This homemade vegetable fried rice is loaded with colorful vegetables, uses less oil than takeout, and is super easy to put together. Having grown up eating fried rice, I’m very particular about recipes for it. In my world, a fried rice recipe should always take 15 minutes or less, including prep time. It is a snack that I can eat at any time of day, using whatever is in my fridge, or with standard ingredients that are always in my pantry. For me, fried rice is designed to solve hunger or cravings immediately. That’s the reason you see frozen vegetables in this recipe, which I always keep in my freezer and which require zero prep time. Of course you can use fresh vegetables instead, if you like. I will explain how to do it in the paragraph below.
Vegetable fried rice ingredients
What type of rice to use
My favorite is cooked jasmine rice (or other medium grain rice) that has been left in the fridge for a couple of days. When you use rice that is slightly stale, the grains will have lost some moisture. So the rice will separate better during the stir frying and create a crispy result. If you’ve just made fresh rice, you can spread it into a thin layer on a large plate so it cools off faster. Once it has cooled off a bit, transfer it to the fridge (without covering it) and let it sit until it has cooled completely before covering it. This will let more moisture out and make the rice more suitable for vegetable fried rice. You can always cook extra rice and freeze portions for fried rice in ziplock bags. The rice will lose more moisture in the freezer and will become perfect for fried rice.
Seasonings
I like my vegetable fried rice to have a bold and rich flavor. So I used:
Chili oil Black bean sauce Soy sauce Garlic and green onion
My secret ingredients, chili oil and black bean sauce, will make your vegetable fried rice stand out and taste extra satisfying. I highly recommend my homemade black bean sauce if you have any on hand, because it is more flavorful. But if not, you can totally use store-bought black bean sauce.
What vegetable to use
I always prefer to use frozen vegetables for my vegetable fried rice, because they’re super convenient. I used a mix that contains green peas, corn, green beans and carrots when cooking this recipe. You can always use other mixtures such as the ones containing pepper or broccoli. You can also use fresh vegetables if you prefer. For example:
Small diced carrot Broccoli, separated into small bite sized pieces Small diced pepper or chili pepper Asparagus, thinly sliced Snow peas, slice into small pieces
The cooking process for fresh vegetables is almost the same. In the recipe below, you should add your fresh veggies during step 2. But note, you could cook the vegetables according to their texture. Carrot and broccoli will take a bit longer to cook and you should add them first. Other vegetables such as pepper, asparagus, and snow peas take a shorter time to cook. And you should only cook the vegetables until al dente, so they won’t be overcooked at the end.
How to make vegetable fried rice
Making vegetable fried rice is super easy:
What pan to use
I like to use my DeBuyer Country Chef 9″ pan to make vegetable fried rice. It is a carbon steel pan that is shaped like a small flat-bottom wok. It is quite nonstick if you season the pan well. It gives the rice a nice char and a bit of a smoky flavor if your gas stove is powerful enough. Alternatively, you can simply use a large nonstick pan to cook vegetable fried rice. When using a nonstick pan, the key is to let the rice sear without stirring it too often, to create a crispier result. I hope you enjoy this quick vegetable fried rice!
More fast delicious fried rice recipes
Yang Zhou Fried Rice (扬州炒饭) Soy Sauce Fried Rice (酱油炒饭) Chicken Fried Rice Kimchi Fried Rice Peking Duck Fried Rice (using leftover chicken)
