This easy peasy veggie fried rice is tasty, quick, balanced, and kid-friendly. When I first started cooking my own vegetable fried rice during a brief stint in China, I was amazed to find how simple it was to make. It’s also super flexible and can be easily tweaked to suit your tastes.
This version is nutritionally dense and free of animal products. I amp up the veggies, dial down the oil, use tofu instead of eggs, and brown rice (usually Jasmine) instead of white. I like to add a side of steamed or sautéed veggies like broccoli or baby bok chow (with garlic and soy, yum!). This recipe works best with cold rice so is a great way to use up leftover rice.
This dish provides a nice balance of whole grain carbs, proteins, and fats. Sodium is modest thanks to sparing use of low-sodium soy sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown jasmine rice (measure uncooked)
- 1 large carrot (grated)
- 1 celery stick (minced)
- 1/2 c yellow onion (minced) – or green onion for milder version
- 1c frozen peas (thawed)
- 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp fresh ginger (minced / grated)
- 1/2 block tofu (we like medium firm)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (e.g. canola)
- 2-3 Tbsp soy sauce (reduced sodium ideally)
Prep
- Cook rice as directed. Cooled rice is best but freshly cooked is okay.
- Mince / grate all the ingredients.
- Rinse the tofu and blot as dry as possible with paper towels. Squeeze a bit to get extra liquid out.
Cooking
- Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add garlic, ginger and onion. Avoid letting garlic get too brown. Cook for 2-3 min.
- Add the carrots peas and tofu. Tofu can be crumbled as you add it or finely chopped. Cook for another 5-6 minutes.
- Add the rice and mix well, then add the soy sauce and give the masterpiece a final stir.
Nutrition
Note: Reference values are for adult requirements.
