Home » Eggs, Indo Chinese, Rice, Rice Or Biryani, Vegetarian

Indo-Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice

7 January 2008 55 Comments

Once in a while I get e-mails from readers asking for menu suggestions for a dinner party they are planning. This is my absolute favorite part of any party- coming up with the menu. Siv and I spend days planning a menu for the parties that we throw, and come up with an over-ambitious menu comparable to that of a tasting menu at a fine restaurant. But due to utter laziness and the tendency to procrastinate doing any kind of job till the absolute last minute, more often than not we end up ditching the pre-planned menu and do a d-day scrambling to buy groceries, cut, chop, marinate etc. and make a bunch of dishes that we have tried and tested, but not the cool stuff we had been dreaming of for days. Somehow we still end up with a decent dinner, our guests have never complained, but we could never pull off that dream dinner, with all the courses perfectly synchronized…sigh… One of these days….

Anyway, the job is much easier when I am doing the planning for someone else. But the few who asked me to plan the menu, had a mainly Indian menu in mind.  Of course that is fun too; depending on the number of guests, the amount of time the host is willing to spend in the kitchen and the guests’ dietary requirements,  one can really come up  with a bunch of interesting combinations for a three/four course Indian dinner. When I was doing this for someone recently, I noticed that some basic recipes are missing from my site. These are dishes I cook normally, but somehow never got around to blogging these. I ended up pointing them to other fabulous blogs for these dishes, but I wanted to eventually post these in here, just so that I can have a complete collection for a dinner party. A simple Indo-Chinese fried rice is such a staple, and I finally managed to take a picture during the holidays.

Vegetable Fried Rice

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked and cooled rice (small-grained raw rice is the best, if not use Basmati)
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced onions
  • 1 tsp crushed garlic
  • 1 cup mixed vegetables – peas, carrots, french beans etc
  • 4 dry red chilies
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp chili paste
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
  • 1 packet sodium free chicken bouillon (4g) / 1 cube bouillon (for flavor, optional)
  • 2 eggs scrambled (optional)
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste

Method

In a large wok or frying pan, heat the oil. Add the red chilies and sliced onions and saute till brown. Add the crushed garlic and the mixed vegetables and saute for a minute or so. Add the soy sauce, chili paste and the bouillon if using and mix well. Cook till the vegetables are soft. Season with salt.  

Add the cooked rice, and mix well to combine.  Add the black pepper and mix well. Cook, tossing frequently, till the rice is heated through. Add the scrambled eggs if using and mix well.

Serve with chili chicken or any other spicy thick gravy on the side.

Note: Left-over rice from the refrigerator works best for this recipe.

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55 Comments »

  • Suganya said:

    Pre cooked, refrigerated rice always ends up in this rice, in my household.

    Yep, refrigerated rice is the best.. I have added a note…

  • Nags said:

    Babes, just wanted to say that your blog takes a tad bit too long to open and even then, the pic takes forever to load.

    oh yes! finally!! haha, heartshaped? :D funnn!

    i love this too and mom makes it really well though i dont try it too often!

    oh no… really? :( I haven’t noticed that yet… will try it on some slower connections to see what the culprit is.. Thanks N…

  • Srivalli said:

    Ok..for you eggs must be vegetarian!..no issues…I would call this Egg fried rice, what you say???… :razz:

    btw you have done a great job on getting the archives for each category..amazing list has come up on the right panel!..all mouth watering

    :) Eggs are optional… and here in the restaurants, when you ask for veggie fried rice, they always ask you – “with eggs/without eggs” :) , so I got used to calling this veggie fried rice…. My egg fried rice has much more eggs…

  • Raaga said:

    I think for Sig, even chicken is like a vegetable… its only the bone that she considers meat :-)

    Yummy dish. I did discover that rice from the fridge goes best with this… fresh rice makes it go all mushy!!

    WHat’s with the heart shape and all Sig… looks very cute though

    :D yeah, chicken was recently declared a vegetable, didn’t you read? ;)

    Yep, cold rice is the best, warm rice makes it mushy… Heart shape… I am a romantic babe ;)

  • indosungod said:

    IndoChinese the kind I like best. Looks perfect Sig.

    :) IndoChinese for Indo, of course…

  • sra said:

    What! You of the glorious non-veg make something as ordinary as vegetable/egg fried rice?!!! I’m similar to you in menu planning, though; I also plan too much and cook too much, my guests eat too little, sigh!

