The fried rice is the most ubiquitous thing on any Chinese menu, whether it be a Chinese takeout in the USA, or any Indo chinese menu in the smallest desi town. Whatever we order, the fried rice is generally a part of it.
A special note, as most vegetarians and vegans know – the fried rice is offered as part of the entree in almost any Chinese takeout place, but this has pork, so we almost always (have to) go with steamed rice, and then the ‘vegetable fried rice – NO EGG’ is a seperate order.
I think this may have been the first ‘Chinese’ recipe I have tried out, several years ago. There have been some changes in the way I make this, over the years. The Indian style ‘chilli’ sauce has given way to Sriracha or red pepper flakes, the soy sauce has become low sodium or Liquid Aminos (not low sodium), and the MSG or ajinomoto has been abandoned.
I also tend to add more vegetables, and more variety of vegetables. I now have access to the exotic genre of vegetables – mushrooms, colored peppers, colored cabbage, baby corn etc. etc. Also, my favored method for making any pulao, pilaf, fried rice etc. is to start out with loads of raw vegetables so that the finished product has at least 50% vegetables even after the veggies cook down, and you get several veggies in each bite, without having to ‘search’ for them.
Each restaurant or takeout joint has their own thing, of course, and my latest favorite as far as fried rice goes has been the newly opened or relatively newly opened Rainbow buffet in the Short Pump Walmart complex. For less than 6 bucks, you get a relatively bottomless paper carton that is stashed with the ultimate fried rice. Slight snag – the oil and salt are on the high side, of course.
So back to our recipe, you start out with several vegetables, anything you have on hand and chop away merrily while your rice cooks. I have used white rice, and always just wanted to try brown rice. But you can use it by all means. There are also other vegetables I did not have such as baby corn, green beans, mushrooms, tofu etc. etc. that can be added to the pot.
The detailed recipe for vegetable fried rice follows –
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:34]
This is a healthier alternative to the restaurant bought Chinese fried rice, and is ready in a jiffy.
What is your favourite kind of fried rice? Do you have any particular takeout style recipe? I am all eager to hear your own experiences and comments.
