I love eating Chinese food and I really enjoy making it at home. It is great if you have your favorite take out place or go to restaurant that you love. Trust me, we definitely do! Yet, on a weeknight, it is a quick and easy meal if you are ready to go. A couple little tips below will help get you ready and make this a really fast and healthy option even on a week night.
I love making fried rice. I mainly make a veggie version when I am making it for a side dish. Also, the girls will for sure eat it when it is just the veggie version and that is a bonus because then they get some veggies without a fight or fuss! Win for mama!! Yet, it is super easy to just add some chicken, bbq pork, ground beef or even baby shrimp into this base of veggie rice. Then it becomes a more substantial side dish and/or main dish.
Stir Fry at home
I am obsessed with making stir fry at home. I love it during the week because it is quick and easy and it is a great way to clean out the veggie crisper. You can either plan for this meal in your weekly shopping and buy a bunch of “Chinese” style veggies like bamboo shoots and bean sprouts. Yet, you don’t have to do that at all. I have made this so many times with just peppers and onions or broccoli, peppers and onions. You can also through in zucchini or squash or cauliflower. Whatever you have on hand. This can be made with chicken, beef, baby shrimp or even pork. You can also mix up your sauces. You can do a simple soy sauce, you can do stir fry sauce, you can do a quick garlic sauce, you can do teriyaki sauce or you can even do sweet and sour if you want to do a quick fry on your protein. So many options that this is an amazing option for your time, your families likes and what you have on hand.
Fried rice base and then make it how you want
So, here is the fried rice recipe for the veggie base and then remember, you can always add in protein if you would like. Chef’s tip is below if you want to add in protein. Otherwise also remember, you can always change up the veggies too or add in more. Enjoy!
Chef’s Tip-A couple of things to remember for making fried rice. Fried rice always comes out better if you use cold rice. So, leftover rice is what is best for making fried rice. If you have leftover rice from a previous dinner in the week or even when you get the white rice from take out, save it! It is perfect for you to later make your own. If you are wanting to make this for a quick week night meal and did not plan ahead, don’t worry you can still make it work. Before you start cutting your veggies and getting everything else ready, cook off your rice. Spread it thin on a sheet pan and cool it down quickly. You can pop it in the freezer for about 10 min and then move it to the fridge for the rest of the time until you are ready to fry it up. It is best cold, so try not to rush that process too much. If you do want to add protein to your fried rice, make sure that it is cooked before you add it in. So, again leftovers work perfect for this. If you only have uncooked, just give it a quick grill or saute before cutting it up to add it to your fried rice. Add it at the end when you do the egg. Lastly, some recipes will tell you to do the egg first and set aside, I think that is a mistake and that is not how the restaurants do it. I like to do the egg at the end, move everything to one side of the pan, start the egg in that empty side and after it is 3/4 of the way cooked, start mixing it into the rice. This is how the restaurants make it and it makes for smaller chunks of egg in the rice as well as incorporates more of the flavors into the rice.
Vegetable Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter divided
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 1 small white onion diced
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 cups cooked and chilled rice I prefer short-grain white rice
- 3 eggs whisked
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
- 4-5 tablespoons soy sauce I use low sodium so I can control the salt
- 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil to finish
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until melted.
- Add carrots, onion, and saute for 5-6 minutes until lightly browned and beginning to soften. Add in the peas, corn and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. Saute for about 3-4 minutes or until the veggies are heated through. Increase heat to high, add in the remaining tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the rice, green onions, soy sauce and stir until combined. Continue stirring for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice. Then spread the rice into a thin layer and let cook for 2-3 minutes until it is lightly seared on the bottom.
- Then push all of the rice to one side of the pan and add in the eggs and stir to scramble. Cook the egg about 3/4 of the way done and then begin to incorporate into the rice. This will make for a smaller egg bite and incorporate it into the rice better. Remove from heat, and stir in the sesame oil until combined. Taste and season with extra soy sauce, if needed.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days
Now for the stir fry. We have so many options when making the stir fry. We can do straight stir fry, with soy sauce and a little stir fry sauce and then just add a bunch of veggies and meat and serve it over rice or crispy noodles. Other options are you can make a Teriyaki or Sweet and Sour or even Orange chicken. I have done all of these options and they are all amazing in their own way. Orange chicken or sweet and sour chicken or shrimp require an extra step of lightly battering and frying the protein first. Yet, well worth the extra effort for sure. Below is the recipe for my Chicken stir fry and Beef teriyaki dishes that I have made in recently. I have made both of these a million times and they are definitely both family favs. They are easy go to recipes and everyone will want more and more.
Chef’s Tips-Choose your favorite protein or see what you have in the house You can use pork, chicken beef or shrimp. Use any veggies that you want to use up or that you may have planned ahead for at the store. Have some extra white rice or crispy noodles to serve over to soak up that extra sauce. You can even add nuts to your stir fry to add some extra crunch. Cashews are or peanuts are great. Teriyaki sauce is super simple and you can make some extra and keep it on hand for the next time as it will last in the fridge for a few weeks. Stir fry sauce is available at the store and the best store bought one is Kikkoman, but the homemade version is super easy. If you make sure you always have soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch on hand, you can always make stir fry.
Chicken Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil or olive oil sesame will give you a higher smoke point and some added flavor
- 1 lb chicken breasts cleaned and diced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 head broccoli
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger optional
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- Sauce
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil until hot enough to quickly stir fry, almost smoking. Add in the chicken, season with salt and pepper and lightly brown on all sides. Once the chicken has lightly browned on all sides, push it to outside edges of the wok or skillet.
- Then add in the onion and peppers season with salt and pepper. Saute for 3-4 minutes or until beginning to soften, we want to leave a slight crunch in them, so do not over cook. Add in the broccoli and saute for another 3-5 minutes.
- Move everything to side of the pan. Add the garlic and the ginger. Then cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. In a small bowl , whisk together the ingredients for the sauce. You can also shake it up in a mason jar.
- Toss everything together in the pan and let it all combine. Add in 3-4 tablespoons of your sauce. Mix together and checking your seasoning. Serve over rice or crispy noodles.
Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons Garlic
- 1 tablespoon Ginger
- 1 & 1/2 cups Soy sauce
- 1 & 3/4 cups Sugar
- 1/4 cup Brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly cracked Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon White Sesame seeds optional
- 2 tablespoons Water
- 4 tablespoons Corn starch
Instructions
- Use your grater to grind 2 tablespoons of garlic. Then, use a grater to grind 1 tablespoon of ginger.
- Heat in a medium pot tablespoon of sesame oil over medium-high. Add in garlic, ginger and let them cook until fragrant, but do not burn.
- Pour in the soy sauce, sugar, brown sugar and black pepper let them cook until it’s boiling. Reduce the heat to very low and simmering for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of water and 4 tablespoons corn starch. (It is hard to stir the corn starch because it’s very thick. I suggest to add 2 tablespoons first and stir them well. After that, add the other 2 tablespoons and mix them well).
- Once your slurry is ready slowly add it into the sauce and keep whisking the sauce for a minute and wait until it’s boiling again. Then, simmering for 5 minutes. Whisk frequently, but also let it thicken.
- Lastly, add sesame seeds (this is optional) and stir them well.
