A simple rice dish that is full of flavor -- this Easy Garlic Fried Rice is excellent with any fried or grilled meat and fish. The best part? It's ready in a flash!
Unlike ham fried rice, this dish is not loaded with ingredients --- but it sure packs a lot of flavors.
If you're worried about too much garlic in there, don't be. It's not an overpowering ingredient.
Yes, it's fried rice with crispy garlic and garlic-infused oil, but they are subtle flavors. Simply delicious!
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Ingredients
- Oil - sunflower oil, canola oil, or any vegetable oil that's got a neutral taste is excellent for this easy garlic fried rice recipe.
Olive oil is not ideal because of its flavor; even the mildest ones will impart some flavor to the rice.
- Garlic - minced or sliced finely.
- Spring onions - also known as scallions, chopped for garnishing your fried rice.
- Cooked rice - at least a day old because they have less moisture in them.
- Seasoning - you only need salt and pepper for preparing this fried rice recipe.
Preparation
Start your fried rice by heating the oil in a large wok, skillet, or aluminum pan.
Set the heat to medium-low.
Add the garlic right away (photo 1).
Spread the garlic evenly and continue cooking; adjust the heat to medium (photo 2).
Mix frequently, and once the garlic turns into a darker, golden color (not burnt!), remove about a teaspoon for garnish later (photo 3).
Add the rice and adjust heat to medium-high.
Mix to combine.
Add salt plus pepper, and mix (photo 4).
Continue cooking and frequently mixing your sinangag for about ten to twelve minutes. You can adjust the seasoning during this time as well.
Take the pan off the heat.
Transfer your garlic fried rice to a plate and garnish with the remaining crispy garlic and chopped spring onions.
Serve.
Helpful tips
- Do not wait for the oil to become hot before adding the garlic.
It helps to cook it slowly; it also makes it easier not to burn the garlic this way.
- Make sure that the cooked rice is dry, not sticky or clumpy.
It's the key to making great fried rice.
- Use your hands to separate the rice grains, sort of like squeezing them with your fingers; again, this can only work if the cooked rice is dry.
- Taste and adjust seasoning before taking the pan off the heat.
FAQ
Leftover rice is drier than just-cooked rice; hence, it will give you that perfect chewy but still firm-fried rice texture.
Newly cooked rice will generally result in soggy fried rice because there's too much moisture in it.
See how easy it is to prepare this crispy garlic fried rice? So give it a go this week, and let me know!
* This article originally appeared in Food and Journeys.
Happy cooking!
📖 Recipe
Easy Garlic Fried Rice Recipe
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Garlic press
- Wok
- Rubber spatula
Ingredients
- 5 cups rice, cooked and equivalent to 1 cup uncooked
- 3 & 1/2 tbsp oil
- 10 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
- 3 tbsp spring onions, chopped and only the light parts
- salt and pepper, to season
Instructions
- Add oil on a large wok or skillet, and set the heat to medium-low.
- Add garlic and spread evenly.
- Adjust the heat to medium and continue cooking until the garlic turns darker, regularly mixing to ensure it does not burn.
- Take about 1 teaspoon of the browned garlic and set it aside for garnish later.
- Add rice and adjust heat to medium-high.
- Mix to coat the grains evenly with oil.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Continue cooking your garlic fried rice for about 10 to 12 minutes, intermittently mixing to cook it evenly.
- Adjust the seasoning before taking the pan off the heat.
- Transfer into serving plates and top with the remaining crispy garlic from earlier and chopped spring onions.
- Serve your garlic fried rice --- enjoy!
Notes
- Cook's Tip #1: Use neutrally flavored vegetable oil like canola or sunflower. They work better for fried rice than olive oil.
- Cook's Tip #2: Use dry cooked rice with separated grains. Clumpy or sticky ones will not work well for fried rice.
- Cook's Tip #3: Add the garlic with the oil right away. It helps in not burning them, as well as infusing the oil longer with garlic flavor.
- Cook's Tip #4: Do not forget to taste and adjust the seasoning before taking your fried rice off the heat. It helps to do this repeatedly since there is a lot of mixing involved.
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