Our Easy Fried Rice recipe is so delicious we guarantee it will be on high rotation in your house after just one taste.
Sustainability is important to us, and that means minimal food waste. Yet somehow, we always manage to cook too much rice! Fried rice is a perfect way to use up that leftover cooked rice that we always seem to have in the fridge. It’s also a great way to hide veggies for fussy little eaters.
Adaptable, Easy Fried Rice
This recipe is as adaptable as it is easy. It’s packed full of flavour and can be easily tweaked to be vegan or vegetarian. We often serve it for dinner on Meat Free Mondays or Sunday nights when anything else seems too hard. You can add prawns, bacon or Chinese sausage if you’re an omnivore. Make a main meal of this by adding an egg or pieces of fried tofu, or serve it as a side dish with other Chinese-style food. It also reheats perfectly, so you can take it to work in a container the next day and reheat it in the microwave.
Cooking Tips
If you’re cooking your rice freshly to make this dish, make sure it cools completely before you use it. To prevent the rice from drying out, lay a clean tea towel on the bench top. Spoon the rice evenly onto the tea towel and roll the towel up into a log. When you’re ready to make your easy fried rice, simply unroll it and tip it in with the other ingredients.
Don’t go overboard with the condiments. Too much soy sauce especially will ruin your fried rice, or make it unappetising for some. Better to add a little and serve the rest on the side. You can also serve it with extra spring onions, fried shallots (yum!) and hot chilli sauce or flakes for the brave.
Easy Fried Rice
Equipment
- Wok optional
Ingredients
- 2 TBS peanut or other neutral-flavoured oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- 1 TBS fresh ginger grated
- ½ cup mixed red & green capsicum finely diced
- 2 cups mushrooms, any kind finely diced
- 1–2 tsp Chinese 5-spice
- ½ cup carrot finely diced or grated
- ½ cup fresh, frozen or canned peas
- ½ cup fresh, frozen or canned corn kernels
- 2 cups cold cooked rice
- 2 TBS soy sauce
- 1 TBS oyster sauce omit if vegetarian
- 1 TBS Hoi Sin Sauce
- 1 egg lightly beaten, omit if vegan
- 1–2 tsp sesame oil
- 1–2 spring onions finely sliced
Instructions
- Heat oil in a wok or large, heavy-based frying pan. Add onion and cook, stirring for 2–3 minutes before adding garlic and ginger.
- Continue to stir as you add capsicum and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes or until the mushroom is well browned. Add the Chinese 5-spice and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add carrot, peas, corn and cooked rice and continue to cook, stirring until the veggies have softened.
- Add the three sauces, stir and then add the egg while stirring. The egg will distribute through the mixture and help thicken it*.
- Drizzle over the sesame oil and sprinkle with sliced spring onions. Serve hot.
Notes