oyster sauce. Then fry the rice with the same vegetables as the main recipe and stir in the mushrooms and the blanched vegetables. Finish it with the white pepper and the dark sauce the same way.
Tips for P.F. Chang's Fried Rice
Give each meat its own marinade. If you put two kinds of meat in one container, it'll probably affect the flavor. Throw the marinade out after you use it.
Keep the frying oil. Once it cools, strain it and you can use it 4 or 5 more times.
Making it less sweet. P.F. Chang's fried rice is fairly sweet, like most of their dishes. If you'd like yours less sweet, try a little less dark sauce and a little more salt at the end.
Storing and Reheating
Leftover fried rice keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, which is the USDA's guideline for leftovers. Reheat it in a hot wok or skillet with a little oil until it reaches 165°F, the temperature the same USDA page gives. The microwave works, but the rice won't have the same texture.
The cooked meat and shrimp keep in a covered container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. The dark sauce keeps covered in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, like other leftovers, so freeze what you won't use by then in small containers.
There's one ingredient almost every home recipe for orange chicken gets wrong. The right one is in my free recipe pack, along with five more restaurant recipes. You can get it here.
P.F. Chang's Fried Rice Questions
Do you need day-old rice?
No. I've been in dozens of takeout kitchens, and every one of them used fresh rice from the rice cooker.
They'll use leftover rice if they have it, but nobody's cooking rice to cool down and use the next day. Day-old rice works fine too, and it's the better choice for rice cooked on the stovetop.
Kenji López-Alt tested this in his book The Wok. Fresh rice spread out on a tray while it was still hot worked better than rice that had sat loosely covered in the fridge for a few hours, because the steam leaves the surface of each grain.
Can rice cool at room temperature?
Yes, as long as it doesn't sit out for long. The USDA says not to leave cooked food out for more than 2 hours, so spread the rice out in a thin layer and use it or put it in the fridge as soon as it's cool. Putting it under a fan speeds things up.
Can I stir-fry the meat instead?
Yes. Deep-frying is just the way they do it at the restaurant, and stir-frying the marinated meat works well too. Do it in small batches in a very hot wok, so the meat browns in the pan.
Is this fried rice gluten-free?
Not as written, because regular soy sauce has wheat in it, and so does the mushroom dark soy sauce. To make it gluten-free, use a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari in both the marinade and the dark sauce, and a gluten-free dark soy sauce in place of the mushroom one, or leave it out, since it's mostly there for color.
The Panda brand oyster sauce in the green bottle is gluten-free. If you're cooking for someone with celiac disease, check every label, including the rice wine and the chicken bouillon.
What can replace the rice wine?
You can leave it out. If you'd like something in its place, try a little chicken broth with a splash of rice vinegar.
If you make this, leave a star rating in the recipe card below. It helps other people find the recipe.
More P.F. Chang's Recipes
- Dynamite Shrimp and Sauce
- P.F. Chang's Kung Pao Chicken Recipe
- P.F. Chang's-Style Beef and Broccoli
- Lettuce Wraps Recipe
- Chang's Spicy Chicken Recipe
- Singapore Street Noodles Recipe
Recipe
P.F. Chang's Fried Rice
Equipment
- 1 14-inch Mandarin Wok For stir-frying the fried rice
- 1 Made-In Carbon Steel Wok For deep-frying proteins
- 1 Made-In Saucier For making dark sauce
- 1 Wok Spider/Strainer For removing proteins from oil
- 1 Baking Sheet For cooling fried proteins
- 1 Wusthof Utility Knife For slicing proteins
- 1 Whisk For dark sauce
- 1 Mixing Bowls For marinade
- 1 Deli Containers For storing prepped components
Ingredients
Alkaline Soy Marinade
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Dark Sauce
- ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon Minor's original chicken base Knorr or Lee Kum Kee Asian-style chicken bouillon also works
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 6 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mushroom dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon cooking michiu
Passing Through the Oil
- 6 oz protein of choice chicken breast, flank steak, pork loin, or shrimp (41-50 count); see Instructions for prep. For 2 proteins use 3 oz each; for combination (3+) use 2.5 oz each.
