Fried rice is a very popular dish globally, no one really knows where it originated, but there is one thing for sure: many countries have adopted it as their own dish with variations such as Indonesian nasi goreng, Thai fried rice, Sambal fried rice or Hawaiian fried rice. Vietnam is not an exception in this case, however, what makes Vietnamese fried rice different is its milder flavours because of its seasonings.
Each Asian country has a slightly different way of preparing fried rice. But generally, frying rice follows a similar pattern. First you fry up the aromatics— garlic or ginger—then add some green onions, then vegetables, then the rice and cooked protein and finally season with a little soy sauce, fish sauce or oyster sauce. Of course, you can fry an egg and serve it with your fried rice as well. Garnish with fresh cilantro, and there you go: a warm, delicious bowl of fried rice.
Fried rice is also seen on the menus of American restaurants offering cuisines with no native tradition of the dish. Additionally, the cuisine of some Latin American countries includes variations on fried rice, including Ecuadorian chaulafan, Peruvian arroz chaufa, Cuban arroz frito, and Puerto Rican arroz mamposteao.
In this recipe I will show you how a Vietnamese-style fried rice is made. The ingredients can be easily found at your nearby Asian grocery stores and with some tips, you can enjoy your tasty fried rice at home that has a unique crunchy texture.
Recipe:
Prep Time: 15M | Cook Time: 20M | Total Time: 35M | Servings: 4
Click the (+) icons on the image to see the tips
Ingredients
- 2 cups jasmine rice, cooked with 2 cups of water (800 gr cooked rice) (*)
- 3-5 eggs
- 100g Chinese sausage (lạp xưởng), grilled and diced (**)
- 100g pork loaf (chả lụa), diced
- 100g carrot, diced
- 100g green peas
- 10g garlic, finely chopped
- 10g green onion, finely chopped
- 15g/ 3 tsp broth mix/ chicken bouillon (bột nêm)
- 15g/ 3 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 5g/ 1 tsp fish sauce or soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- some cilantro
Directions:
1. Mix the cooked rice with the eggs, chicken bouillon, sugar, salt, and soy sauce, then mix well. Do not worry if the mixture is wet. This way helps the egg and seasoning absorb the grains thoroughly and stops them sticking together.
2. In a bowl, soak the frozen carrots and peas in the boiled water for 5 minutes, then drain them thoroughly.
3. Heat up the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the garlic in and mix until it turns slightly brown. Add the mixed rice in, stir quickly and constantly at medium heat. After about 5 minutes, the mixture will be thoroughly combined. You can divide the rice in half for easy stirring.
Garlic is slightly brown The rice grains are soft but separate
5. Add Chinese sausage, pork loaf, carrot and green peas in the mix. Continue to stir the rice to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.
Add the protein first, then the veggie
6. Add the green onion in and fry for another 30 seconds. Garnish with a bit of pepper and cilantro.
Tip: Here’s the secret to make crispy fried rice.
- Grill 50gr cooked rice in an oven for 30 minutes at 150 Celsius degree, slightly separate the grains.
- Heat 1 tsp cooking oil in a small pan and fry the rice until it is crispy and slightly brown.
- Mix the crispy rice in the fried rice and mix well. This will enhance your dish and give your fried rice an extra crunchiness to it.
Recipe notes:
(*) If you plan to make fried rice the next day, you can keep the cooked rice in the fridge. The grains are harder so they are better for fried rice. Soft rice is not a good option because it will stick together. You can also slightly reduce the amount of water when cooking the rice.(back to ingredients)(**) The Chinese sausage can be grilled at 200 F degree in 5 minutes in an air fryer or you can boil the sausage with 100 ml water and frequently stir until it is thoroughly cooked.(back to ingredients)
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
We really love to see it! Tag @nomvietnom on Instagram and hashtag it #nomvietnom
LIKE THE RECIPE AND WANT TO SEE MORE? Follow us on Instagram, and Facebook
Nhấn vào ĐÂY để tải về công thức bằng tiếng Việt
Recipe in English can be printed/downloaded below
Ingredients
- 2 cups jasmine rice, cooked with 2 cups of water (800gr cooked rice) (*)
- 3-5 eggs
- 100g Chinese sausage (lạp xưởng), grilled and diced (**)
- 100g pork loaf (chả lụa), diced
- 100g carrot, diced
- 100g green peas
- 10g garlic, finely chopped
- 10g green onion, finely chopped
- 15g/ 3 tsp broth mix/ bouillon (bột nêm)
- 15g/ 3 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 5g/ 1 tsp fish sauce or soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- some cilantro
Instructions
- Mix the cooked rice with the eggs, chicken bouillon, sugar, salt, and soy sauce, then mix well. Do not worry if the mixture is wet. This way helps the egg and seasoning absorb the grains thoroughly and stops them sticking together.
- In a bowl, soak the frozen carrots and peas in the boiled water for 5 minutes, then drain them thoroughly.
- Heat up the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the garlic in and mix until it turns slightly brown. Add the mixed rice in, stir quickly and constantly at medium heat. After about 5 minutes, the mixture will be thoroughly combined. You can divide the rice in half for easy stirring.
- Add Chinese sausage, pork loaf, carrot and green peas in the mix. Continue to stir the rice to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.
- Add the green onion in and fry for another 30 seconds. Garnish with a bit of pepper and cilantro.
Tip: Here’s the secret to make crispy fried rice:
- Grill 50gr cooked rice in an oven for 30 minutes at 150 Celsius degree, slightly separate the grains.
- Heat 1 tsp cooking oil in a small pan and fry the rice until it is crispy and slightly brown.
- Mix the crispy rice in the fried rice and mix well. This will enhance your dish and give your fried rice an extra crunchiness to it.
Notes
(*) If you plan to make fried rice the next day, you can keep the cooked rice in the fridge. The grains are harder so they are better for fried rice. Soft rice is not a good option because it will stick together. You can also slightly reduce the amount of water when cooking the rice.
(**) The Chinese sausage can be grilled at 200 F degree in 5 minutes in an air fryer or you can boil the sausage with 100 ml water and frequently stir until it is thoroughly cooked.
2 comments
Love this recipe. My kids like it too! Easy to make and the outcome is very nice! “Marinating” the cooked rice with eggs and spices was a new thing to me, but it made sense and worked amazingly well! Last time we substituted the Vietnamese sausage with some leftover pork barbecue from our previous meal and it came out nice too. Thank you for sharing!
I appreciate your comment and I’m happy that your kids like it! You can also replace the sausage with roasted bacon, ham or luncheon meat. They also work well with fried rice.