Since the beginning of the year I’ve been attempting to replace things like white bread with whole grain bread, white rice with brown rice, chocolate with apples.
Ok, so that last one wasn’t true, but I have been trying to incorporate more brown rice with our meals. My family, is not a huge fan of brown rice. I used to make two cups of white rice for one meal and my family would eat the whole pot. Now I make 1 cup of brown rice and there are leftovers.
I decided to turn my leftover brown rice into something new and exciting. So I whipped up this Quick and Easy Brown Fried Rice!
Surprise, surprise, my family LOVED it. In fact, they didn’t even know that they were eating the dreaded brown rice. The nutty flavor and firmer texture of the brown rice absorbed all the bold Asian flavors of this one pot meal, and they loved every last bite.
This would make a great side dish for your Asian meal or you can add a little chicken, shrimp, pork, beef or even tofu to make it a complete meal!
I used some frozen peas and carrots to make it even easier to throw together.
You can definitely add more vegetables to your liking – red bell pepper, bean sprouts, corn kernels, edemame, etc. A classic fried rice to me always includes some scrambled eggs, but if you’re not into that then just leave it out. No harm done.
While we’re on the topic of my family not fully supporting my healthy eating quest…
I’m fully convinced my children are on their own personal quest to not let me get one peaceful nights sleep. Every time I’m so extremely exhausted from staying up late to finish the last episode of Downton Abby, or with bloodshot eyes because I just HAD to watch the last skit on SNL, without fail – as soon as my head hits the pillow one of my four children decides it’s the perfect time to wake up and start crying.
Then, once I finally get the crying child back to sleep, I think I’m in the clear and go back to sleep.
Only to be woken up 1.37 hours later by another crying child.
They’re wearing me down. Slowly but surely.
That’s why I left them at home with Dad for the rest of the week and took off to Las Vegas with some friends. Although, I doubt I’ll be getting much more sleep…
Don’t worry, I left them with a big batch of this Quick and Easy Brown Fried Rice along with a few other goodies.
Good luck, husband. Good luck.
You’re going to love this quick and easy (one pot) Brown Fried Rice. It comes together in no time!
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Quick and Easy Brown Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
- 3 cups brown rice, cooked and cooled
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp green onions, chopped
Instructions
- In a large wok coated with non-stick spray, scramble the two eggs over medium heat then remove from pan to a plate to keep warm.
- Add the onion to the wok and stir, cooking until the onions have softened, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from wok and set aside.
- Add 1 tsp of sesame oil to the wok and stir fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Add the frozen peas and carrots and stir fry for an additional 2 minutes. Add the brown rice and stir to combine. Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce. Stir to heat through.
- Add the onions and eggs back in the wok and stir in the green onions. Heat through, serve immediately. Enjoy!
Red Velvet Brownies
Mel
Quick, easy and delicious.
I added shredded cabbage and leftover fried chicken.
I’ll do this one again.
Shawn
Fantastic additions! So glad you enjoyed it Mel!
Jae
I’m not a parent, but I use this recipe sometimes to cook for my family. It’s soo good, and I’d make it every day if my parents would let me.
Shawn
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you enjoy cooking for your family! Keep at it!
Christine
Shawn, I enjoy reading your recipes. I hope that your little ones are letting you get some sleep! Like your children, mine prefer white rice. But I have found a terrific compromise. Have you ever tried semi-brown rice? It’s rice that is partially milled so that it has most of the fiber and bran of brown rice but the texture is almost like white rice. Here in California I can buy it in Japanese markets like Nijia or Mitsubishi. My kids enjoy it almost as much as white rice. I even use it to make sushi and it sticks together as well as white rice for making sushi rolls.
Shawn
Hi Christine, Thanks so much for that info. I have never tried that kind of rice, however it sounds like a good alternative. Definitely a must try on my list!
Rhoda Pelliccia
Is the sesame oil the light or dark that you use in your fried rice?
Kellina
This was so delicious!! Better than the restaurants in my opinion. I make it for parties and family dinners and it’s always a hit! Thank you!
Shawn
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it! It’s one of our favorites too!
Ron Burnett
I love making fried rice whenever I have some left-over roast pork or chicken. I do opretty much what this recipe describes but instead of scrambled egg, I make a very thin egg omelette (or two), slide it off a non-stiak fry pan on to a plate then roll it up and slice thinly and scatter this over the ricel And I add freshly ground black pepper (very little) and a few drops of dark sesame oil for extra flavour.
Judith Carr
Do you have the sodium and carb information?
Heather Seibel
LOVED this recipe! First time I’ve ever made homemade fried rice, and this dish turned out great! So delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe and instructions.
Karen
Thank you for this Great recipe!! I didn’t have the full 3 cups of cold brown so I added cabbage to stretch it and still came out so good!! I looked at other recipes the called for more soy sauce but this was enough.
David
Simple and easy fried rice..looks very colorful! Thank you! I have been waiting on someone to come up with an easy fried recipe that uses brown rice! I can’t wait to try it.
Shawn
Thanks David! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
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Meredith
Hi! Can you use crystallized ginger in this recipe? If so, how? I have that in my spice cabinet right now and really don’t know how to use it. Lol don’t mind buying the minced version. But thought I’d get your thoughts first.
Shawn
I would not use crystallized ginger in this recipe. It tends to be more of a candied ginger which might not be the best thing for the fried rice. 😉
Maria G.
This dish is so colorful! I have never tried to cook fried rice before but I suppose that it should be really tasty. And thanks to the vegetables it looks really nice and healthy. Can ordinary rice be used for this dish?
Shawn
Hi Maria, yes, you can use regular white rice in place of the brown rice if you prefer. 🙂
Pie
My mom said she can’t ‘fry’ brown rice because the texture’s not soft enough. Will have to ask her to try – thanks for sharing!
Tess @ Tips on Healthy Living
I don’t know why I always buy this frozen– it looks so much better when it’s homemade. Thanks for sharing– I will have to give it a try this weekend.
dana
What can I substitute for “oyster sauce”? Thank you
Shawn
Dana, I’m not sure what you could use to replace the oyster sauce, it gives it so much great flavor. If by chance you have an allergy, you might try Hoisen Sauce. It’s the same texture as the oyster sauce but the flavor is slightly different. That might still work.
Paul
Try sambal hot it pairs well with the oyster sauce also try dark soy sauce in place of or with oyster sauce
Chels R.
I was just telling my dad that he and his wife (whose from China) need to come visit me so she can make me some authentic Chinese food since the Americanized versions make me sick. I’m going to be trying this out, it looks really delicious and similar to the fried rice my grandfather used to cook for me when I was a kid. Pinned!