- neutral oil
Fried Rice
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 1 large egg
- 16 oz riceland long-grain white rice Riceland brand recommended; any American long-grain white rice works
- ½ cup mung bean sprouts
- ½ cup carrots julienne cut
- ⅓ cup scallions sliced
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ cup dark sauce see recipe above
- 1 teaspoon Morton table salt to taste
Vegetarian Fried Rice (additional ingredients)
- 1 ½ tablespoon dried shiitake mushrooms steep in boiling water for 30 minutes, drain, and slice
- ½ cup broccoli florets blanch with the snap peas for about 1 minute
- ½ cup snap peas pull off the string; blanch with the broccoli for about 1 minute
Instructions
Make the Alkaline Soy Marinade
- Add 1 cup of water to a large bowl and whisk in ½ teaspoon of baking soda until dissolved.
- Add ⅓ cup of low sodium soy sauce and whisk to combine. The marinade can be stored covered in the fridge indefinitely.
Prep and Marinate the Protein
- For chicken, remove the tenderloin from a boneless, skinless breast. Cut the breast lengthwise into 1-inch strips, then make ⅛-inch cuts across the grain.
- For beef (flank steak), cut 1-inch strips with the grain first. Turn each strip perpendicular and slice at a 30-40 degree angle into ⅛-inch slices against the grain. If the beef is hard to slice thinly, freeze it for 20-30 minutes to firm it up.
- For pork, cut into 1-inch strips, then slice into ⅛-inch pieces against the grain, following the same process as the chicken.
- For shrimp (41-50 count, peeled and deveined), pour the alkaline soy marinade over the frozen shrimp and let them thaw in the marinade in the fridge, a few hours.
- Place the sliced chicken, beef, or pork in the alkaline soy marinade for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours; I go the full 24. Refrigerate the entire time.
Cook the Protein (Passing Through the Oil)
- Remove the marinated chicken, beef, or pork from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
- Heat several inches of neutral oil in a wok or deep fryer to 350°F. Working in small batches, add the meat to the oil and agitate so the pieces don't clump together. Fry for about 2 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.
- Remove the meat to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain. Cooked meat can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- For shrimp: remove from the marinade and pat dry. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook the shrimp for 1-2 minutes until done. Remove to paper towels and let cool completely.
Make the Dark Sauce
- Add ¼ cup of water and ½ teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder (or Minor's Chicken Base) to a small pot, along with ¼ cup of white sugar.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat and whisk until the sugar and bouillon are dissolved.
- Remove from heat. Add 6 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of mushroom dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, and 2 tablespoons of Michiu or Shaoxing cooking wine. Whisk until combined.
- Let cool. The dark sauce can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days; freeze what you won't use by then.
Cook the Fried Rice
- Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a wok over medium-high heat.
- Crack in 1 egg and let the whites set around the edges, then stir until the egg is almost cooked through.
- Add 6 ounces of your prepared protein (or 2.5 ounces of each for combination fried rice) and stir until up to temp.
- Add 16 ounces of cooked rice. Press the rice down with the back of your spatula, breaking up any large chunks while mixing in the egg and protein.
- Toss in ½ cup of bean sprouts, ½ cup of julienned carrots, and ⅓ cup of sliced green onions. Stir until the vegetables start to soften.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of white pepper and stir into the rice. Pour ¼ cup of the dark sauce around the edges of the wok and work it into the rice until you see no white chunks left.
- Turn off the heat and adjust the final seasoning with salt, about 1 teaspoon.
Vegetarian Version
- Pour boiling water over 1½ tablespoons of dried shiitake mushrooms and steep for 30 minutes. Drain, squeeze out excess moisture, and slice.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ½ cup of broccoli florets and ½ cup of snap peas (threads removed) and blanch for about 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
- Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add 16 ounces of cooked rice, ½ cup of bean sprouts, ½ cup of julienned carrots, and ⅓ cup of sliced green onions. Stir the rice, breaking up any large chunks.
- Add the shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, and snap peas. Stir them into the rice.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of white pepper and stir in. Pour ¼ cup of vegetarian dark sauce (made with mushroom bouillon and vegetarian oyster sauce) around the edges of the wok. Stir until no white chunks remain.
- Turn off the heat and adjust seasoning with salt.
