How to cook fried vegetable rice?

Annita

Since there are good cooks here, I'd like to ask another recipe. How do you cook fried vegetable rice?? I mean the rice that has brown color, is it fried or there is a special rice of that color?
Once I tried to fry the white rice but it didn't change the color even 1%. Would love to know how to do it...


Thanks in advance

machadinha

The brown color I can't tell you about. Maybe brown rice was used? In Indonesia, kecap (sweet soy sauce) would likely be added at the final stage, lending a brown color. Don't think this is common in India however.

To cook fried vegetable rice, just have all your ingredients at the ready, chopped or sliced or diced or whatever way you want them (could be meat, prawns etc. as well). Try to have their textures and shapes match or complement one another. The secret is to have the rice cooked and cooled down again, possibly even refrigerated, but certainly at room temperature; using yesterday's left-over rice works perfectly. (In fact the famous Indonesian nasi goreng = fried rice is traditionally just a way to make use of yesterday's leftovers, and hence it has no fixed recipe, contrary to what restaurants or cookbooks may suggest.)

Now first, stir-fry each ingredient separately. So first your carrots, then your mushrooms, etc. and so forth. (If dealing with large portions, fry in smaller portions at a time.) Some may require short poaching instead of frying (e.g., cabbage, peas, bamboo shoots and the likes). Either way, make it short, you want them to preserve their color and texture. The sturdier veggies will require a little longer, of course. Do take into account they'll all cook a little longer at the final stage.

When that is done (keep them all in separate bowls), fry the rice, just the way you like it, whether you want it a little crunchy or whatever, at least till it's well-heated. If you plan to fry it for longer, the rice shouldn't be overly cooked when you start. Start off with briefly frying onions and garlic and spices of choice, then add rice. In your final move, add the other ingredients, stir-fry just for long enough to get it all well-heated. Add in stages, the firmer ones first, but still fairly swiftly; just don't add a whole lot at once that will make the whole pan go cold. Finally, add whatever herbs or spices call for later addition (e.g., parsley or celery and the likes), and serve, with or without some of your favorite relishes or side dishes.

Cooking all those ingredients separately means they will maintain their color & texture (in fact their color will "jump out"), instead of becoming one undistinguishable jumble, and the rice, too, will remain nicely separate this way, not mushed up with the rest. May take some practice, just keep trying. During the stir-frying, be persistent but don't overdo it, or it will again turn into one mashed-up stew. If this all sounds very cumbersome, in fact it's not a lot of extra work once you get the hang of it, and cooking having everything at the ready as far as you can isn't a bad idea anyway and can save a lot of stress (vegetables should ideally be cut as shortly before preparation as possible though. That doesn't mean you can't prepare them first for quick processing in your final move.)

Bon appetit

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Rasika

Not sure what kind of rice dish you are talking about... but rice takes colour very easily. Tamarind rice is brown as a mixture of tamarind and turmeric - which give a lovely taste too! North Indian food might use coriander powder or garam masala which would also give a brown colour. Chinese fried rice can be brown when one uses oyster sauce + soy sauce. Which kind of flavour are you looking for?

anar

my mother made 'matar pulao' (fried rice with peas) and she would brown sliced onions - these would give the rice a brownish colour. try it!

Alohaguy

Yep, if you brown the onions first, your rice will get that beautiful color.

amyl

is it not because of all those spices/masala that it gets that color than fried onions?? This kitchen-hater has his doubts about onion giving it the color OP desires.

Whoa! Certainly not by frying the rice..unless you fry-char in which case it will be not pass is-it-eatable-test

BTW Never heard of Armenia. Had to actually look into the map for it

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a'mar kono chinta nei

Annita

Thank you everybody!!! Actually, I tried to fry the rice but it didn't change its color at all. But might be onions can change a bit. Will try with it.

amyl, would love to tell you about Armenia...it is a small country in Eastern Europe, neighboring with Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia. It is one of ex Soviet Union countries. It is a Christian country, more than that it is the first country in the world that accepted Christianity as a state religion in 301 AD, and the Mount Ararat on which Noah's Arch came to rest, is in Armenia I can continue more...but you are welcome with any question...

machadinha...special thanks to you for the long explanation of how to cook it...you might be a good cook

machadinha

Y'r most welcome Annita, and hey, one dabbles a bit (That means: one tries.)

Let us know the results, maybe we can help fine-tuning.

machadinha

Hi Annita, was reading up on the State of Emergency in your country, to do with parliamentary elections I gather.

Just had to think of you, hope it all gets resolved. Take care.

mahmud

In Bangldesh, we usually use white Rice (Smaller/thinner usually than the rice we eat regularly). This rice is specially produced for Fried Rice (What we call : Polau).

Yes, the color does not change. Some time we use natural fragmance & colors (Say Jafran for red) to change the color of Polau (Friend Rice). Then the Polau color becomes little redisht/Brown.

Annita

Hi Machadinha. Ya, we had terrible days which we never imagined that can happen here. It is very bad. Many victims and injured people. I can't imagine this could happen with my country. And now it is 20 days of extreme situation in the country. Hope it will be fine. Thank you for your message.

jyotirmoy

Dear Annita, we had also gone through a bad patch of emergency in India but that is past history for us and we had moved on. Hope it turns out that way for you too.

mahmud

Hi Annita, we are hppy to hear that you are okay.

Annita

Jyotirmoy, thank you. I also hope for the best. I know it happens to many countries, but one could never imagine with his/her own country.

Thank you Mahmud, thanks a lot to everybody.I am fine, my family, everybody is good.

jyotirmoy

There is an Armenian church in Kolkata so Annita if you visit Kolkata don't miss it and you may also find some Indian Armenian families too.