33 EASY Asian Rice Recipes for Dinner

Discover the best easy Asian rice recipes to spice up dinner, lunch and breakfast. From Korean fried rice to Chinese Congee, no meat/ vegetarian options, Indian turmeric rice, baked sushi and rice cooker recipes, these savory dishes will take your meals and side dishes to the next level!

Folded kimbaps, stuffed with cheese, kimchi, tuna and egg, in a bowl.

Rice is a staple food in many Asian cuisines. In Chinese culture, it's so integral that "Have you eaten rice?" actually means "Have you eaten yet?"

And no wonder: rice is versatile, affordable, and delicious. Plus, uncooked white rice, if stored properly, can last for ages in the pantry, making it very convenient too!

Whether you're in the mood for a comforting rice bowl or a light Japanese sushi roll, there's an Asian rice recipe for you! (If you specifically need rice recipes for Christmas dinner, or recipes made in a rice cooker, click here.)

Tip: Cooked rice spoils easily. Here are some tips on how to store it properly as well as recipes to use up extra cooked rice, including Japanese rice!

Claypot Rice in Rice Cooker

A bowl of claypot rice with Chinese sausages and mushrooms.

Chinese Claypot Rice (Rice Cooker)

This easy Chinese Claypot Rice is a restaurant quality Hong Kong dish made in a Rice Cooker with Chinese mushrooms and Chinese sausage- better than takeout! (For lazy days when you want to cook last-minute, I've included a no chicken version.)

Click here for the easy Chinese rice recipe.

Chinese claypot rice with Chinese sausage and mushrooms in a bowl.

Korean Rice Sandwich

Close-up of homemade folded kimbap, cut in half.

Tip: remember to have a small bowl of water and vinegar next to you when you roll, so that you can dab your hands and prevent the rice grains from sticking!

Folded Kimbap Sandwich (Attorney Woo)

Folded Kimbap Sandwich is a fun, easy and delicious Korean street snack that shot to fame with the K-drama, Extraordinary Attorney Woo. It's simple to make and super versatile for lunchboxes: read on for some of the many possible fillings!

Click here for the Korean rice sandwich recipe.

Kimchi Fried Rice

A plate of Korean fried rice with a sunny side egg.

Tip: to make it a complete meal, serve with these fried rice sides or these Korean small dishes!

Kimchi Bokkeumbap (Fried Rice)

Kimchi Bokkeumbap, or Korean fried rice with kimchi, is so easy and delicious, it's often whipped up as a hangover meal in a Korean household and can be made perfectly the first time. Plus, it's done in 15 minutes if you have leftover rice around!

Click here for the gochujang rice recipe.

Close-up of a plate of Korean kimchi and gochujang fried rice

Bibimbap

This Korean rice bowl with marinated beef and spicy sauce is a great dish to incorporate more veggies in your diet!

Sushi Casserole

Gochujang Mayo Tuna baked sushi with avocado on top.

Sushi Bake (with Canned Tuna)

Sushi bake is an easy Asian casserole that is rich and creamy and allows you to enjoy sushi without having to learn how to roll! You can even make it spicy! Made with easily available ingredients that you don't need to go the Asian grocery stores for, this pantry-ingredient-recipe is the perfect party dish for sharing with friends and family.

Click here for the deconstructed rice roll recipe.

Close-up of a scoop of deconstructed sushi bake with avocado.

Salmon Sushi Bake Recipe

Salmon Sushi Bake is a simple but delicious Asian fusion casserole that consists of flaky salmon in a creamy sauce on top of warm rice. It lets sushi novices enjoy without having to deal with the stress of rolling the rice. Made with easy to find ingredients, it's a great sharing dish that's on the table in 20 minutes (excluding the time to cook the rice!)

Click here for the salmon rice recipe.

Close-up of a spoonful of baked salmon sushi rice.

Sushi Rolls

And if you're more ambitious, you can make actual sushi rolls! (I'm including a link to something simpler, Hosomaki.)

Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice

Singapore Chicken Rice in a Rice Cooker Pot.

With its tender chicken and fragrant rice cooked in chicken fat, Chicken Rice is a dish I've never heard anyone say they don't like!

For an easy chicken rice version, just put the rice, chicken broth, garlic, ginger, pandan leaves and onion in the rice cooker- One pot chicken rice!

Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice with cucumbers and tomatoes. — Along with Singapore Chilli Crab, Singapore Chicken rice is one of Singapore's most famous local dishes.

