I grew up in a house where eggs were a major allergy, but we loved fried rice. Our local Chinese restaurant always knew when my dad called to place an order that he was the teacher who liked fried rice without egg. Now, as an adult, I find myself craving vegan fried rice without the egg. Luckily, having married a Japanese man, I have learned how to properly make fried rice. That is, Japanese-style fried rice! Here’s my go to recipe for weeknight vegan fried rice.

Fried rice is all about the . . . rice.

Surprised are you? To make really good fried rice, you need to have the right kind of rice. Short grain white rice. The rice tastes best if it is not freshly made, but has been sitting in the rice cooker for about a day or two. Its also best to take that rice out of the rice cooker, spread it out on a plate and allowed to cool to room temperature before incorporating it into the fried rice dish.

Use a heavy iron skillet if you have one

To get the best crunchy layer of fried rice, I like to use my iron skillet. You can use less oil and get the same results as you would using a non-stick skillet. Before placing any ingredients into the iron skillet make sure to thoroughly heat the skillet. I typically will warm my iron skillet for a good five minutes on medium-high heat, then add the oil for a few more minutes making sure the oil runs quickly in the pan before adding the first ingredients.

Vegan fried rice is packed with veggies

This vegan fried rice is one of the best ways I have of getting my young daughter to eat a variety of veggies. We love to add bell peppers, carrots, lots of yellow and green onions, and fresh peas. Every bite is filled with different crunchy textures and bursts of vegetal flavor. This dish is miles away from the sad, nutrient devoid fried rice you get at the mall.

Japanese flavors make this fried rice sweet and salty

I’ll be honest, I don’t know how to make Chinese fried rice. and this vegan fried recipe was developed from watching Chi Chi make Japanese-style fried rice, which is called Yakimeshi, or Chahan in Japan. It is made with common Japanese ingredients including:

• soy sauce
• mirin
• sake
• fresh grated ginger
• garlic

With these ingredients, you can make easy, healthy fried rice. You don’t need any sugar or even that much oil. To make the fried rice sauce you simply mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. If you are super short on time, you can even use pre-grated ginger and garlic. At my house I regularly use S&B Grated Raw Ginger, which most people often used for sushi.

Vegan Fried Rice Japanese-Style (Chahan)

Recipe by BeckiCourse: Quick u0026amp; Easy Meals, Rice Dishes, VeganCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked white short grain rice

• 1 small bell pepper

• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

• 1 small yellow onion

• 2 green onions

• 2 tsp soy sauce

• 2 tsp mirin

• 2 tsp sake

• 1/2 tbsp grated ginger (about 1/2 inch peeled ginger root or ginger in a tube)

• 2 cloves of garlic (peeled and sliced or 1 tbsp jar garlic)

• 1 tbsp grapeseed oil

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Take 2 cups of cooked white rice out of your rice cooker (or stovetop), spread out on a plate and let cool to room temperature.
• Chop onions, veggies.
• Preheat a large iron skillet or regular skillet over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, then add oil to heat.
• While skillet is heating, mix soy sauce, mirin, sake, grated ginger and garlic in a bowl and set aside.
• Once skillet is hot, add yellow onions and sauté until the onions caramelize, then add the rest of the veggies and sauté for another 2-4 minutes. Add rice and gently mix ingredients together. Pan fry rice and veggies for 2 minutes then using a spatula, flip rice over and pan fry until rice begins to crisp (about 2 more minutes). Slowly add sauce mixture over rice. Then, using the spatula stir gently until the sauce is mixed in. Pan fry rice for another 2 minutes on each side. Add green onion, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve hot and enjoy!