Easy Curry Fried Rice

This easy Curry Fried Rice is crispy, nutty, and tossed with veggies and scrambled egg for a well-rounded meal.

Curry Fried Rice Is a Great Dinner on a Whim!

My curry fried rice came about on a whim and was such a hit that it ended up on repeat for quite a while. Think fried rice as you know it, but with the sweet and warming flavor of yellow curry thrown into the mix.

Aside from being delicious, this recipe offers an opportunity to use up leftover vegetables that are hanging out in your crisper, and any leftover rice. In fact, I encourage leftover rice. It’s one of the key factors in attaining that crispy perfection we love so much with restaurant fried rice.

What’s in Curry Fried Rice?

This is a meatless recipe packed with mostly vegetables and some scrambled egg. The veggies and spices used are all simple staples that are easily accessible and, if you’d like, 

Here’s the rundown on what you’ll need:

• Rice. Preferably day old rice, because freshly cooked rice contains too much moisture to get that nice crisp we want from the pan.
• Garlic. Because everything should have garlic. Always.
• Yellow onion. The sweetness of yellow onion works really well in this recipe, but you could use white if need be.
• Celery. Love the crunch the little celery bits give.
• Carrots. I like to shred my carrots, but you could dice them.
• Scallions. I know we’re already using onions, but these add a nice little bite. You can also use some for garnish.
• Frozen peas and corn. These will thaw while they’re being cooked and it keeps things quick and simple. 
• Mushrooms. Baby bella/crimini are my favorite mushrooms to use here. You could also use white button mushrooms. I’d keep shiitake and oyster mushrooms for an actual Chinese or Japanese-inspired stir-fry.
• Eggs. One of the best parts of a good fried rice are the eggy bits, right? If you disagree, however, you can certainly omit the eggs.
• Curry powder. Yellow curry isn’t a common ingredient in a traditional fried rice, but this isn’t a traditional fried rice. And it works oh-so-well here, if you ask me.
• Soy sauce. Every stir fry needs that umami goodness.

Crisp up Your Fried Rice!

Use day old rice! Freshly-cooked rice is full of water and moisture, which makes it difficult to get that crave-worthy chewy crisp we crave in fried rice. But rice that’s been kept in the fridge overnight dries up and hardens, making it the perfect texture to make fried rice.

How to Make Curry Fried Rice.

1. Get a large cast iron skillet or wok out and heat it over medium heat. Add the oil and let it heat up for about a minute.
2. Pop the garlic and onions into the skillet and let them simmer for about 3-5 minutes, until fragrant. Give everything a stir occasionally to prevent browning.
3. Stir in the celery, carrots, and mushrooms, and let everything simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.
4. Sprinkle in the curry powder, salt, and pepper, and stir to mix.
5. With a spatula, move the veggies to the side of the pan. Go ahead and add a bit more oil if you need to. Add the beaten eggs to the center of the pan and allow them to cook just until they start to solidify, then drag your spatula through the cooking eggs to create custardy bits, like when you cook scrambled eggs.
6. Once the eggs are cooked, bring the veggies back to the center of the pan.
7. Add the cold cooked rice to the skillet, then add the soy sauce, and stir to mix everything well. You want the curry and the soy sauce to coat everything.
8. Stir in the scallions and frozen peas and corn, and bring the heat to medium low. Using your spatula, press the rice down into the pan. It’s important to let the rice sit like this for a good 3-5 minutes undisturbed. You’ll be tempted to stir it, but don’t! Letting the rice sit and cook will crisp it up. After about 5 minutes, give the rice a stir. Scrape up any toasty bits. Repeat this about 3-5 times or until your rice attains the level of crispiness you want.
9. Hit the rice with some salt and pepper if needed.
10. Remove the skillet from the heat, garnish with more scallions, and serve.

Useful Tools for This Recipe:

• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Grater (optional, but I like to shred my carrots on a grater)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Spatula
• Skillet or wok

Recipe Tips and Tricks.

1. Use rice that’s been refrigerated for at least a day/overnight. This will ensure you get a nice crisp on the rice. Freshly cooked rice holds too much moisture and won’t crisp up.
2. Another tip to help in the crisping process it using a cast iron skillet or wok instead of a non-stick pan.
3. This fried rice will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.
4. Curry fried rice can be frozen. Just be sure to cool the rice in the fridge completely beforehand. Then, pop the fried rice into freezer bags in portions and push out as much air as possible while flattening the freezer bags. Seal, label, and keep them stored in the freezer for up to a month.

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Easy Curry Fried Rice

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

This Easy Curry Fried Rice uses day-old rice to get a crispy, nutty texture, and a toasty flavor. Toss it with veggies and a scrambled egg for fried rice perfection.

5 from 7 votes

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Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups cooked day-old rice, *See notes
• ▢ 2 TBSP olive oil
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• ▢ 1 rib of celery, thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 large carrot, shredded, approx. 1 cup
• ▢ 1 cup roughly chopped mushrooms
• ▢ 2 eggs, beaten
• ▢ 1.5 TBSP curry powder
• ▢ 2 TBSP Tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 1/2 cup frozen peas
• ▢ 1/2 cup frozen corn
• ▢ Kosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
• ▢ 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
• ▢ Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish, (optional)

Instructions 

• Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over moderate heat.
• Add the garlic and onions, and simmer until fragrant, approx. 3-5 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep garlic from browning.
• Add the celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Simmer for approx. 5 minutes or until veggies are tender.
• Add the curry powder, plus a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper. Stir to combine evenly throughout the vegetables.
• Sweep the vegetables to the side of the pan; add a bit more oil if needed. Add the beaten eggs to the center of the pan and allow to cook briefly, dragging your spatula through the cooking egg to create ribbon-like chunks off egg — same way you'd treat an egg when making them scrambled. Once cooked, stir in the vegetables and break up the egg to distribute it throughout the vegetables.
• Add the rice to the skillet in batches, stirring to coat. Add the tamari or soy sauce and mix well.
• Finally, add the scallions, frozen peas, and frozen corn (the frozen peas and corn will thaw very quickly once they're tossed in with the hot food).
• Bring the heat to medium-low and press the rice down into the pan, flattening it with your spatula. Let the rice sit like this, undisturbed, for 2-3 minutes. After that time is up, give it a stir, scraping crispy toasted bits from the bottom of the pan. Repeat this process 3-5 times, until you get the amount of crispiness in your rice you desire. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if needed.
• Remove skillet from heat, garnish with freshly chopped parsley (optional), and serve.

Notes

*Day-old rice is suggested for perfectly crispy fried rice. Freshly cooked rice is full of water and too moist. If you must make a batch of freshly cooked rice, please note that you may not be able to attain the crispiness desired and the attempted crisping process by pressing the rice into the pan for several minutes may result in a longer cooking time.

Calories: 493kcal

Author: Dana Sandonato

Course: Main Course