Hainanese Chicken Rice (Rice Cooker)

A super easy recipe for a fragrant and delicious Singapore Chicken Rice, made in the Rice Cooker. Made from easy-to-find ingredients (I tested without pandan leaves, but also show you how to use pandan leaves if you can get them.)

Click here for the one pot chicken rice recipe.

Holding up a spoon of Singapore Chicken Rice made in a rice cooker.

Nasi Lemak

One of the most popular breakfasts in Singapore and Malaysia, this delicious coconut rice wouldn't be the same without the small chili and fried ikan bills (small fish) and peanuts!

Pandan Rice

Pandan Rice is a very simple Asian rice that nonetheless never fails to impress thanks to its beautiful fragrance!

Pandan Rice

2 easy Pandan Rice recipes: I show you how to cook a fragrant white rice or a pandan-flavored, olive-green, creamy rice using 2-3 simple ingredients.

Click here for the pandan rice recipe.

A Singporean meal with 2 types of pandan rice, fried egg, eggplant and sambal kangkong.

Indonesia Nasi Goreng

Indonesian Fried Rice is a sweet, salty and savory dish that is a great Asian breakfast, especially with a fried egg!

Tip: if you don't have rice, mee goreng, or fried noodles, is a great dish too! It's quite similar to Nasi Goreng, but uses Sweet Soy Sauce, or Kicap Manis.

Nasi Kuning

The yellow rice is cooked with coconut milk and gets a lot of flavor from herbs such as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric.

Cantonese Congee

A bowl of rice porridge with 5 side dishes.

Rice porridge is the ultimate Asian comfort dish so bear with me as I share some of the variations that this dish can take!

P.S. Don't forget to include the small plates that go well with congee as well as the garnishes and toppings!

Easy Chinese Seafood congee with shrimp/ prawn

This Easy Chinese Seafood congee with shrimps or prawns is a delicious seafood rice porridge that is easy to cook but still silky and rich. Chicken stock/ broth optional!

Click here for the shrimp porridge recipe.

A bowl of seafood congee with prawns and ginger.

Close-up of a bowl of chicken porridge with a huge abalone on top.

Easy Chinese Canned Abalone Porridge

A no-fuss, easy Chinese Canned Abalone Porridge recipe, also known as jook or congee, which can be made using store cupboard ingredients. So easy there's only 1 photo for the step-by-step instructions, it's the perfect comfort food and a delicious recipe for a weekday dinner.

Click here for the auspicious congee recipe.

A spoon scooping a fresh scallop out of a bowl of seafood congee.

Dried scallop congee recipe

Click here for the Hong Kong porridge recipe.

A close-up of a bowl of chicken congee — Fried dried prawns are one of my favourite toppings, so I added some to the congee here

Leftover roast chicken congee (jook)

A great way to use up your roast chicken leftovers is to make rice porridge (jook)

Click here for the wallet-friendly Chinese recipe.

Chinese Pumpkin Porridge

Adapted from the recipe of a Michelin star Chinese restaurant (in a 5-star hotel) to make it possible for daily weeknight dinners!

Click here for the pumpkin and seafood congee.

A bowl of bright orange leftover pumpkin puree Chinese porridge jook.

Easy Singapore Chicken Brown Rice Congee

A jook version of the famous Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice that is just as fragrant but super easy to cook!

Click here for the Hainanese Chicken Rice Porridge.

Close-up of brown rice cook in a blue and white bowl.

Chinese Fish Congee Recipe 魚片粥

This Chinese Fish Congee Recipe 魚片粥 is a delicious and easy Asian comfort food that will take you back to your childhood. It take at minimum an hour to make the traditional way and so I share 4 hacks to reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes!

Click here for the fish porridge recipe.

A spoonful of homemade Chinese congee with fish and ginger.

Chinese Ground Pork Congee Rice Porridge Recipe

This Chinese Ground Pork Congee Porridge Recipe is full of flavor and the perfect Asian comfort food for cold weather. This nourishing, one pot meal is a hug in a bowl, and will take you right back to your childhood! (Cantonese congee takes at least an hour to cook to cook till thick and creamy, so I also share 4 hacks to reduce the cooking time from 70-90 minutes to 25 minutes!)

Click here for the pork porridge recipe.

Close-up of a spoonful of ground pork rice porridge with sesame oil.

