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Indo Chinese Fried Rice makes for the perfect lunch or dinner. Different from the usual fried rice with crunchy veggies, it’s own stir fry sauce blend, & green chili sauce, this recipe is a popular street style Indo-Chinese version.
veggie fried rice tossed with ginger, garlic, carrot, bell pepper, green beans and a delicious stir-fry sauce. Gluten-free option.
For an easy weeknight dinner or lunch that comes together quickly and tastes amazing, look no further than this Indo-Chinese Fried Rice. This is a dish from the Indian Chinese cuisine – many Chinese and inspired dishes indianized with spices or change in cooking style or ingredients.
This cuisine like any other cuisine has its own dishes which have certain features and dishes that identify it. So although this is a fried rice, the Indo-Chinese version has several variations from the usual fried rice. Veggies such as cabbage and bell peppers are not cooked down, they get added only after adding the rice to retain almost a raw crunch. Green chili blended with vinegar adds the restaurant style flavor you get in proper indo Chinese restaurants!
I like making a generic fried rice when I have some veggie bits and bobs kicking around the fridge that need to be used. But for the popular Indo-Chinese version I use cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, and green beans for this recipe. You can add other vegetables you have in the fridge, but definitely try the recipe as written first. Try peas, baby corn, zucchini, sprouts, leeks .
It features fresh veggies and a sweet and salty stir-fry sauce as well as a bit of green chili.
It’s important to cool the rice down after cooking it. Spread it out in a thin layer on a baking sheet or tray so it cools rapidly. You can also prepare it in advance and then put it into a container, cover, and chill it in the fridge.
It seems like it’s a longish recipe, but this is the closest to a street-style Indo- Chinese fried rice recipe and this is incredibly refreshing and fresh. It can be made and gluten-free easily by using tamari instead of soy sauce.
This rice is usually served with saucy dishes such as Manchurian sauce or sweet and sour sauce or chili tofu or sauced up dragon chicken soycurls. If you make this fried rice, do let me know how it turned out!
FOR MORE VEGAN RICE DISHES CHECK OUT THESE RECIPES:
- Turmeric Lemon Rice
- Vegetable Carrot Fried Rice
- Instant Pot teriyaki fried rice
- Masala Fried Rice with Turmeric Onion Raita
- Peanut Sauce Fried Rice
Indo-Chinese Fried Rice
Ingredients
For the rice:
- 1 cup white basmati rice
- 2 cups water
For the veggies and fried rice:
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 teapoons minced ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 hot or mild green chili minced, I use serrano or Indian green chili
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped carrots, chopped small and thin
- 2.5 - 3 tablespoons soy sauce, or tamari for Glutenfree
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar, or rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 cup thinly sliced cabbage, see step pictures for slice sizing
- 1/4 cup finely chopped or thinly sliced green beans, or use other crunchy veggie of choice
- 1 cup thinly sliced bell pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons green chili sauce(available at Indian stores), or blend 1 teaspoon vinegar and 1 hot green chili in a blender , , Or you can mince the green chili and then mix it with the vinegar and mash it with mortar and pestle so that the mix is somewhat pasty
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 cup green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Make your rice: wash the rice really well and then soak it for at least 15 minutes and then drain. Add to a saucepan with 2 cups of water.
- Partially cover with the lid and cook over medium heat. As soon as the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 11 to 12 minutes, or until the rice is cooked to preference. Fluff the rice a little bit and then spread it in a large plate so that it can cool.
- Make the fried rice: In a large skillet, add oil and heat at medium high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, green chili, and carrots, and a pinch of salt and cook until the garlic is starting to turn golden.
- Then add in the soy sauce, molasses, vinegar, sesame oil and the brown sugar and mix well. Cook until the sauce starts to thicken. 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the cooked rice and salt and toss well to pick up all the sauce from the pan.
- Then add in the cabbage, green beans, bell pepper, ginger, the green chili sauce and white pepper and toss. Switch off the heat and continue to toss for another few seconds.
