How to Make Vegetable Fried Rice at Home

Vegetable fried rice works well when you need something quick and you have leftover rice sitting around. It ends up colorful and you get to use up whatever vegetables are in the fridge without much effort. I think cold rice keeps the grains from clumping too much during cooking which helps a lot.

Step-by-Step Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe

You probably need around three cups of it plus a carrot cut small half a cup of cabbage and beans an onion some garlic and chilies. Peas or peppers can go in too if they are around. For flavor there is soy sauce oil black pepper and salt but go light on the salt since the soy already has plenty.

Heat a pan with oil then toss in the garlic and onion first. After a minute the smell changes so add the rest of the vegetables and keep the heat fairly high for just a couple minutes. They should stay a bit crunchy instead of getting soft.

Dump the rice in next and stir gently with a spatula. Pressing it down makes it sticky so try to avoid that. Pour the soy sauce over everything along with the pepper and mix until it looks even. Check the taste and add salt only if it really needs it.

Keep stirring now and then for another few minutes until everything warms through. The vegetables should still have some bite when you turn the heat off. Using rice that was cooked earlier seems to give better texture than fresh stuff which can turn mushy.

Some people throw in egg or meat for more substance but it is fine without. Extra chili works if you want it hotter. Serve it straight from the pan while warm maybe with a simple side or just by itself. You can swap things around based on what you have.