Indo-Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice
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.
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.
Get It While It's Hot!
You can get Live to Eat updates instantaneously by e-mail or in Facebook or through your favorite RSS Reader.
|
|
 Subscribe to RSS Feed  Follow
on Facebook |
You might also like these posts...
Pre cooked, refrigerated rice always ends up in this rice, in my household.
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?
funnn!
i love this too and mom makes it really well though i dont try it too often!
Ok..for you eggs must be vegetarian!..no issues…I would call this Egg fried rice, what you say???…
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
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
IndoChinese the kind I like best. Looks perfect Sig.
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!
All my left over rice ends up like this
Sig,I do the exactly the same as Suganya…have loads of leftover rice in the fridge?…lets make fried rice
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
Fried rice looks delicious.
And the heart shape girl were you in a romantic mood
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.
Vegetarians have some “REAL” problems these days Sig!
Looks delicious sweets, I love the Heart shape you made with it too!:)
for me, planning a menu takes forever, cooking is the easy part
fried rice looks very good, goes well in parties. please do publish ur other menu ideas as well, would love to see them
cool recipe!! will give it a try, was lookin for one like this…happy new yr, dear.
We had this on sunday evening, this looks so yummy, I liked the title and the description to it!
As always wonderful Sig!
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!! 
he he..except the egg and that darn chicken bullion..it is vegetarian 
…and last minute shopping..i am so guity of that 
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.
That looks so good. I made this today morning (with rice cooked last night) to pack for my daughter’s lunch…
: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!!
hey hey! i am seeing a lot of vegetarian bashing on this site!! we vegetarians are a gentle lot
..handle us with care :nerd: ….now now sig…keep that broom down 
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.
Heee
….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 
.
I love the picture Sig…
I second Rajitha’s opinion
. We vegetarians are indeed a delicate bunch 
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……
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 
Oh that’s a wonderful way to present it Sig, looks delicious!
yeah, like others said, lefover rice goes into making fried rice! we cook it at least once a week:)
Lovely hearty fried rice girl.. To give a pep.. I would add some sheddred fried chicken. Awsome presentation.
:drool: 
heart eh? I love our indo chinese fried rice.
Very rmantic looking rice
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 
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!
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!
beautiful and tempting picture sig fried rice look wonderful and delecious
Plans and me never ever work!!Last minute hurriness and me work well and very well at that!
Neat new look!
I left a comment here and it won’t show! I’m trying again. Btw, I like the new look!
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.
Hey Sig
Loved your recipe..and the pic is looking very attractive..
Admire the way you handle all the reactions girl…!!
Loved your recipe and planning on some left-over rice, just for this
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
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
Hitting the “stop” button after waiting a little while seems to work with some blogs for me. I just did it here. 
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??
…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
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.
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
I love planning menus for dinners too – however informal it may be, love the process of deciding and discarding and deciding again
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!
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):
Ok, Sig, now I’m really laughing because I made veg fried rice yesterday, too. You’re right, great go to recipe.
RICE LOOKS YUMMY SIG. NICE PRESENTATION.. THATS WHAT I LIKE ABOUT UR BLOG.
HEy this looks cool, will try it today. Thanks for posting such easy and amazin recipes.
yeah it’s good
[...] Indo-Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice [...]
one question: Is this recipe for 2 cups uncooked rice or 2 cups cooked rice?
Cooked rice.
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….
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
Leave your response!
Recent Posts
Subscribe
Enter your e-mail id in the box below to get new posts in your email:
Categories
Archives