Fried Rice/ Restaurant style Vegetable Fried Rice

Fried Rice is a popular Indo Chinese dish, a fusion rice dish modified to suit Indian palates. If you ask me, perfect fried rice is all about texture and flavours; each grain of rice well-separated from the other, the flavors and aroma engulfing our senses, it is just divine! For a long time, my friends were asking for my Fried rice recipe, but I thought it was a very popular recipe, so stalled it till now. After trying my other Indo Chinese recipes many of my readers started requesting for the fried rice recipe, so I thought of sharing it, finally! If you like spicy fried rice, check out my Spicy Singapore Fried rice with chicken and prawns or Chilli Garlic Fried rice recipe, which is lightly spicy, laced with sweet, tangy and garlicky flavours!

For perfect Chinese Fried rice, choosing the rice is the most important part. Starchy rice will make clumpy fried rice, so make sure you rinse off excess starch while washing the rice. You can use Jasmine rice (very aromatic and flavorful, but a bit expensive), Khaima rice or Basmati rice or thin Pulao rice for making Fried rice. I have even tried with Kolam rice, and it came out good. If you are looking for best results, I would recommend medium grain Basmati/ Pulao rice or Jeera/ Khaima rice.

Hot rice will have too much moisture content and the rice will stick together. So, always make sure that rice is cooked earlier and has sufficient time to cool completely. After cooking rice, spread it on a big tray to let the steam out and to cool easily. Once you have the rice ready, preparing fried rice is just cake walk! So just keep all these tips in mind and you will be an expert in no time!

Fried rice is also a great healthy lunch option for kids; it contains enough Carbohydrates and vegetables to help them retain their energy for long school hours. I always add plenty of vegetables to noodles, American Chopsuey and Fried rice; the best way to make kids have vegetables willingly. 😊 You can serve fried rice with any Indo Chinese dish like Szechuan Chilly chicken, Soya Manchurian, Chilly Fish, Gobi Manchurian, Chilly Pork, Chilly Paneer, Pepper Mushroom, Honey Chilli chickenBeef and Mushroom etc.For chinese starters check my lollipop chicken, spring rolls, chicken sweet corn soup, chicken Manchow soup etc. 

If you are a rice lover, please do check Special Tomato Rice, Paneer Pulao, Corn Pulao, Vegetable Pulao, Fish Biryani and other exotic Biriyani dishes for a satisfying meal. This fried rice recipe is quite simple and does not have any overpowering flavours. You may add your choice of meat or seafood to suit your taste. Earlier, most of the Chinese restaurants in India used to add flavour enhancers, but now with all the controversies, the use of Ajinomotto has been limited. As for me, a perfect dish prepared with fresh vegetables does not require any enhancing. So, here is my recipe for Restaurant Style Vegetable fried rice. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Veg. Fried Rice:

Pulav/ Jeera/ Khaima/ Basmati rice: 2 cups
Boiling Water: 4 cups
Garlic: 2 cloves
Pepper Powder: ½ tsp
Lime juice: 1 tsp
Star Anise: 1 piece
Oil: 1 tbsp
French Beans chopped: ½ cup
Carrots chopped: ½ cup
Capsicum/ Bell pepper chopped: ¼ cup
Spring Onion chopped: ½ cup (white + greens)
Celery chopped: 2 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste: ½ tsp
Oil: 1 tbsp
Pepper Powder: ¼ tsp
Soy Sauce: 1 – 1 ½ tsp

Method:

Wash the rice, rinsing of extra starch and soak the rice in water for 40 minutes. Heat oil in a pan and add star anise and garlic. Add the drained rice and fry on high flame for 5 minutes, stirring in between. Put ½ tsp Pepper powder, enough salt, boiling water, lime juice and mix well. Cover with a lid and cook on low flame for 5 minutes or more till the water is completely dried up. Transfer the rice to a tray, spread well and allow to cool.

Fried Rice / Restaurant Style Vegetable Fried Rice Fried Rice / Restaurant Style Vegetable Fried Rice

Clean and chop the vegetables finely. Heat oil in a thick wok/ pan and add ginger garlic paste and beans. Sprinkle little salt and stir fry on high flame for a minute. Mix in the chopped carrots and continue to stir fry for another minute. Next, add the capsicum and fry for half a minute. Add the spring onion whites and stir fry for few seconds. Now add the celery and Spring onion greens, pepper powder and take off the flame. Take soy sauce in a bowl and keep aside.

Fried Rice / Restaurant Style Vegetable Fried Rice Fried Rice / Restaurant Style Vegetable Fried Rice Fried Rice / Restaurant Style Vegetable Fried Rice Fried Rice / Restaurant Style Vegetable Fried Rice Fried Rice / Restaurant Style Vegetable Fried Rice Fried Rice / Restaurant Style Vegetable Fried Rice

Divide the vegetables into 4 portions. Heat a nonstick pan and add one portion of vegetables and add a quarter of the cooked rice, sprinkle little soy sauce and combine well.

Fried Rice / Restaurant Style Vegetable Fried Rice

Once it is well combined and dry, transfer to a serving plate. Mix the remaining portions the same way. This helps in proper mixing of the rice without forming lumps. Each grain will be distinct and coated with flavours. Serve immediately.

Tips:

  • Medium grain white basmati rice or pulao rice is good for Fried rice. Jeera rice can also be used.
  • Make sure you rinse off all starch while washing rice.
  • Allow rice to cool well after cooking. Spread on a tray to get the rice separated.
  • Do not mix hot rice. This causes the rice to break and form lumps.
  • Some people add green peas, cabbage etc. to fried rice. You may add veggies of your choice.
  • You may use Sunflower oil or Gingely oil. Since we stir fry vegetables on high flame, Olive oil is not encouraged.
  • Always mix fried rice and vegetables in parts to ensure well separated rice.
  • Use Non-stick pans to avoid breakage of rice.
  • The vegetables should not be over cooked. It should remain crunchy.
  • If you prefer spicy fried rice, Grind green chilly along with ginger and garlic.
  • Mix fried rice just before serving to retain freshness.
  • You may add seafood, egg or meat of your choice to this vegetable fried rice.

If you found this Vegetable Fried Rice recipe tasty and useful, please let me know or share it with your friends. It will keep me motivated. Thank you, God Bless!!

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