Red Curry Fried Rice

Fried rice is one of my favorite meals to make. It’s the perfect clean-out-the-fridge dinner, and it’s quick and so easy to cook. Growing up, my grandparents would make egg fried rice with leftover pork or even ham and frozen mixed vegetables. I went pescetarian a few years ago, so I developed a version that used tofu instead. I copied the technique of using frozen mixed vegetables, though!

This fried rice recipe has a red curry-inspired twist. It came about one day when I found a jar of red curry paste in my fridge that was about to go bad – I’d bought it to make some red curry noodle soup, but hadn’t been using it fast enough. I decided to try putting it in a stir-fry, and I threw in some red bell pepper that I had lying around. The first time I made it, I added WAY too much red curry paste, and it was super spicy! But I’ve tweaked and perfected the recipe over time, adding fish sauce and lime juice to add flavor without adding more spice ;). I like to add tofu because it really carries the red curry flavor. It’s my sister’s favorite component!

My family loves this recipe, probably more than any restaurant fried rice, and I hope you do too!

Ingredients

Ingredients for red curry fried rice are pretty simple. You can add any mix-ins you like — I usually use frozen mixed vegetables and red bell pepper. If you are using fresh vegetables, just slice them into similar-size pieces as the red bell pepper and cook them along with or instead of the red bell pepper. Some ideas for other mix-ins you can add are:

• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Snow peas
• Bean sprouts
• Shrimp
• Pineapple, if you’re feeling jazzy 🙂

Tofu

My red curry fried rice recipe has tofu as a mix-in, because I love adding tofu to fried rice! If you prepare it right, it has a consistency a lot like scrambled egg, but it actually picks up more flavor from the sauce. Use super firm crumbled tofu, which is drier than extra-firm tofu, so it keeps its shape and texture better. I use nasoya brand (not sponsored):

If you can’t find this brand, try to find another similar firm tofu that is not packed in water. If you can only find water-packed tofu, you can cube it, bake it in the oven and then use it in the fried rice. You can also use soy chunks or tempeh crumbles.

Rice

The best rice to use for fried rice is long-grain white rice, but if you don’t have it on hand, you can use whatever leftover rice you have in your fridge. You can also use other grains of your choosing, such as farro or quinoa. However, make sure your rice/grain of choice is NOT FRESH! Freshly cooked rice will get sticky and clumpy in the wok. Using cold, dried-out rice will give you the proper individually coated grains of fried rice. Plus, making fried rice is a great way to spruce up leftover rice!

Sauce

The sauce is what makes this red curry fried rice. You’ll need red curry paste for the sauce, which you can usually find in the global aisle of the supermarket. Thai Kitchen is a popular brand. The mix is fairly straightforward: in addition to red curry paste, it has soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, and oyster sauce. And the oyster sauce is optional: it adds sweetness and umami, but you can omit it if you can’t find it. The quantities are listed below, but the most important thing to do (as every Chinese cook ever will tell you) is to season to taste! If you love spicy food, up the red curry paste! If you don’t want it too salty, add less soy sauce. And if you’re adding less mix-ins overall, you might want to add less sauce.

Making Fried Rice

This recipe is written for a non-stick wok. You can use a non-stick skillet or a metal wok if you don’t have a non-stick wok, but keep in mind that you might need to add more oil for a non-stick pan.

Cooking fried rice goes fast, so it’s good practice to prepare all your components before you start frying. Chop all your mix-ins, make the sauce, beat the eggs, etc.

Start by sauting the aromatics (garlic and ginger). Then add the raw mix-ins and cook until beginning to soften. After that, add the crumbled tofu, and let it pick up some browning before adding the frozen mixed vegetables and half the sauce. It should look something like this.

Toss in your rice, and mix to combine. Add shaoxing cooking wine by pouring it around the perimeter of the wok – it adds a great flavor, and is helpful to essentially deglaze the wok.

Then, you push all the ingredients to the side so that half of the wok is empty, and pour your beaten eggs in the exposed spot. Scramble them quickly, then stir them in to the fried rice. Add the remaining sauce, and stir together. You can also add green onions as a garnish. Then you’re done!

Tips

Fried rice should be cooked on high heat, which allows the fried rice to cook quickly and gives it a signature quality called wok hei. In restaurants, they sometimes use woks directly over a flame, instead of on a stove grille. It’s not possible to safely get this kind of heat at home, but using a stove on high heat works just fine! At any point, if your rice starts sticking to the pan, you may want to add some more oil. If you are using a non-stick pan, use a wooden utensil like chopsticks or a wooden spatula to stir-fry — you don’t want to scrape the coating off of the pan. If you want to make this fried rice vegan, you can omit the egg and use vegetarian fish sauce and oyster sauce.

Red Curry Fried Rice

A simple, quick-to-make fried rice with a red curry twist!

Prep Time: 10 min	Cook Time: 10 min
Total Time: 20 min	Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 small slice ginger (mine was about 1/2 cm thick), minced
• 1 tsp (about 2 cloves) minced garlic
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp red curry paste (add more if you like spice!)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce (optional, but tasty!)
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 red bell pepper
• 8 oz super firm tofu or tempeh crumbles
• 2 cups diced mixed vegetables (I used frozen)
• 3-5 cups day-old rice or quinoa
• 1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
• 2 stalks green onion, sliced

Instructions

1. Dice red bell pepper or your mix-ins of choice.
2. Beat eggs in a medium bowl with a splash of shaoxing cooking wine.
3. Make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, red curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice, and oyster sauce. Mix to combine.
4. Heat a non-stick wok over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, and saute the minced ginger and garlic until aromatic.
5. Add in the red bell pepper or other raw mix-ins. Stir-fry until beginning to soften.
6. Add in crumbled tofu, and let it turn golden in some spots over dry heat.
7. Mix in frozen mixed vegetables, and stir until beginning to defrost.
8. Pour in half of the sauce mixture, and stir-fry for 10 seconds.
9. Add in rice, and stir-fry for another 10 seconds, or until combined. Pour the cooking wine around the perimeter of the wok. Scrape off any bits that are sticking.
10. Push the contents of the wok to one side, so that about half the wok is bare. To that half, add the remaining cooking oil, and pour in the beaten eggs. Scramble the eggs quickly, and mix them into the rest of the fried rice.
11. Add the remaining sauce, and mix until combined.
12. Garnish fried rice with sliced green onions, and serve!

Notes

This recipe is gluten-free and pescetarian, and easy to make vegetarian/vegan!