Name: Fried Rice Recipe
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: ½ kg Rice (good quality); 3 tsp Salt (used while cooking the rice); 1 cup Cabbage (julenned); 1 cup Carrot (julienned); ½ cup Capsicum (julienned); 2 to 3 Green Chilies (sliced); ½ cup Peas; 1 Sliced Scallions (Fresh green Onion); 1 tsp Garlic Paste; 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper; 1 Chicken Cube; 2 Eggs; 2 tbsp White Vinegar; 2 tbsp Soy Sauce; 3 to 4 drops Food Color Yellow (optional); 1 tsp Salt (or to taste); 3 tbsp Cooking Oil or Butter; 2 tbsp Roasted sesame oil (optional)

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Fried rice is prepared by stir-frying in a wok or a frying pan. Usually, it is made by mixing rice with vegetables, eggs, meat, or seafood. The flavor of rice mixed with eggs, vegetables, and a thin layer of soy sauce is something that makes the fried rice an absolute favorite.

The primary ingredients of the fried rice are rice, veggies, eggs, meat i.e. chicken, beef, or mutton, or seafood i.e. fish, shrimp, or crab. Aromatics such as scallions, shallots, and garlic are used to enhance the flavor. A variety of cooking oils, such as vegetable oil, sesame oil, or clarified butter is used in fried rice.

Fried rice is seasoned with salt, different spices, and sauces, such as soy sauce or oyster sauce. This dish is garnished with sliced chilies, parsley or coriander leaves, sliced cucumber, tomato, or pickled vegetables.

A Flavorful and Comforting Chinese Dish

Fried rice is a flavorful and comforting Chinese dish that we can prepare very easily at home within a short time. If you are looking for quick dinner ideas you can go for this dish. It is quick and easy to make, customizable with any of your favorite add-ins. This amazing fried rice dish is full of rich savory flavors infusing in it from the variety of its ingredients.

Fried rice is a widely popular and common street food in Asian countries. Historically, the fried rice recipe links to the famous Sui Dynasty of China, where this dish was prepared by reusing the leftover rice.

In the present modern era, fried rice with some variations has got a prominent place in almost all the cuisines of the world. These varieties of fried rice are prepared with their own specific ingredients.

Easy Fried Rice Recipe

In this fried rice recipe, I used vinegar to eliminate the smell of eggs, sugar to retain the natural colors of the veggies, and cabbage which gives restaurant-style flavor to this fried rice dish. It tastes as good as that of the Chinese Restaurants’ fried rice.

The dish is speedy to make and versatile in its adaptability with your favorite mix-ins. To enhance the flavor further, I used a chicken cube mixed with vinegar but as a substitute, you can use chicken powder. This is an optional step; you can skip it.

If you are a novice, and you are looking for a simple and easy fried rice recipe to try, then here is one simple yet comprehensive and special fried rice recipe at your fingertips. Once you master this basic fried rice recipe, you can play around with it. Substitute the ingredients of this recipe with whatever suits your taste.

Let’s try this recipe and make some homemade fried rice. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Fried Rice Ingredients

To make the best fried rice, we will need the following ingredients:

Rice: To keep the fried rice grainy and crispy, use good quality rice.
Eggs: Eggs add nice texture and flavor to the fried rice.
Scallions: Scallions or green onions have a somewhat spicy and sharp flavor. They are not only the best aromatics for food, for flavor, but also best for aesthetics.
Vegetables: We’ll use peas, carrots, cabbage, capsicum and green chilies in this recipe. You can add in other veggies you love. Vegetables give nice texture and freshness to the fried rice.
Garlic: We can use pre-made garlic paste, but It’s a good idea to use freshly-minced garlic.
Vinegar: white vinegar helps removing the raw smell of the eggs.
Sauces: Usually we use low-sodium Soy Sauce. If the traditional soy sauce is available with you, add less quantity of it. You can also use Oyster Sauce if you like.
Cooking Oil: I used cooking oil in this recipe to stir fry the veggies and rice. You can use butter to your taste as a substitute.
Toasted sesame oil: If you like the taste of sesame oil, drizzle it over the fried rice. We cannot use it as a cooking oil. Stir it in at the end, after you removed the pan from heat.

How to Make Fried Rice

To make homemade fried rice, we will take ½ kg of good quality rice. Clean them and wash them two to three times till the water flows clear. Soak the rice in fresh water for at least 20 to 25 minutes.