- Taste and adjust salt and flavor. You can also cover this rice with the lid at this time , to help lightly steam the vegetables if they're too crispy. Let it sit covered for around 2-3 minutes. Then garnish with green onion and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- You can add more sauces to the fried rice and some crispy tofu so that it becomes a meal by itself
- you can use brown rice or quinoa or other cooked grains instead of white basmati rice. Just use cooked and cooled grains.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- rice: soaked for 15 minutes. I recommend long-grain rice
- fried garlic and ginger form the base of every good fried rice recipe
- stir-fry sauce: a potent, sweet & salty blend of molasses, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and brown sugar
- veggies: cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, and green beans
- mild green chili and a homemade quick green chili sauce are added for that touch of heat. Add more or less according to your personal taste.
Tips & Tricks:
- Make sure to let the rice cool down completely or it will not soak up the sauce well.
- This recipe works really well with day-old rice as well
- You can also make this recipe with brown rice or even different grains such as quinoa, or millet.
why you’ll love this recipe and recipe origin
- It’s a simple and delicious fried rice
- This Indo Chinese fried rice is refreshing and crunchy
- This fried rice works well as a side with Indo Chinese or Chinese saucy mains
- this recipe is nut free and Glutenfree
- for soy-free use coconut aminos
I’ve tried a bunch of different versions over the years and changed them around . But most weren’t even close to the good Indo-Chinese versions I’ve eaten. I adapted some elements in my existing recipe from chef ranveer bear’s fried rice recipes.
How to make Indo Chinese Fried Rice:
Make your rice: wash the rice really well and then soak it for at least 15 minutes and then drain. Add to a saucepan with 2 cups of water.
Cover with the lid and cook at medium heat. As soon as the water starts to boil over, reduce the heat to low and cook for 11 to 12 minutes, or until the rice is cooked to preference. Fluff the rice a little bit and then spread it on a large plate so that it can cool.
In a large skillet, add oil and heat at medium-high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, green chili, and carrots, and a pinch of salt and cook until the garlic is starting to turn golden.
Then add in the sauces. That’s the soy sauce, molasses, vinegar, sesame oil and the brown sugar and mix well cook until the sauce starts to thicken under 2-3 minutes.
Then add the cooked rice and salt and toss well to pick up all the sauces from the pan.
Then add in the cabbage, green beans, bell pepper, ginger, the green chili sauce, and white pepper and toss. Switch off the heat and continue to toss for another few seconds.
Taste and adjust salt and flavor. You can also cover this rice with the lid for 3 mins, to help lightly steam the vegetables if they’re too crispy. Let it sit covered for around 2-3 minutes. Then garnish with green onion and serve immediately.
Storage:
Store refrigerated for upto 3 days.
I’ve made this multiple times- I love how the veggies are kept crispy. For the crispy veggies, I’ve used snow peas and cabbage and this week will be using cabbage, snow peas, red bell pepper, and Japanese turnips (blanched first for 1 minute).
But I have a question- how do you think sprouted moong beans would taste with this? I have a bag of frozen sprouted beans I’m looking to use up.
Sprouts should work fine. The long crunchy mung sprouts work well in fried rice and other saucy Indian Chinese dishes. Add some and see if you like the flavor and texture in it and add more if you do
In the regular rotation! It’s so delicious and fresh tasting, the whole family loves it. Thank you!!
yay! thank you!
This was amazing! The sweet and spicy flavours are so subtle and yummy. I also scrambled some vegan eggs (just egg) flavoured with black salt along with the veggies. Everyone loved the fried rice. Thanks!
Yay!
This is 100% the BEST fried rice I’ve ever made. My family loves it and requests it regularly now. It comes together so quickly and we devour the whole pan. The only change I’ve made is using more of the veggies than called for and sautéing it in vegan butter instead of oil. I’ve probably made this 10+ times now.
Wow! thank you 10 times
Hits the Indo-Chinese notes PERFECTLY.
Yay! Thanks!
I made this along with the dragon soy curls and the gobi manchurian.
The rice was really easy to make and tasted great. I used brown rice and shredded Brussels sprouts rather than the cabbage.
I’ll definitely make it again!
Awesome
Oh my gosh! This fried rice was deelish! Served it with the dragon soycurls! What a flavor packed feast!
Yay
Love this recipe, thank you!
(I think you meant to say, “just use cooked and COOLED grains.” ???)
Yes! Updated