    :oops: you call this ordinary? :mad: :D
    Fortunately, most of my guests eat a lot, so it is much more fun to feed them ;)

  • Jyothsna said:

    All my left over rice ends up like this :)

    Hey, I recovered your comments from spam… not sure why they ended up there :(

  • sunita said:

    Sig,I do the exactly the same as Suganya…have loads of leftover rice in the fridge?…lets make fried rice :grin:

    Yep, I too sometimes throw everything in sight to make a quick meal with the leftover rice…

  • Happy Cook said:

    Sig you guys are like me and my hubby. When we are having a party both of us take days to see what we can make for the guests.
    We always try to have a wow effect till now.
    Sometimes i think the best part is planning the dinner parties :smile:
    Fried rice looks delicious.
    And the heart shape girl were you in a romantic mood

    :) I totally agree, planning is the best part of any party, clean-up is the worst :( …. Regarding the heat shape, I am always in a romantic mood :D

  • Banu said:

    When the recipe is mentioned as “Vegetable Fried Rice”, it would be better not to mention “eggs” and “chicken bouillon” even as optional ingredients.
    This is not fair to vegetarians who read the recipe thinking it to be a vegetarian dish.
    It is almost like mocking the vegetarians.

    Banu, are you for real? You get offended just by reading the names of the ingredients? If I served the dish with the optional ingredients to a vegetarian, I will be mocking them for sure, and I would never do that.

  • Asha said:

    Vegetarians have some “REAL” problems these days Sig! :razz:
    Looks delicious sweets, I love the Heart shape you made with it too!:)

    Tell me about it… sigh… :)

  • richa said:

    for me, planning a menu takes forever, cooking is the easy part :smile:
    fried rice looks very good, goes well in parties. please do publish ur other menu ideas as well, would love to see them :smile:

    cooking is the easy part??? :) For me, once I shop, chop and prep everything, then cooking is easy… :D

    I am planning on publishing some complete menu ideas soon, as soon as I get most of the basics blogged… :)

  • swaroopa said:

    cool recipe!! will give it a try, was lookin for one like this…happy new yr, dear.

    Thanks Swaroopa! Happy New Year to you too…

  • Padma said:

    We had this on sunday evening, this looks so yummy, I liked the title and the description to it!
    As always wonderful Sig!

    Hey Padma, welcome back :) good to see you here…

  • Rajitha said:

    i think my left overs after a dinner will serve at-least 10 more!! i have this fear..that some dishes will be so fab that the guests would start fighting with each other to complete it ;) alas!! :sad: he he..except the egg and that darn chicken bullion..it is vegetarian :) …and last minute shopping..i am so guity of that :oops:

    :) we used to be like that, these days we are getting lot better in cooking just enough, sometimes I wish the next day that we had cooked more, just so that I could eat the leftovers… :)

  • Shantanu said:

    Interesting (esp, the pic!). Left-over rice always ends up being fried-rice the next day, but for some reason we haven’t tried to make a ‘Cinese’ variety thus far. :smile:

    :) The only thing chinese in here is the soy sauce, but that is the case with most “Indo-Chinese” recipes I guess… :)

  • Laavanya said:

    That looks so good. I made this today morning (with rice cooked last night) to pack for my daughter’s lunch… :)

    Thanks Laavanya… This will sure make a nice lunch…

  • Manasi said:

    :drool: Looks good!!! I will exclude just the eggs!! Love the heart shape pic!!
    I usually make rice, spread it out and cool it… but the next time, if I have any left over rice, I will try the method everyone folllows!!

    Thanks Manasi… I too have done the spreading and cooling, when I crave fried rice and not have any leftover rice in hand, but as others said, the leftover rice works best for this..

  • Rajitha said:

    hey hey! i am seeing a lot of vegetarian bashing on this site!! we vegetarians are a gentle lot :mrgreen: ..handle us with care :nerd: ….now now sig…keep that broom down :grin:

    :) Gentle lot… hehe I know you… :) I must handle you with care, I know… :D

  • vimmi said:

    When ever i make chinese its usually some chicken item with plain rice. But have been wanting to do this in a long time.

    Waiting for ur menu options.

    what I love best about this rice is that it is not overpowering the main dish, but at the same time has enough flavor… try it next time with your Chinese chicken :)

  • shilpa said:

    Heee :mrgreen: ….thats why I never plan ahead, bcos I know by the time the day comes, I would have changed it completely. But last moment, I decide everything, I loose patience and start taking my frustration on poor hubby :oops: .
    I love the picture Sig…

    :) hehe I love the planning part, even if I know it is all going to change, I still love planning, reading different cookbooks etc… :)

  • Sudha said:

    I second Rajitha’s opinion :grin: . We vegetarians are indeed a delicate bunch :razz: Great recipe!! It is just amazing to think that people would get offended by the fact that the title of a dish didn’t match with ingredient list. How hard is it to tweak the recipe to one’s dietary concerns??? Hmm……

    :) Thanks Sudha…. I am glad you agree with me…

  • Latha said:

    Love the look of the fried rice! Nice mould too :-) And i am with u sig, i love the planning phase for the party more than the actual cooking part :-(

    :) I swear… if only I had my personal chef, but I still get to make all the decisions, and he/she does all the dirty work… sigh…

  • Namratha said:

    Oh that’s a wonderful way to present it Sig, looks delicious!

