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Vegetable Fried Rice is an easy weeknight side dish that can easily be made into a meal when paired with shrimp or chicken. It’s the perfect way to use up leftover rice! Whether you’re using brown rice or white rice, it’s delicious.
Vegetable Fried Rice is something that I constantly crave! I usually prefer make this dish at home than to go out for it because it’s just so easy to make. Making it at home also means you can control the flavors and ingredients.
This Chinese restaurant style fries rice is loaded with veggies, yet so tasty and extremely filling. Make this as a side dish or add Hibachi Shrimp or chicken to make it a full meal. This truly is a great recipe!
Looking for a healthy salad to go with your Vegetable Fried Rice? Try this Asian Cucumber Salad.
Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe
This easy fried rice recipe is ready in just 15 minutes! It’s packed with flavor, thanks to a delicious sesame oil sauce. The best part? You won’t need any fancy equipment for this recipe; a large wok is not needed, but only a large skillet.
This easy vegetable fried rice recipe is positively customizable with any vegetables you desire. Raid your fridge for that leftover rice and veggies – fresh or frozen will work just fine! You can vegetables like broccoli, red bell pepper, bok choy, or snow peas.
Ingredients you will need
The sauce: this tasty sauce is made up of sesame oil, soy sauce, and white pepper. If you do not use a dark soy sauce, the rice might not be as dark.
White rice: day old, cold white rice will have a better texture than freshly made rice. You can also substitute white rice for brown rice or jasmine rice if desired.
Vegetable oil: vegetable oil is really the best option and I don’t recommend using olive oil, avocado oil, or sesame oil for this because vegetable oil is milder for the flavor of the veggies.
Vegetables: I used an onion and a frozen vegetable mix with green peas, corn, and carrots, but you can use any leftover veggies in your fridge or any veggies you like! Just don’t use canned vegetables, as this may make the rice soggy.
You can also add green onions and red pepper flakes for more flavor.
Eggs: a signature ingredient of any fried rice is lightly beaten eggs!
Protein: to make this a complete meal, add your favorite protein such as cooked chicken breast cut into smaller pieces, shrimp, Chinese sausage, or tofu.
I like to serve my fried rice with a side of Yum Yum Sauce or Bang Bang Sauce.
How to make vegetable fried rice
1. Prepare the oil mixture. In a small bowl, whisk together sesame oil, soy sauce of choice and white pepper. Set aside.
2. Sauté onion. In a large skillet, cast iron pan, or wok, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until opaque and soft.
If you are adding raw vegetables or a cooked protein, add them at this step as well. Once the onion has cooked, add frozen vegetables. Stir until they have defrosted, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Cook the rice. Add cold rice, using a spatula to toss the rice with other ingredients. Do NOT stir, instead toss or flip to prevent the starch from making the rice too soggy.
Add lightly beaten eggs, continuing to flip until eggs are nearly cooked.
4. Add oil mixture. Pour sesame oil mixture over top of rice, continuing to flip and toss until all grains are uniformly colored. If you do not use a dark soy sauce, yours might not be as dark as mine.
What is the secret to good fried rice?
The secret to good fried rice is using day old white rice. Vegetable fried rice tastes best when the rice isn’t as moist as fresh rice, so it’s a great way to use up leftover rice! Cold rice makes for the best textured fried rice.
Long grain rice is less starchy, making it the best option for fried rice. Jasmine rice works well, but other short grain varieties will make the fried rice too clumpy and sticky, rather than dry.
More Asian Inspired Recipes to Try
- Air Fryer Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass
- Citrus Soy Asian Salmon
- Trader Joe’s Soyaki Tacos
- Air Fryer Chicken And Broccoli
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Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked white rice, cold
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 6 ounces frozen vegetable mix, or fresh vegetables
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup cooked chicken, shrimp or Chinese sausage, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together sesame oil, soy sauce of choice and white pepper. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, cast iron pan or wok, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until opaque and soft. If you are adding raw vegetables or a cooked protein, add them at this step as well.
- After onion has cooked, add frozen vegetables. Stir until defrosted, approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Add cold rice, using a spatula to toss the rice with other ingredients. Do NOT stir, instead toss or flip to prevent the starch from making the rice too soggy.
- Add lightly beaten eggs, continuing to flip until eggs are nearly cooked.
- Pour sesame oil mixture over top of rice, continuing to flip and toss until all grains are uniformly colored. If you do not use a dark soy sauce, yours might not be as dark as mine.
I love a good fried rice recipe. I hadn’t tried it with frozen veggies before, but they were perfect!!
I made this fried rice for dinner last night and it was amazing! So much flavor and so easy to make!
Oh yes please snd no need to add any extras.
Fabulous rice recipe! I think it can easily replace my favorite go-to recipe – it looks much easier to make!
I served it with chicken. Definitely a fabulous side to so many dishes!