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Looking for a quick meal to serve tonight? This delicious Vegetable Fried Rice can be whipped up in less than fifteen minutes and can easily be adapted to suit your little one's taste buds.
Do you freeze leftover rice? If you don't, then I recommend that you start now. I always freeze leftovers and often make extra to purposely freeze.
Why? Because it is great to have for when you need to make a meal quickly and you have very little in the house to work with.
Fried rice works best with cooked rice that has been chilled overnight or frozen (and thawed). Start freezing leftover rice so that you can enjoy fried rice any time the craving hits!
What Type of Rice is Best for making Vegetable Fried Rice?
As I mentioned above, you want to use chilled rice or thawed frozen rice. This is because the rice grains dry out making it ideal for fried rice. You don't want to use freshly cooked rice as it is too sticky and will make your fried rice too gluey.
The rice variety is also important. In these pictures, I used jasmine rice but long grain, basmati and brown rice all work. I do not recommend that you use short grain rice such as sushi rice, risotto rice or paella rice.
Rice Safety
Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that can cause food poisoning. The spores can survive when rice is cooked. If the cooked rice is left standing at room temperature the spores can grow into bacteria and multiply.
- Once you have cooked your rice, cool the rice as quickly as possible (within an hour).
- Keep your rice for no more than a day in the fridge
- Thaw frozen rice in the refrigerator, do not allow it to thaw on the countertop.
- When you reheat the rice make sure the rice is piping hot all the way through
- Do not reheat the rice more than once.
Ingredients and how to adapt the recipe.
- Vegetables
I used frozen vegetables in this recipe, a mix of carrots, sweetcorn and peas. You can, of course, use any mix of frozen vegetables or fresh vegetables. I often use a mixture of both depending on what I need to use up in the fridge.
Add some red capsicum (bell pepper) and use a red onion to make this even more colourful. I call it Rainbow Rice when I do this. Sometimes giving a dish a fun name can make all the difference to whether your kids will eat it or not.
- Egg Free
You do not have to add the egg, it still tastes delicious without it. Just miss it out.
- Soy Sauce
Soy sauce is high in sodium and I personally would not recommend you add it if serving this dish to a baby. Babies' developing kidneys can't handle too much salt, and it can make them seriously ill.
If serving a baby or toddler you can remove their portion before adding the soy sauce. The ginger, garlic and sesame oil should provide enough flavour for them. You could also add some chopped herbs, such as coriander (cilantro.)
There are many varieties of soy sauce on the market. I used a regular/ light Chinese soy sauce. Check the ingredient list before you buy, they aren't all created equally. I like to buy a brand that doesn't have a long ingredient list. I used Kikkoman Soy Sauce which only has four ingredients - Water, soy beans, wheat and salt.
You can buy salt reduced soy sauce, which usually contains around 45% less sodium. However, the ingredient lists are longer and often include added sugar and food acids.
If you are looking for a gluten and soy free alternative then you can replace the soy sauce with coconut amino sauce. It is much lower in sodium, milder and sweeter but still has the umami flavour.
Additional Add-Ins
Vegetable fried rice is so adaptable and a range of add-ins work well.
I often add...
- Cooked Chicken
- Ham
- Pork
- Prawns (shrimp)
- Cashew nuts
- Pineapple
- Ham and Pineapple (I call this Hawian Fried Rice, again the kids love the name!)
Other Rice Recipes
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Vegetable Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 2 Garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Ginger, minced
- ½ Onion, finely chopped
- 240g (2 cups) Frozen vegetables *SEE NOTE 1
- 310g (2 cups) Cooked and chilled rice *SEE NOTE 2
- 2 tablespoon Soy Sauce *SEE NOTE 3
- ½ tsp Sesame Oil
- 3 Eggs, whisked
Instructions
- Heat oil in a wok or large skillet, over high heat.
- Add the onion, garlic and ginger, reduce the heat and cook for around 1-2 minutes.
- Add the vegetables (from frozen is fine) and cook until defrosted and water has evaporated. (around 2 minutes)
- Add the rice, soy sauce and sesame oil and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
- Move the rice to one side of the pan and pour the egg into the other side. Stir continuously to scramble the egg, until fully cooked through. *SEE NOTE 4
- Stir the egg into the rice and serve.
Recipe Notes
- You can use any mix of frozen vegetables or fresh if you prefer.
- Chilled day old or defrosted frozen rice works best. Long grain, jasmine, basmati and brown rice all work well. For more information please read the rice section above. Always make sure to defrost your rice in the refrigerator and to thoroughly heat through when cooking.
- I recommend removing a portion of the rice, before adding the soy sauce, if serving a baby/toddler. I used a regular/ light Chinese soy sauce in this recipe. If you are looking for lower sodium, soy free and gluten free alternative then you could replace the soy sauce with Coconut Amino Sauce. Please read the soy sauce section above for more information.
- In my Chinese cooking course, I was taught to move the rice all around the edge of the wok and scramble the eggs in the centre. However, I find it easier to scramble at the side. You can use whatever method you find easiest.
Natasha
Can I add the soy sauce if serving to a 19 month old?
Amy
Hi Natasha, it all depends on how much sodium they have had that day. If under 12 months I would say to skip it altogether but a 19-month-old can have slightly more salt. You can read more about the amounts in this article about salt for babies here.
RUTH TAYLOR
Can leftovers be frozen?
Amy
I don't like to freeze this recipe as I am funny about re-heating rice more than once. I, therefore, wouldn't recommend it.
Bernadette
Hey Amy! This is a great recipe, perfect for busy weeknight meals. I purposefully made extra rice for dinner last night so we could have this tonight and we will definitely be having again! Thank you so much, Bernadette x
Amy
Thanks Bernadette, glad you liked it - so easy!
Alison
My son really enjoyed this dish! Can it be frozen in individual containers?
Thank you!
Amy
Hi Alison, Glad he enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time to comment. If you used cooled cooked rice, as suggested, then I wouldn't recommend freezing and reheating again.
Kirsty
I have just made this for my 10 month old and he loves it, perfect for a quick meal for the little man.
Amy
Fab! Glad he liked it, Kirsty 🙂
Hannah
Hi there made this for my little boy and he loves it! Can it be put in the fridge and eaten again the next day? I've used one day old rice from the fridge?
Amy
Hi Hannah, glad your little one loved it. I would not reheat the rice again for food safety reasons.
Jenny
Made and loved. I gave my 10 month girl a portion before adding the soy sauce which worked great. That is why I love your site, your meals are suitable for babies or you say how to make them suitable. Thanks!
Amy
Thanks Jenny, this has just made my day. I'm delighted you find my site useful, thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Claudia
I have never thought to freeze rice before, what a great idea. I make fried rice exactly this way but alway make it the night after I have cooked too much rice. Sometimes having rice two nights in a row can cause complaints from my girls. This is a much better idea.
Amy
Laughing at your girls complaining about rice two nights in a row, even when you have cooked it in a different way! My eldest doesn't like leftovers, he feels cheated! Glad you found the freezing tip useful.