Chop the veggies to prepare;

1 cup of carrots (julienned)
1 cup of cabbage (julienned)
½ cup of capsicum (julienned)
2 to 3 fresh green chilies (sliced)
green part of a fresh scallion (sliced)

Cooking Peas and Carrots in Steam

Take ½ cup of peas and 1 cup of julienned carrots, steam till they become soft, and set them aside. Peas will take almost 12 to 15 minutes to steam and the julienned carrots will take 8 to 10 minutes.

Cooking the Rice

First, we will boil the rice. To boil the rice we’ll pour 3 liter water into the pan. Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil over a high flame. After 3 to 4 minutes remove the cover of the pan to see if the water has started boiling then pour the soaked rice into the water.

Cover the pan again and boil the rice on high flame. After 8 to 10 minutes the rice will have been cooked as required; almost al dente. Perfectly al dente rice is the one with slightly crispy edges. Now drain the water from the cooked rice by using a strainer and set them aside and let them cool.

Sautéing the Eggs

Take 2 eggs and crack them in a bowl. Sprinkle 1 pinch of salt. To develop the color put 2 to 3 drops of yellow food color. Food color is optional, you can skip it. Whisk the eggs well.

In order to sauté the eggs, take 1 & ½ tbsp cooking oil in a frying pan. Heat the oil slightly and keep the flame at medium. After heating the oil, pour the beaten eggs into the pan and sauté it for 1& ½ minutes, till the eggs get scrambled. Keep stirring while frying the eggs. After frying, set the fried eggs aside in a separate plate.

Frying the Garlic

Take 3 tbsp cooking oil in a non-stick pan. Heat it slightly. Now add 1 tsp garlic paste to it. Fry over the low flame till the garlic is lightly browned.

Sautéing the Veggies

Now set the flame to high. Ensure that during this whole process the flame is high and cook all these items on high heat. Add ½ cup steamed peas, 1 cup julienned cabbage, and 1 cup steamed carrots to it. Stir it lightly. Sprinkle 1 pinch of sugar over it, to preserve the natural color of the vegetables.

Add 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp ground black pepper to it. In order to enhance the flavor, add chicken cube 1 piece mixed with 1 tbsp vinegar. As a substitute, you can use 1 tsp chicken powder. Season it with salt 1 tsp or to taste and in addition to it, you can add 1 tbsp white vinegar. Mix all these items well.

Frying Rice and Veggies

Add ½ cup julienned capsicum into the pan and then add boiled rice. Mix the rice and the veggies with the specific method described below. Now add fried eggs to it along with 2 to 3 fresh green sliced chilies and add the sliced green part of fresh green onion to it. Mix all the items once again with the specific method.

It will take almost 2 to 3 minutes to fry the rice and veggies together. When fried rice is ready you will feel a nice aroma coming out of the flavorful fried rice. Now turn off the flame and remove the pan from heat.

Fried Rice Seasoning

Test taste the fried rice and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Drizzle in extra soy sauce or sesame oil if you like. Now put the fried rice in the serving dish and serve it warm.

How to Stir the Rice and Veggies

Mix the rice and other ingredients by lifting the wooden spoon from the bottom of the pan to upward while shaking the spoon constantly. In this way, all the ingredients will mix well. The rice will not break and they will remain grainy. Stirring this way will break apart any large clumps of rice. Watch the video to follow this technique easily.

What to Serve with Fried Rice

Fried rice is also versatile in pairing with other dishes, snacks, and salads.

Salad: Sliced Onion, Cucumber & Broccoli

Cooking Tips

Here are some important tips about how to make best fried rice.

Boil the rice till al dente; almost 75% cooked, so that they do not become mushy and they remain crispy.
Sprinkle one pinch of sugar over the veggies while sautéing them, to preserve their natural color.
Use cabbage to have the restaurant-style flavor and use vinegar to kill the raw smell of the eggs.
To avoid breaking the rice while mixing with the veggies, follow the special method for mixing.
Ensure high flame during the whole process of sautéing the veggies and rice. These items must be cooked on high heat to prevent them from getting soggy and mushy.
Although the fried rice recipe is highly customizable but we should keep in mind that if we add more vegetables, we will add more moisture to the cooked rice. This can lead to soggy fried rice. The quantity of vegetables I used in this recipe, is sufficient.