Vegetable fried rice is a fantastic "all-in-one" dish which is perfect for using up leftovers or veggies that are past their best. Get the recipe below.
Cooking with leftovers
Fried rice dishes are mainly found in the south of China where leftover rice has been fried with egg, meat and vegetables for years. It is the kind of dish that is cooked when times are tough to make expensive meat and egg go a little bit further. It is also delicious!
Whether you use leftovers or decide to cook this from scratch its a simple dish that is packed full of flavour. I've skipped the meat on this occasion to make a vegetarian friendly dish. Jon absolutely loves it when I tell him we're having fried rice for dinner so it must be good!
If you want to find out more about vegetarian Chinese food you can find my guide here.
Customise it!
You can swap out any of the veggies for ones you have lurking around the kitchen. I've included my favourite vegetables in the recipe as a starting point.
Mushrooms are a delicious addition which you won't find here. I like to have a contrast of textures and like my veggies diced small and on the crunchy side. That being said, feel free to chuck them in if you wish.
Whatever you do, don't be tempted to skip the garlic or ginger. These, along with the spring onions, are the keystone of Chinese cooking and it won't taste the same without them!
I've used brown rice for my recipe but you could just as easily use white rice. If you do, make sure the white rice is slightly under cooked before adding it to the pan. Otherwise, it will overcook and become stodgy.
The recipe
Vegetable Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 150 grams brown rice
- 1 handful edamame frozen
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 spring onions sliced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 inch root ginger grated
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
- sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
- Begin by cooking the brown rice according to the instructions, 2 minutes before the rice is done add in the frozen edamame.
- Take the rice and edamame off the heat once cooked and drain thoroughly, patting down with kitchen roll (if necessary) to remove any excess quater.
- In a frying pan or wok, heat the sesame oil.
- Add in the spring onions, red pepper and carrot.
- Cook the vegetables on a high heat, stiring frequently, until they begin to softer (2-4 minutes).
- Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook on a medium heat for a further 2 minutes (again, stiring frequently).
- Add the rice and edamame to the pan and combine with the vegetables.
- Push the rice mix to one side and add the beaten egg to the pan.
- Let the egg cook slightly before combining with the rice.
- Stir together and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the soy sauce before serving.
- Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Love fried rice!! Every time we have a take away, we deliberately buy one extra portion of rice so we can make fried rice the next day 🙂 I need to use ginger more often though!
Emma Walton says
Great idea!!!
Choclette says
I've never managed to make fried rice to my satisfaction. I think the secret might be in using leftover rice. Sounds delicious.
Emma Walton says
Give it a go Choclette and let me know how you get on 🙂
Dannii says
I have never thought of this as a way to use up leftovers - that’s a great idea. I do love a homemade takeaway.