Egg Fried Rice

Close-up of short grain shrimp fried rice and a slice of pork. — Din Tai Fung Style egg fried rice is 1 of my fave ways to use up leftover sushi rice.

There are hundreds of types of fried rice but 1 of the most popular is Egg Fried Rice (蛋炒饭). Don't forget the green onions for a burst of freshness!

Adding pork to the egg fried rice is also great way to use up leftover Char Siu or Chinese pork jerky.

Tip: Use leftover rice to ensure the rice is fluffy and not mushy!

Pumpkin Rice

Chinese Pumpkin Rice

This Chinese Pumpkin rice is a super easy and flavorful rice cooker recipe: the soft pumpkin cubes melt in your mouth, contrasting with the firm bite of the white rice grains. Moreover, it only takes 10 minutes to prepare and the rest of the work is up to your rice cooker!

Click here for the easy rice cooker recipe.

Close-up of a bowl of brown coloured rice with pumpkin cubes, red chili, coriander and dried prawns.

Nuo Mi Fan

Chinese Sticky Rice (糯米飯) is a popular dim sum dish made with dried shrimps, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese sausages and sometimes dried scallops.

Important: remember to use glutinous sticky rice and never jasmine rice for this recipe!

Thai Shrimp Fried Rice

A plate of Spicy Thai Fried Rice with Thai Basil and Shrimp.

Thai Fried Rice (ข้าวผัด) with shrimp is delicious- don't forget to serve it with Thai Chili and fish sauce (Phrik Nam Plain)!

Thai Basil Fried Rice with Shrimp (Khao Pad Goong)

This Thai Basil Fried Rice with Shrimp (Khao Pad Goong) is quick easy and delicious: it's on the table in under 30 minutes if you have leftover rice. Plus making it at home means you can save money and custmise it to your desired spice level!

Click here for the spicy shrimp rice recipe.

A plate of Spicy Thai Basil Fried Rice with Shrimp and Egg.

Veggie Fried Rice

Scooping up some dark Thai fried rice with basili, carrots and peas.

Thai Basil Fried Rice (Vegetarian) (20 min)

This Vegan/ Vegetarian Thai Basil Fried Rice is a deliciously easy dish on the dinner table in under 20 minutes. It's the ultimate Asian comfort food: sweet, salty, savory, and budget-friendly! (Not including rice cooking time, if not using leftover rice.)

Click here for the vegetarian rice recipe.

A spoonful of vegetarian Thai fried rice with Thai basil, peas, carrots and chilies.

Tuna Fried Rice

Overhead shot of a big bowl of homemade spicy Thai-inspired fried rice.

EASY Canned Tuna Fried rice (30 min)

This easy Canned Tuna Fried Rice recipe is simple, nutritious, and delicious. Done in 30 minutes, it's a great pantry meal for a quick weeknight dinner. (I also show you how to make it spicy, or non-spicy.)

Click here for the Thai fried rice recipe.

Pineapple Fried Rice

Because my Father worked for over 20 years in Thailand, I spent many years there, and pineapple fried rice was 1 of the 1st dishes I learnt to make! (Will include my own recipe on the blog soon.)

Tip: if you want to make the rice more golden in color, you can add a pinch of turmeric powder.

Pad Kra Pao

A plate of authentic Thai Basil Pork Mince with rice and fried egg.

Thai Basil Stir Fry is my go-to dish when I'm in Bangkok.

The recipe for this easy Asian rice dish originally calls for ground beef, but you can easily switch it to ground pork or chicken thigh!

Thai Basil Pork Mince (Pad Kra Pao Moo)

This Thai Basil Pork Mince, or Pad Kra Pao Moo (Pad Gra Pao Pork), is an easy stir-fry but SO TASTY. It's one of favorite authentic Thai food recipes and I must have eaten this Asian street food dish at least 100s of times over the 20 years my Father lived in Bangkok.

Click here for the spicy pork recipe.

Stir fried Thai Basil Pork Pad Gra Pao and fried egg on white rice.

Indian Turmeric Rice

Golden turmeric rice with raisins and cashews on a white plate.

To make it a complete meal, pair it with these Indian vegetarian recipes or these delicious Indian sides!

Easy Turmeric Rice (One Pot, Rice Cooker)

This delicious and easy Turmeric Rice is a one-pot recipe that is made in the rice cooker. It has a tinge of sweetness from the raisins, crunch from the cashews and a gorgeous golden color from the turmeric! Plus all the main ingredients are from the pantry!

Click here for the golden rice recipe.