Guest post from Aliesha of Feathers in Our Nest
Restaurant-style fried rice is easy to make at home! It’s a frugal recipe to serve for lunch (or alongside some homemade Asian food) and it is great for incorporating sale produce or using up veggies in your fridge that are about to go bad.
This recipe is very flexible – just use what you have on hand and adapt it to your family’s taste preferences. We like to make it using leftover rice from another meal, but you can definitely cook rice specifically for this recipe.
Quick & Easy Fried Rice
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1-2 cups vegetables, cut in small pieces (such as carrots, broccoli, peas, mushrooms, etc.)
- 4 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
- 4 Tbsp. soy sauce (more or less to taste)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup leftover cooked chicken (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Heat coconut oil in a wok over medium-high heat.Add diced onion and the veggies that take longer to cook (like carrots). Sauté for a few minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
Add in the other veggies and sauté. Add rice and stir thoroughly and quickly. Pour some soy sauce in and stir. Add more soy sauce until desired flavor is achieved.
Using the wooden spoon, make a “hole” in the center of the fried rice, exposing the bottom of the wok. Crack in 2 eggs (depending on the amount of fried rice you’re making) and stir quickly to scramble.
Mix in scrambled eggs with the rest of the fried rice. If desired, mix in leftover cooked chicken as well. Taste, and add more soy sauce if desired!
Aliesha is a stay-at-home wife and mom with three precious blessings ages three and under. Her blog home is Feathers in Our Nest, where she writes about family, ministry, food, and frugal living. Aliesha loves to read, shop thrift stores, drink coffee, and cook for her “foodie” husband.
The recipe looks delicious! Is there anything that I could use as a substitute for the coconut oil? Thanks!
You can use Peanut Oil or any oil that can withstand high temperatures (I think Grapeseed Oil works too). Don’t use Olive Oil because it burns too quickly.
Thankyou!
A tip I picked up somewhere was a big help for me when making fried rice: it works much better if you make the rice ahead of time and either refrigerate it or freeze it (and then thaw it). It helps to separate the grains better, and you don’t end up with a clumpy mess. When I used to try fried rice, it was always gloppy and sticky; learning about freezing it first was a *huge* help.
I usually make it with leftovers from a previous night’s dinner.
One suggestion;
Replace the soy sauce with Braggs aminos, it taste just like soy sauce but so much better for you.
I’ve heard about aminos, but never used that before. Where is a good place to buy it?
I get mine at sprouts, but you should find it in most health food/farmers mkt stores, or here http://www.vitacost.com/bragg-liquid-aminos-32-fl-oz
Another great option to replace soy sauce is coconut aminos (I think Coconut Secret is the brand?). If you really want to go with soy sauce, San-J makes a great Non-GMO tamari soy sauce that is fermented the traditional way.
I can’t wait to make this. We always have left over veggies. Since I buy organic, I always use every speck. I save the small left over pieces for soups, but this is another great alternative. . Thanks for this post.
We like to keep a bag of frozen mixed veggies in our freezer to make up fried rice.
That definitely makes it easy! I’ve used frozen mixed veggies before too.
As I have an allergy to onions, I would suggest small slices of water chestnuts and asparagus to the dish! You get the same crunch and garnish feel, without the onions for those allergic and picky smaller eaters!
I love water chestnuts!
Great recipe! I also like to add some sesame oil to our fried rice. It makes the taste so close to our favorite chinese restaurant. We added a yellow squash the other day to our fried rice, and it was great!
I love sesame seed oil, so I’ll have to add some next time I make this! Thanks for the idea!
So funny you said that about sesame oil, because that’s exactly what I was going to say! I also like it with homemade crunchy sauerkraut. I know it’s not Asian (but kimchee is, and that’s related to sauerkraut), but I like having something crunchy-textured in there. Rice vinegar is a good tangy addition too.