Cooking With Knorr: Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice

What do you do with a big packet of Knorr Ready Mix Chinese Noodles / Fried Rice after you have made some really awesome rice noodle bowl with it? Employ it to make something it's been telling you to make all along: Chinese Fried Rice.

Fried Rice is a staple at my place and I like it more so because I can do so many variations of it. I usually resort to my recipe from scratch for a seriously yummy Chinese Fried Rice but sometimes when you oversleep and manage to successfully hit snooze on the touchphone's alarm system several times, you resort to quick fixes. This was my quick fix. It still meant that I went through a certain amount of process to make a really nice fried rice with it because seriously guys, there is no shortcut to good food, you have to labour a bit. But then, I liked what I made and thought you would like it too.

You need this. You will find it in one of the many food aisles of your supermarket. Grab a pack. 

Name: Chinese Vegetable Fried Rice

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Recipe Source: Me and Knorr

Serves: 2

You need:

130gms of basmati rice (that is usually a cup in this house) or any long grain rice you have

4 tbsp Knorr Ready Mix Chinese Noodles / Fried Rice dissolved in a cup of water

1 medium onion, chopped

4-5 big fresh mushrooms, cleaned, chopped into quarters

1 carrot cut into longish cubes

1 big gree capsicum, chopped

1 inch ginger, chopped fine

5-6 garlic cloves, mashed

1 big green chilli, chopped fine

A pat of butter

Here's how you make it:

- Keep your vegetables ready: above you see carrots in a bowl and in another, you see the mushrooms, ginger, garlic, green chilli, onions, capcicum.

- In a saucepan, heat some butter and toss in the washed and drained rice. Fry it in the butter on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

- Toss in the Knorr dissolved in water at this point into the rice. Add more water (2 cups of water to one cup of rice ideally) and on medium flame, cover and and cook. I added water to the top of the lid, this allows the rice to cook but won't let it burn at the bottom.

- Meanwhile, in another frying pan, fry the carrots in butter until they are fragrant and slightly cooked.

- Toss in everything else and fry on high heat.

- Allow the veggies to sweat and when slightly tender but still firm to the touch, lower heat.

- Meanwhile, our rice is ready, indicated by those little wells you notice on the surface - means the water is absorbed.

- Now, tip the veggies into the rice.

- Now, tip the rice and veggies together into the frying pan - this allows for easier mixing of the two without squishing the rice. Lightly toss with a spatula or a fork until mixed.

- Serve warm.

- Of course, I would not say no to a side of Chilli Paneer or Veg Manchurian to go with this. Slurp.

Variations? Of course! Throw in tofu, paneer, soya nuggets, shreds of fried eggs, peas, corn, spring onions, whatever else it is that you please. Nobody will stop you, least of all me.