    :) Thanks Namratha…

  • Mansi said:

    yeah, like others said, lefover rice goes into making fried rice! we cook it at least once a week:)

    Thanks for dropping by Mansi…

  • Rina said:

    Lovely hearty fried rice girl.. To give a pep.. I would add some sheddred fried chicken. Awsome presentation. :cool: :drool: :idea:

    oh yum…shredded fried chicken is a great addition, but if I added that, I surely couldn’t have gotten away with that title ;)

  • Shankari said:

    heart eh? I love our indo chinese fried rice.

    :) I had to do something with the boring fried rice… heart is all I could think of…

  • musy said:

    Very rmantic looking rice :-D Totally yummy! I have never had to plan a menu so far. Most get togethers i’ve had are for my close friends, completely informal and we tend to cook together so makes it easy :) But i do look forward to your menu suggestions because some friends often have to host formal dinners etc. I can impress you then, in case you visit me :-D

    Oh, and left-over rice is always dedicated to stuff like this :) And i am going back to the heart-felt tice preparation again! Totally ogle-worthy!

    :) Our gettogethers are normally totally informal for close friends as well, but I still like to pretend that I am throwing a fancy formal dinner party, and plan a formal menu :D

  • Archana, mama of twins said:

    what is this veggie vs non-veggie rants here on this blog?!!! :)

    I love the rice, never tried with the bouillion.. nice and loving too! :)

    :) hehe, It is an interesting rant, keep tuned to the comment section Archana… :)

  • sagari said:

    beautiful and tempting picture sig fried rice look wonderful and delecious

    Thanks Sagari :)

  • rachel said:

    Plans and me never ever work!!Last minute hurriness and me work well and very well at that!

    Neat new look!

    :D same pinch to you… and thanks :)

  • Jyothsna said:

    I left a comment here and it won’t show! I’m trying again. Btw, I like the new look!

    Hey, it works now :) I de-spammed yesterday’s comment, that is here too…

  • Banu said:

    So you all find it amazing, incredible and even wonder if “I am for real”, when I just objected to the usage of non-veg ingredients in a recipe that has been specifically labelled as veg?
    Please, ladies, tone down the sarcasm.
    Surely it is reasonable, that when a recipe is marked as “veg”, one expects to see only “veg” ingredients in it.
    Please have the maturity to accept the typo (or whatever) mistake and correct it.

    Banu, sorry, I am not fixing the “typo” for many reasons.

    1. I categorized it specifically under vegetarian to make it easier for people looking for veggie recipes in this blog. Without those two ingredients, clearly marked as optional, it is a vegetarian recipe.

    2. My average reader has enough brain power to read the ingredient list and omit the ones which won’t adhere to their dietary restrictions.

    3.Finally, MY blog , MY rules.

    Thanks for dropping by and thanks for making such a simple recipe entertaining for all my readers. :) Hope to see you again soon.

  • Swati Jain:Sugarcraft India said:

    Hey Sig
    Loved your recipe..and the pic is looking very attractive..
    Admire the way you handle all the reactions girl…!! :cool:

    Thanks Swati… I am glad you think I handled this well… :)

  • A-kay said:

    Loved your recipe and planning on some left-over rice, just for this :smile:

    Guess the veggie stuff is being blown out of proportion (effect of the Sydney Test Match, perhaps? ). Anyway, like your sense of balance in handling this. As you said, the comments were much more entertaining to read than the recipe itself (no offense meant :razz:

    :D :D Sydney test match, you are funny A-Kay… :D … And no offence taken, I had way too much fun reading the comments too ;)

  • Cynthia said:

    Sig sweetie! I LOVE THIS NEW LOOK!!!! :( Yes):

    Fried rice is one of my favourite dishes and I like how you have it perfectly plated here in the shape of a heart.

    :) Thanks Cyn, and I love your new look too… :)

  • Banu said:

    So sad that you have to resort to harsh words like “enough brain power” etc., instead of a normal, reasonable response.
    Yes, its YOUR blog and YOUR rules, lady, but the blog is not a personal diary. When you publish it to the world, there are some basic protocols to follow.
    For starters, understand that vegetarianism is not a “dietary restriction” but it is a way of life for some.
    I can understand sugar being given as an optional ingredient in any dish (to suit diabetics) but when non-veg food is given as an optional ingredient in a specific veg food, it is just plain silly and shows ignorance / disregard to a section of your readers.
    First develop the maturity to respond in a friendly manner. Merely putting a smiley after a response is not enough. The words should be warm, pleasant and level-headed, not biting, sarcastic and downright petty. You ask whether I am for real, question my brain power, etc. Instead, try to respect other people’s viewpoints. Do you know, I have visited your blog regularly for the past 6 months. I did not have any problem reading about any of your non-veg recipes, because they were clearly labelled non-veg.

