Updated on May 21st, 2023
Even though it is an Asian dish, fried rice has a lot of fans all over the world. In fact, it has been comfortably accommodated into restaurant menus around the world with a variety of changes to suit every palette. But the true flavours of fried rice are incredibly irresistible and delightfully delicious.
A plate of well-cooked fried rice is a meal in itself since it includes veggies, meat and even prawns depending on your food preferences. And even though it may have originated in the far-east, it is recognized all over the globe as one of the most popular dishes.
Good fried rice will have the perfect amount of tang, the right balance of vegetables and meats and rice that is not over or undercooked. While the actual making of the dish takes very less time, it is the prep work that goes into it that must be carried out with carefulness.
A few things that make your dish turn out perfect are:
- Use refrigerated rice – Boil the rice and refrigerate it before-hand. Fresh-boiled rice tends to overcook when added directly to the stir-fried vegetables, but refrigerated rice does not get too mushy and retains the texture of the dish.
- Add color and flavor through the vegetables – You can use a variety of vegetables to the rice. Carrots and onions are only a beginner, bell peppers and French beans also taste great in the rice. Remember to reduce the quantity of each vegetable if you are including different types of vegetables in your recipe. You would not want the dish to have more vegetables than rice.
- Meats and prawns are an optional addition – The good thing about fried rice is that it is very adaptable. You can add or remove any of the vegetables or meats or prawns according to your likes and dislikes.
- Cook in butter to enhance the flavor of the rice – Butter offers a distinctive flavor to the rice making it more delicious and giving the vegetables a beautiful golden tint.
Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 4 cups of rice, boiled and refrigerated (choose short grain rice)
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 medium-sized carrots, diced
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
- 3–4 tbsp. soy sauce
- ½ tsp. toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp. oyster sauce (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a medium sized sauté pan. Add ½ tbsp. butter and stir in the whisked eggs. Scramble the eggs and transfer them to a plate or small bowl.
- In a large sauté pan, heat 1 ½ tbsp. butter and add all the vegetables except the green onions. Season with salt and pepper and sauté the vegetables on medium heat for about five minutes.
- Turn up the heat to high and add the rice. Quickly stir in the rice and add the green onions along with the soy sauce and the oyster sauce.
- Stir continuously to avoid burning the vegetables or the rice. Fry the rice for about three minutes.
- Add the scrambled eggs and mix it
- Remove the rice from heat and drizzle the sesame oil. Stir well to mix everything and your rice is ready to be served.
Notes
You can use shredded or diced chicken, beef, pork, or add shrimps to the rice according to your taste. These can be added to the recipe right after you add the rice to the sauté pan.
Fried rice goes well with a number of oriental chicken and vegetable recipes. But it can be enjoyed on its own as a meal because of all the vegetables and meat it packs in.
More fried rice recipes to try:
- Shrimp fried rice by From Michigan to the Table. I like this recipe because it’s quick and easy — and it has bacon, which adds a ton of flavor!
- Pork fried rice
- Chicken fried rice
- Beef fried rice
