Veg Fried Rice – Chinese Fried Rice With Mix Veggies

 Veg Fried rice recipe with step by step photos and video – aromatic, flavorful and delicious vegan fried rice recipe made with mix vegetables.

This is one of our favorite Indo Chinese recipe. As the flavors of the veggies really come out very well in this Chinese fried rice recipe. It is also a vegan recipe and can be made gluten-free if you use gluten-free soy sauce.

Whenever we order an Indo Chinese menu then fried rice is always there. Along with it we usually order different Indo Chinese recipes or starters. However vegetable fried rice has always stayed permanent in our choice of menu for Indo Chinese take aways or in restaurants.

This veg fried rice recipe tastes more Chinese than Indo Chinese. I have used the spice star anise (chakri phool) to flavor the rice along with soy sauce. The Indo Chinese version of fried rice which we get in India is always spiced and sometimes hot too. They add different spices & herbs like green chilies, red chili powder, garam masala powder etc.

I have kept this vegan fried rice plain and simple so that the flavors of the vegetables are enhanced.

You can serve veg Chinese fried rice with any Indo Chinese gravy dish.

How to make veg fried rice

1. soak 1 cup basmati rice in water for 30 mins. Then drain and keep the rice aside.

2.  bring 4.5 to 5 cups water, ½ tsp salt and 2-3 drops of oil to a gentle boil. Add the drained soaked rice.

3. Simmer on a low flame without a lid and cook the rice till they are al dente or just cooked.

4. strain in a colander and let the rice cool completely. Cover and keep the rice aside.  you can also rinse the rice with water so that the rice grains stop cooking. Gently with your hands, move the cooked rice grains, while rinsing them with water. Drain completely. Cover and keep aside.

5. when the rice is cooling, chop the veggies finely and keep aside. remember to chop the french beans very finely. They take more time to cook than other veggies. You can also blanch them first and then cook. Another option is to add the beans first and then add the other vegetables.

Stir-frying veggies for fried rice

6. heat 2 to 2.5 tbsp oil in a wok or a pan. First add 1 star anise and fry for some seconds or till the oil becomes fragrant.

7. Add the garlic (3 to 4 small sized garlic chopped or ¾ tsp finely chopped garlic). Saute for some seconds. No need to brown the garlic. You can also add ginger if you prefer.

8. add 2 tbsp chopped spring onions whites and saute for 2 minutes.

9. add all the finely chopped veggies including the celery. Increase the flame to medium or high and stir fry the vegetables.

10. you have to continuously toss and stir while frying so that the veggies are uniformly cooked and do not get burnt.

11. the veggies have to be stir-fried till they are almost cooked and yet retain their crunch.

12. add 3 tsp soy sauce, salt and ½ tsp black pepper powder. keep a check when adding salt, as soy sauce already has salt in it.

Making fried rice

13. stir quickly and add the rice.

14. stir fry for a few minutes till the sauce has coated the rice well.

15. Add 1 tsp rice vinegar (optional). You can also add regular vinegar. Mix well.

16. Add chopped spring onions greens to garnish the rice. You can also mix chopped spring onions greens with the rice.

17. Serve Chinese fried rice hot plain or with an Indo Chinese vegetable recipe. you can serve it with any Indo Chinese gravy dish.

Tips for making fried rice

1. Don’t overcook the rice. they have to be Al dente or just cooked. Always drain and completely cool the rice before you stir fry them with the veggies. If the rice is not cooled and added hot or warm, you won’t get a perfect texture and the rice grains will break and become mushy.
2. Besides the regular vegetables like carrots, beans used in the veg fried rice, I have also added button mushrooms. You can add your choice of vegetables when you make this Chinese fried rice. You can make it from freshly cooked rice or leftover rice.
3. To give a sweet taste, you can add a bit of tomato sauce.
4. To give a hot taste and flavor, you can add some red chili sauce or green chili sauce.
5. Whenever you make any Chinese recipe then always Add celery to get the real Chinese taste. without celery something will be missing. You can make Chinese food without other important ingredients like spring onions but not without celery. But if you don’t have celery then there is no option or substitute. Just skip adding it. This Chinese fried rice will still taste good without celery. You can see the celery pic below.