    Banu, I thought I gave a reasonable response to your last comment, if you still don’t get it, I am sorry… Also, all those adjectives you used - friendly, warm, pleasant, level-headed etc, are meant to go both ways… I am closing this discussion here, I don’t have anything more to add to this.

  • Banu said:

    Ok, Sig, I am sorry too. I accept that, my recent posts were not very friendly / pleasant etc.
    I do read and enjoy your regular posts, maybe I just over-reacted to this one.
    Cheers, and wish you a happy new year.

    Thanks Banu, no hard feelings… Happy New Year to you too! :)

  • Aparna said:

    This is a staple (monthly) in my kitchen, too, without the eggs though.
    I just realised something too. I have, inadvertantly, not been doing any posts some types of food though I cook them often! I fact, my husband was just telling me I should rename my blog as Diverse Baker’s Blog or something!!

  • Aparna said:

    One more comment. I saw Nags’ comment. Same thing with me. We probably have slower connections in India, but some blogs ( yours too) don’t open up easily. :cry: Hitting the “stop” button after waiting a little while seems to work with some blogs for me. I just did it here. :smile:

  • Bharathy said:

    Sorry Sig for not visiting my fav place ,Had been busy responding and visiting my readers’ blogs so far…
    I see crowded with yummy yum food here!!1 post in 3 days!!God!!Slow down tempting us..would you?? :smile:

  • Bharathy said:

    …and sig to add on ,being in India, I am lucky to have seeing all your pictures,without delay,and no problem with my system.Certain sites do create slow downloads..
    At least my system helps me to drool over,to maximum in ur place :grin: !!

  • pooja v said:

    I am completely drooling over this. If you need some gravy with this thn u can chk my blog i hv munchurian and manchow soup there. I just loved the veggie bit with yummy rice.

  • Thulasi said:

    Hi Sig

    I am new visitor to your blog. Extremely good in organisation, and presentation skills. (I have to say you are close to proffessional standard, Sig)HATS OFF :( Flower): Let me tell you one thing, I never got any problem of MUSHY rice with freshly boiled one. What I will do is washing the rice in running cold water, once it is done and allow to drain for 10 min. This always give me much more tasty fried rice, compared to leftover rice. Why don’t try this way. I would really appreciate your honest commest, AFTER TRYING in this way.

    I assure you ,I will continue to watch your lovely blog
    wish you and your family a rewarding and prosperous 2008!!!

    Thulasi

  • Miri said:

    I love planning menus for dinners too – however informal it may be, love the process of deciding and discarding and deciding again :smile:
    Then the ingredient list dish wise (for which I get many smirks and sniggers!) and the shopping and prepping – and finally the happy smiles of my guests :)

    The new look of your site is really nice! keep up the hard work!

  • Deepa said:

    Awesome pic …..i really love fried rice .But i dont eat egg ..You have added egg to it ..Can i omit egg for this recipe and prepare them …I think Gobi manchurian would be an excellent combho for ur recipe …. :( Yes):

    Sure, eggs are totally optional

  • Kalai said:

    Ok, Sig, now I’m really laughing because I made veg fried rice yesterday, too. You’re right, great go to recipe. :)

  • Anjali J. said:

    RICE LOOKS YUMMY SIG. NICE PRESENTATION.. THATS WHAT I LIKE ABOUT UR BLOG.

  • Swapna said:

    HEy this looks cool, will try it today. Thanks for posting such easy and amazin recipes.

  • asasa said:

    :( coffee): :sealed: :smile: :shock: :???: :cool: :evil: :grin: :idea: :oops: :razz: :roll: :wink: :cry: :eek: :mad: :sad: :mrgreen: :neutral: :nerd: :arrow: :!: :?: :party: :sleepy: :( Yes): :( No): :( Email): :( Flower): :( Martini): :( Beer): :drool:

    yeah it’s good

  • Chicken and Baby Corn Fried Rice : Live To Eat said:

    [...] Indo-Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice [...]

  • kkps said:

    one question: Is this recipe for 2 cups uncooked rice or 2 cups cooked rice?

  • sig (author) said:

    Cooked rice.

  • priti said:

    :smile: Hi sig,

    the fried rice looks yummy… just couldn’t find some time to prepare this. one question.. can u give me the name of a store in seattle where they have the chicken bouillon. i tried a lot of places but couldn’t find it.. thanks a lot…. :smile:

  • AK said:

    Dear Sig,

    I tried this today and it came out well..Waiting for my husband to get home and try it..:). Your blog has been veryyyyyy helpful..Its fun to surprise my husband with a new dish everytime he gets home from work..:)

    THank you soo much..:)

    AK

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