Vegan Fried Rice
This quick, easy, and affordable Vegan Fried Rice dinner can be thrown together in 20 minutes for a delicious lunch or dinner. With loads of veggies, and a bit of heat, this healthy dish is so good you’ll forget it’s good for you.
Skip past the fuss of the introduction and hop right into the recipe, or have a read through it for some helpful tips and hints for making this dish the best it can possibly be:
Introduction
Back when I was in school, I used to make this dish all the time, for three reasons:
It’s so cheap to make
It’s delicious
It makes loads
I would buy my rice in bulk because of how affordable it was and how often I used it. This recipe only requires 2 cups of uncooked rice, which would hardly put a dent in a larger bag. I would toss in a few veggies (if I had frozen vegetables in the freezer, those would go in too) with some soy sauce and tofu, and I would have lunch and dinner for the next few nights.
Much like a curry, the fried rice dish has some main components, but the rest is open to your taste and interpretation. It must have:
Rice
Vegetables
Soy Sauce/Tamari
The best part is that you can get creative with the vegetables. I use a variety in my recipe, but if I list any that you don’t like or if you want to add some more, don’t hold back. I tend to have a look through my fridge, and pick out any vegetables that I think will taste great.
When it comes to the rice, it’s good practice to use day old rice - it tends to fry up more nicely, but don’t sweat it if you don’t have any. A little rice goes a long way, and it’s dead cheap too. Before you start cooking, take a quick look at the time it takes to cook the rice, and take that into consideration before you start preparing your vegetables. If the rice takes 20 minutes or more, start it before anything else.
It’s also important to keep in mind the order in which you add your vegetables. For example, if you use carrots, they’re going to take a lot longer to cook than the spring onions or bell peppers will, so I throw them in right at the beginning so they become soft. I’ll also keep a few spring onions for garnish at the end.
I’ve included tofu in this recipe, but if you’re not a fan of tofu, you can substitute it with mushrooms instead. They’re a classic fried rice vegetable because they’re excellent at soaking up flavour, especially soy sauce/tamari.
Check out the spruce it up section for ideas on how to take this recipe to the next level.
Eat wonderfully.
Before we Get Started
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 3-4 Bowls
Ingredients
2 cups of Rice
Soy Sauce
200g of Tofu
1/2 a head of Broccoli
2 Spring Onions
2 Bell Peppers
2 Medium or 1 Large Carrot
Handful of Snow Peas
1 Red Chili
Crushed Red Pepper
3 cloves of Garlic
Thumb-sized piece of Ginger
Method
Following the instructions given on the package for the rice, bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook your rice.
Preheat a pan over medium-high heat with some oil.
Dice your tofu into small cubes, and put them into the pan.
Start by adding one cube in, and listen for a sizzle. If it doesn’t sizzle, wait a little bit longer for the pan to come to temperature before adding the rest in.
Thinly slice your carrots into half-moon shapes, and add to the pan.
Cut the top and bottom of your carrots off. Slice in half lengthways. Place the flat side down and the cutting board and slice.
As the tofu begins to fry and the carrots soften, add a tablespoon of soy sauce to the pan, and stir to coat.
Finely dice the garlic and ginger, and add to the pan. Add a pinch of salt.
As the garlic and ginger cook, cut your broccoli into florets, and toss them in too.
Dice or slice your bell peppers, and slice your spring onions and red chili. Add them to the pan. Add another tablespoon of soy sauce to the pan and stir. Throw in a handful of snow peas.
As your vegetables cook down and become soft, add your rice, 2 more tbsp. of soy sauce, and stir vigorously to disperse your vegetables out. Have a taste, and add more soy sauce if necessary.
Sprinkle some crushed red peppers over top.
Enjoy.
Spruce it Up
To take this recipe up to the next level, try out some of these ideas:
Drizzle some hoisin sauce over top. It adds a great flavour to this already tasty dish.
Chop up some peanuts or cilantro and sprinkle over top.
Add some sesame oil when you have all your vegetables in the pan. Be mindful of how much you put in though, as sesame oil is very strong.