Fried rice is one of the most delicious ways to eat the world’s staple food – rice. Although most often served at Chinese restaurants, almost every culture has its own version adding local ingredients, to taste. Try starting with a very basic recipe that you can add to or experiment with to create your own fried rice dish. Start with a simple recipe if you have never tried cooking it before to get the basics down, and then use your creativity to make it your own.

How to Cook Fried Rice

Fried rice can be mixed with all kinds of other ingredients. You can add seafood, braised meat, chicken, beef or lamb. If you are vegetarian, you can add all kind of vegetables that are in season, or fruit including raisins currants, and cranberries. You can also add nuts like peanuts, walnuts, pine nuts or chestnuts. Depending on the type of flavor you want to give your dish, you can also add all sorts of sauces and spices. Try chilies, curries, peppers, or garlic and onions, oyster sauce, peanut sauce, soy sauce and more.

There are rice dishes from all over the world, even though Chinese fried rice is the most common in North America. There is also Singapore rice, African fried and Malaysian fried rice. Hawaii has its own version, often called a loco moco with a whole skirt steak and egg on top. You can find rice recipes that use healthy organic vegetables, or heartier, heavier versions that are heavy on meat and use lard to flavor the rice. All you need is awok or frying pan and then a great recipe.

Since rice is considered a stable food almost everywhere, you can find versions of fried rice in Cuba using pineapple and black beans, in Africa using salted pork, or peanut sauce and chicken, and in Australia with big prawns, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and tofu. Mexican fried is served at many restaurants and uses spicy salsa along with onions and garlic. Chinese rice incorporates eggs, soy sauce and oyster sauce, and all sorts of vegetables and meats and seafood. The people there love this dish and it is considered great Asian food.

No matter where you travel, even if it’s right in your own neighborhood, you can find an eclectic and delicious version of fried rice to suit your fancy. If you are looking for more information about how to cook rice, rice is one of the easiest foods to cook and can be a source of endless creative inspiration. If you had to, you could literally make a different version of this rice every night of the year. If you are cooking for a large family, it stores fairly well, and if you are cooking for just yourself, you can pre-cook the rice, and then add ingredients from rice stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or more, so you can try different types on different occasions throughout the week. Fried rice can also be made using the little tidbits left over in your kitchen, so it is an ideal dish to stretch the family budget.