Ever since I was little, I’ve had an obsession with fried rice and learning how to make it taste delicious. I still remember making it for the first time with my mom. We had followed a recipe and it didn’t turn out quite how we had wanted it to… I remember it didn’t have the right amount of soy sauce. Our neighbor made amazing fried rice and I was extremely curious to figure out how he did it. I am so excited to share with you my fried rice recipe! I have been making fried rice since I was 12 years old (I’m 25 now) and it has come a long way. Each time I make it, it turns out a little different, but this is my base recipe and it’s up to you to adjust the ingredients to your preference.
So here it goes, enjoy!
- 2 cups of cooked rice (cold rice from the day before is best)
- 2-3 tbsp. vegetable oil or sesame oil
- half of a medium-sized onion, chopped finely
- 4-5 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 cup of chopped broccoli or any green veggie
- 1/4 c. Braggs amino acids
- pepper to taste
- 2-3 tbsp. ginger paste
- 1 green onion, chopped
- Begin by chopping your onion, garlic, carrot, and broccoli
- Heat your pan on medium heat, add your oil, onion, and garlic
- Saute until the onion is soft, be careful to not burn your onion at this point
- Add in your carrot and broccoli and mix well. Cover your pan with a lid, turn heat low and let it steam until your broccoli is soft
- Add your cold rice to the pan and mix everything together well
- At this point, add your Braggs to the rice and once again stir completely making sure each chunk of rice is smashed and the flavor is well distributed throughout
- Keep your heat on low so the rice does not begin to burn. At this point, you may need to drizzle some more oil over the rice to keep it from sticking to the pan. Cover and let it warm for about five minutes, stirring occasionally
- Lastly, you want to add in your ginger and pepper
- Finish with any last-minute garnishes. I like to add chopped green onion. You can also at this point add your protein. I like to toss in some fried tofu. If you are not vegetarian, you can add cooked chicken or shrimp at this point.
Tips for the best fried rice:
- If you don’t have cold rice leftovers, simply cook your rice and then scoop it into a container and place it in the freezer, lid off to cool quickly. I’ve done this a couple of times and it really helps to get that cold rice texture you’re looking for. Stir the rice every 5 minutes and keep it in the freezer for about 20 minutes or until it’s cool enough to use.
- You can use any veggies you have on hand! I absolutely love fried rice because you literally can just throw all your veggies and old rice in and it still turns out delicious. I like to keep the colors bright, so I usually add carrot and at least one green veggie.
- I love garlic and ginger, so I use generous amounts in my fried rice. If you are not as big a fan, feel free to add less.
- I add tofu to my fried rice, but you can add any protein you like.
If you tried this recipe, let me know in the comments! Happy ‘kreating’!
