Serves : 4 people
Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
————
Cuisine: Indo chinese
Course: Main
Difficulty level: Moderate
————
This delicious classic veg fried rice dish made with a variety of fresh vegetables including green onions, beans, carrots and seasoned with spices is amazingly easy to make from scratch.
This fried rice recipe is a delicious and satisfying lunch or dinner option on its own, but also pairs perfectly with main dishes. Fried rice is a great way to enjoy a home cooked meal with whatever is available at home or left-overs and rivals even the best take out option. I am sure you will enjoy making this recipe as a part of your Indo-Chinese meals.
Although Chinese fried rice is a healthy option, it is loaded with lots of exciting flavours. Salty, umami, and savoury soy sauces are balanced with spiced star anise and fresh scallions to add a great pop of flavours you’ll love.
Here, to make this recipe even more healthy, I have used Aazol’s Unpolished Indrayani Rice. Aazol’s Unpolished Indrayani Rice is a sticky rice variety and an ancient grain which has many health benefits. This unpolished rice being low on sodium helps regulate blood pressure, while natural oil from this sticky rice helps reduce cholesterol. Also, this sticky rice is rich in antioxidants, fibre and iron which makes this traditional Maharashtrian Indrayani Rice great for digestion. Buy this unpolished rice online from aazol.in.
So, let's make our healthy version of Veg Fried Rice.
For Cooking Rice
- 1 cup Unpolished Indrayani Rice - 200 grams
- 5 cups water - 1 litre water
- ½ teaspoon salt or as required
- 2 teaspoons of any neutral oil
Other Ingredients
- 3 teaspoons any neutral oil
- 1 star anise
- ¾ teaspoon garlic - finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon ginger - finely chopped
- ¼ cup spring onion - finely chopped
- ¼ cup french beans - finely chopped
- ¼ cup carrots - finely chopped
- ¼ cup cabbage - finely chopped or shredded
- ¼ cup capsicum - finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce - naturally brewed
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoonsspring onion greens - chopped
- Salt as required
Instructions
- Rinse and wash unpolished rice properly till the water runs clear and then soak the rice for 30 minutes.
- Put the water in a pot and bring it to a gentle boil with salt and 2 teaspoons of any neutral oil.
- Let the water get bubbling hot then add soaked and drained rice to the hot water.
- Let the rice cook on medium - high flame for 7-8 minutes or till rice is cooked to al dente, remove the pot from the stove and strain the rice in a colander or sieve.
- Cover the rice and let it cool completely.
- Meanwhile chop the veggies and keep aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and add star anise and fry until it becomes fragrant.
- Add chopped ginger and garlic and sauté for a few seconds. Be careful not to burn them.
- Add spring onion or chopped onions and sauté for about 2 minutes.
- Add finely chopped veggies and stir fry on medium-high heat thoroughly.
- Stir the vegetables while frying so that veggies are uniformly cooked and not get burned.
- The vegetables have to be stir fried, until they’re almost cooked and yet retain crunchiness and crispiness. It’ll take around 4-6 minutes.
- Add soy sauce, salt and black pepper. Stir quickly and add cooked rice.
- Stir fry for a few minutes until the rice is coated well with the sauce.
- Garnish the rice with the spring onion greens and serve it hot as it is or with your favourite Chinese dish on the side.
- To make veg fried rice gluten free use tamari instead of soy sauce.
Recipe Tips
- Remember to chop the French beans very finely. They take more time to cook than other veggies.
- Cook rice till al dente. Be sure to always drain and completely cool the rice.
- For protein, paneer, tofu, tempeh can be added.
- Fried rice is always made on high heat so it is advisable to use oil with a high smoking temperature. For some nutty flavours use sesame, peanut, sunflower oil or butter.
How to reheat vegetable fried rice?
Steam the rice in the pot for 5 minutes or stir fry in a skillet sprinkling a few splashes of water, so the rice grains do not dry out.
How to serve?
Fried rice tastes great on its own but it can also be served with some saucy Chinese dishes like gravy or dry manchurian, paneer chili, Chinese curries etc.
