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This Thai-inspired vegetable fried rice is spicy, a bit sweet and sour, and SO flavorful! It’s loaded with mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers, pineapple, and plenty of garlic and chili! Just 25 minutes and one pan are required!
If you have got leftover rice in your fridge, you don’t want to miss this recipe!
📘 What is Fried Rice
Fried rice is a popular Asian dish that consists of cooked rice stir-fried with vegetables in a wok or skillet. It is said that fried rice first appeared in China around 580.
There are hundreds of different versions of this dish. Here, we are cooking the rice in a sauce similar to the Pad Thai sauce, which is sweet and sour.
🥣 How to Make Thai Fried Rice
This one-skillet recipe starts with the onion and garlic that are sautéed in vegan butter (or oil). I prefer to use vegan butter for this recipe as I find it gives the dish a richer flavor.
Once your aromatics are fragrant, it’s time to add the veggies. Here, I went with yellow and red bell peppers, carrots, pak choi, and mushrooms.
This recipe is versatile, so feel free to use the vegetables you have on hand: zucchini, corn, or peas would make great additions!
Once the vegetables are cooked, add the rice. For the best results, I recommend using leftover rice that has been chilled.
The grains don’t stick to each other as much when using rice cooked the day before compared to rice cooked the same day. Worry not. It’s still delicious both ways!
Next comes the sauce that brings all of the flavors! To make the sweet and sour sauce, you will need:
- Tamarind paste – Tamarind paste is made from concentrated tamarind fruit and is 100% natural. It is sweet and very sour. Once diluted, it can be used to make sauces for Pad Thai, drinks, or used in stir-fries like this fried rice!
- Maple syrup – To balance with the sourness of the tamarind.
- Soy sauce – For saltiness and umami.
- Minced chili – Optional. It adds some heat.
Once the rice and veggies are coated with the sauce, add the remaining toppings: finely chopped pineapple, green onions, and roasted peanuts!
This fried rice is the kind of food that boosts your mood and cheers you up after just two spoonfuls. Yes, it’s that good!
📔 Tips
- There are two ways to prevent the rice from sticking to the skillet: 1) Use leftover rice. It won’t be as moist and will yield a better texture compared to rice cooked the same day. 2) Use a non-stick skillet and enough oil.
- If you are not used to spicy food, omit the chili or use only 1/4 of a Thai chili (also called Bird’s eye chili).
- This recipe works great with brown rice as well!
This vegan fried rice is super easy to make, full of flavor, comforting, and has that stick-to-your-ribs factor. It has the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and spicy, with a subtle tart flavor.
🍚 More Vegan Rice Recipes
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Thai Fried Rice (Sweet & Sour!)
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegan butter or oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 3-4 mushrooms finely diced
- 1 small carrot finely diced
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper finely diced
- 2 cups cooked rice (preferably cooked the day before)
- 3 tbsp tamarind juice*
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 bird’s eye chilis finely minced (adjust to taste)
- 1/4 pineapple (about 1/2 cup, diced)
- For topping, optional: 1/4 cup green onions, 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon of vegan butter or oil in a large non-stick skillet. Once hot, add the onion and garlic, and sautée for about 5 minutes.
- Next, add the mushrooms, carrots, and red bell pepper and cook for another 5-7 minutes, or until the carrots are cooked but still slightly crunchy.
- Add the remaining two tablespoons of vegan butter as well as the cooked rice. Sautée for about 5 minutes to fry the rice and make it slightly crispy.
- In a small bowl, combine the tamarind juice, maple syrup, soy sauce, and minced chili. Stir to combine and pour it into the skillet. Stir to coat the rice with the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes or until the rice has absorbed the sauce.
- Stir in the diced pineapple, top with green onions and roasted peanuts, and serve!
- Fried rice will keep for up to two days in the refrigerator. Reheat gently over medium heat for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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Yum, looks great! I often make Nasi Goreng at home, so I will give this recipe a go next time I feel like fried rice 🙂
This was wonderful! I couldn’t get the tamarind though 🙁 and pineapples at the store were not ripe, so I used mango instead!
Happy to hear you liked it Lisa! 😉
The recipe itself is really good. However, the tamarind paste had a very bad affect on my gut. Cramping and diarrhea. Not a pleasant experience. Next time I make this I’ll cut the paste down to maybe only 1/3 of what the recipe calls for. The flavor is good but it definitely affected my gut.
Sorry to hear you have trouble digesting tamarind!
Looks interesting! But is there something I can use instead of the tamarind juice? I know I’m Indian, and I used it very regularly before marriage, but it doesn’t suit my husband so I use alternatives now. Is there an alternative to the tamarind for THIS recipe?