The BEST vegetable fried rice that you can prep and cook in 10 minutes. {vegetarian adaptable, Gluten-Free}
Having grown up eating fried rice, I’m very particular about recipes for it. In my world, a fried rice recipe should always take 10 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 ingredients that are always in my pantry. It’s designed to solve hunger or cravings immediately. For example, when I suddenly feel hungry at 11PM and need some salty food. Instead of reaching for a bag of chips, I’ll chop some green onions, beat two eggs, and stir everything together to make the most basic egg fried rice in 5 minutes.
Of course, in the past I’ve shared slightly fancier versions of fried rice that require longer cooking times. Such as the red curry chicken fried rice and jambalaya fried rice. But most of the time, I try to keep my fried rice very simple and fast, so it serves its purpose. That’s the reason you see frozen vegetables in this recipe, which I always keep in my freezer and which require zero prep time.
My other principle for fried rice is to keep it simple and flavorful. Quite the opposite of making meat or veggie stir fries, where I tend to use tons of fresh aromatics and sauces. I use a handful of green onions and salt to season fried rice most of the time. Because I want to taste the natural aroma of the rice and the eggs.
You can see that the recipe below is short and requires very few ingredients, but it guarantees the best taste. When I cook vegetable fried rice, I like to use some secret ingredients to enhance the flavor. It could be a splash of soy sauce, some chopped fermented black beans, or a spoonful of sui mi ya cai (pickled Chinese mustard greens). The latter two ingredients are highly recommended because they create a more complex umami than soy sauce. You can find both at The Mala Market.
Lastly, the trick to crispy fried rice is to not skimp on the oil, and to toast the rice a bit longer in the pan without stirring. It creates that heavenly char (even using a nonstick pan) that nobody can resist.
I hope you enjoy this quick vegetable fried rice!
More fast delicious fried rice recipes
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Chinese Olive Fried Rice
- Soy Sauce Fried Rice (酱油炒饭)
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Kimchi Fried Rice
- Peking Duck Fried Rice (using leftover chicken)
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Vegetable Fried Rice (蔬菜炒饭)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (*Footnote 1)
- 4 eggs , beaten (*Footnote 2)
- 3 to 4 cups cooked white rice , frozen or refrigerated overnight works best
- 1 tablespoon fermented black beans , rinsed and chopped (or 2 teaspoons soy sauce, or 2 tablespoons Sui Mi Ya Cai) (*Footnote 3)
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese chili flakes (Optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 4 green onions , chopped
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon oil to a large nonstick skillet and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add the frozen veggies. Stir and cook until just thawed. Transfer to a big plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and add the beaten eggs. Wait until the bottom of the eggs is set but the top is still runny.
- Add the rice on top of the runny egg. Use your spatula to chop the rice to separate it into small pieces, so some of the rice is coated with egg.
- Add back the vegetables. Stir everything together a few times.
- Add the fermented black beans, garlic, cumin powder, Chinese chili flakes, salt, and green onion. Stir to mix well. Cook and stir occasionally, until the rice turns slightly crispy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer everything to a plate and serve hot as a main dish or side dish. You can serve it with some hot sauce like Sriracha, but it’s not required.
Notes
- You can use a frozen vegetable mix that contains diced or small pieces of vegetables such as carrot, snow peas, bell peppers, etc. No thawing needed.
- Use 1 1/2 cup fried tofu or oven baked tofu to replace the eggs if you want to make a vegan or vegetarian dish.
- Any of these ingredients will boost the flavor of the fried rice. To create a gluten-free dish, use fermented black beans, sui mi ya cai, or tamari.
Just cooked up a version of this for a quick lunch today. I’ve made fried rice before but never using any proper process…just throw everything in a little at a time and stir a lot! haha. I found your process about when and how to add the egg as well as not stirring so much created a much better result! I used a little bit of Laoganma in lieu of the fermented black beans. Thanks!
I LOVE Laoganma! I probably would add it to all my dishes if I feel lazy 😛
Yes, using a process to make fried rice will yield a very good result. I’m happy to hear you agree with me 🙂
How much cumin is needed (it’s not in the ingredient list)?
Sorry about that! I just updated the recipe with the cumin powder listed. It’s 2 teaspoons.
Delicious! I’ve made this several times now, and it’s become my go-to fried rice recipe. Thank you for sharing.