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All About Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of our go-to dishes. Isabelle used to basically live on it (because you really can), and we’ve made it on nights when we want to make something really easy and no-fuss. It’s also great if you’re celiac/coeliac or have other food allergies because it’s so adaptable.

Fried rice is something you’ve probably seen at a lot of American Chinese restaurants as a side. But what you actually put in it is up to you. It’s sort of foolproof once you get the hang of it. Really, once you understand the basic steps, you can whip up some fried rice pretty quickly.

The recipe that we’re including in this post actually came up by accident. Isabelle was trying to make a cabbage slaw to go with Korean fried chicken (another favorite recipe of ours), and then she realized that the slaw wasn’t all that exciting on its own. So, after having mixed together cabbage and a few other ingredients together the night before, she threw it in a frying pan, added some rice, and a recipe was born.

Is fried rice a meal or a side-dish?

It can be both. We’ve made fried rice into an easy dinner by adding ingredients – like eggs or leftover meat. But like we’ve said, you can also make fried rice as a side, like with our Korean fried chicken. Basically, you can make it as complicated or simple as you want, and you can decide if you want it to be a meal or a side dish.

What can I put in fried rice?

You can put almost anything in fried rice. It’s a great way to use up leftovers or any veggies that you need to cook. We’ve used onions, sweet peppers, cabbage, scallions, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.. We’ve also made fried rice with whatever spices and herbs we have around. Sometimes we use fresh garlic and onion, while other times we use onion powder and garlic powder.

In terms of adding meat, eggs, or other protein, this one is also up to you. We almost always make it with eggs (except for in this recipe), and leftover chicken (or sometimes pork) usually makes its way in. We’ve even added leftover fried chicken (like this).

What makes it good?

There are a few tricks we have for when we want to make fried rice, but one of the most important is the rice itself. We always use some variety of white rice, and we usually make this recipe with leftover rice (1-2 days old) because it’s dried out a little. If you do make it with fresh rice, just make sure that it’s fully cooked and it’s not got any water left in it. We’ve been rinsing our rice before we cook it (like this), and that helps a lot (even if we use freshly cooked rice).

Another major component is flavor. Fried rice can be amazing, but you can’t skimp on adding spices, seasoning, sauces, etc.. You have some options with what kinds of ingredients you add to your fried rice, but generally having soy sauce (or a soy substitute like coconut aminos), rice vinegar, sesame (unless you have an allergy), and some salt will make for some great fried rice. We also like to add some heat with chili flakes a lot of the time.

Finally, no matter what you add to your fried rice, it’s all about the order that you cook everything in. It’s always a good idea to start with your veggies and sauces/seasonings, add your protein, and then add the rice. This will make your fried rice seem like it came straight from a restaurant.

How to Make 5-Ingredient Fried Rice

Note: You can sub out any ingredients that you want to with the following fried rice recipe and adapt it to your personal preferences or dietary needs. You can also decide if you want to marinate the cabbage in the sauce, or just hop right in, and use either fresh or leftover rice.

Ingredients

• 1/4 head of cabbage, chopped
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 tbsp cooking oil (we use canola)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine cabbage (chopped) with coconut aminos (or soy sauce), rice vinegar, sesame seeds, and salt and pepper and set aside. Cover and leave in fridge if you are letting it marinate.
2. When you are ready to make your fried rice, heat a large frying pan on the stovetop on medium heat with your cooking oil.
3. Add your cabbage mixture to the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the cabbage has softened and become translucent. Keep this moving as you cook so the sesame seeds do not burn.
4. Add your rice to the pan. Mix the rice and the cabbage thoroughly as you cook.
5. When the fried rice is done cooking, spread it out in the pan (still on the heat) and let it cook for another minute or two. This will leave you with some crispy rice.
6. Stir through one more time and serve.

Pro tip: If you decide to re-fry this fried rice as leftovers the next day, add in some egg, chicken, or other protein to really amp it up. We’ve done this by scrambling and cooking an egg in a pan with some oil, tossing in some leftover chicken, and then throwing in the leftover fried rice.