With a batch of rice, prepared onions and garlic, anyone can make fried rice at least once a day. It only takes 15 minutes and can last for a whole week. This recipe is so incredibly easy and delicious that I cook it every day. You can also multiply the measurements and meal prep this fried rice, because this dish is still amazing even after reheating it in the microwave. If you make this recipe enough times, you can master it and won’t even need to follow a recipe.
Khanh Phan / Daily Nexus
Fried rice is one of those recipes that you can make your own by adding or omitting ingredients that you like or have on hand. For example, if you’re vegan, add crumbled tofu and omit the egg. If you don’t have fresh onions or garlic, use powders. You can add spam, Chinese sausages or any other meat that’s diced up. For the veggies, my basics are frozen peas and corn, but you can add the traditional carrots, scallions or chives. If you choose to add carrots, sauté diced carrots in a pan first because it takes longer to cook and then add them into the main pan when you add the other veggies in. Corn isn’t used in traditional fried rice recipes, but it is essential in fried rice for me.
For the rice, it’s best to use rice that’s at least a day old for the best texture. I actually prefer my rice to be hard and dry because the egg and moisture from the veggies reconstitute it into an amazingly crispy yet fluffy bite. I use cold rice that has hardened in the fridge, so I have to crumble it into fine grains because it sticks together. If it’s fresh rice, just spread the rice out in a thin layer so the moisture can evaporate. For the seasoning, I try to pack in the salt.
For the chicken base, I use Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base. If you’re vegan, you can still enjoy this dish because their vegetable base is also up to par with their chicken base. If you don’t have measuring cups at home, you can make this just as easily by eyeing it.
Tip: Not all frozen corn is made equally. I’ve tried all the ones from Albertsons, Target, Ralph’s and Trader Joe’s, but the best one is C&W Petite White & Golden Corn from Albertsons.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of rice
- 2 tablespoons of diced onions
- ½ tablespoon of butter or canola oil
- ¼ cup of peas
- ¼ cup of corn
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ teaspoon mushroom seasoning (optional)
- ½ teaspoon chicken base (optional)
- Pepper (optional)
- Sriracha (optional)
Directions:
- Dice the onions and mince the garlic. Leave them aside.
- Turn on the stove to high. In a pan, crumble the cold rice into individual grains and, with a pair of chopsticks or other utensils, continuously stir the rice so it doesn’t burn. This step adds texture to the otherwise soft rice.
- After 2 minutes, add in the diced onions and butter to the rice to sauté it.
- Once the onions become translucent and the rice has a sear to it, add in the frozen peas and corn, garlic or other add-ins that you choose.
- After 5 minutes, when the ingredients look cooked, turn off the stove, make a space in the middle and immediately crack in the 2 eggs. The residual heat will cook them. With your utensil, stir the egg up until it’s cooked and then mix it in with the rest of the ingredients.
- After 3 minutes, add the soy sauce, sugar and the optional seasonings. If you’re not using the optional ingredients, add an extra teaspoon of soy sauce.
- Finally, top it off with pepper and Sriracha if you’d like.
