Gluten free special fried rice

Updated 7th September 2021

I’d always been a bit rubbish at making egg fried rice until somebody explained to me where I’d been going wrong. It was simply that I’d been adding raw beaten egg rather than cooked. Lightly frying the beaten egg, before adding it to the rice prevents the rice from becoming stodgy. Since perfecting egg fried rice, I now not only make it as a ‘side’ but sometimes jazz it up with lots of other tasty bits and bobs to transform it into a special fried rice which makes a very yummy and satisfying meal!

Special fried rice is the perfect thing to make when you’re in need of a good old fridge clear out, as it’s the perfect way of using up things that may have seen better days, but are too good to waste. However, it is a real joy to make with carefully chosen ingredients too. 

This special fried rice is really easy to make, but it does require a bit of chopping. This could be done in advance of course, giving you chance to clear the decks and enjoy the cooking process when you’re good and ready. 

The quantity I’ve jotted down would serve 4. However me and Neil tend to eat rather large portions and tend to polish the lot off!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

250g (9oz)*basmati rice (*long grain if you prefer of course)
200g (7oz)smoked bacon lardons or diced pancetta (I sometimes use cooked ham but frying bacon is tastier)
Bunch of spring onions, roughly chopped (red onion works really well too) 
3 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
200g (7oz)button mushrooms, sliced or diced
Red, orange and yellow pepper, prepped and diced
3 large beaten eggs
½ large cup frozen peas
Gluten free soy sauce
Vegetable oil
25g (1oz) butter 
Ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7/200C Fan.

Put a large pan of water on to boil. Once the water is boiling, add the rice, give it a little stir and turn the heat down to achieve a rapid simmer. The rice will take about 8 minutes to cook – cook it slightly less than you would when you enjoy it as boiled rice. Once cooked, remove from the heat and drain well, as you need the rice to be as dry as possible when you add it to the hot oil later.

Pop the diced peppers into an ovenproof dish and toss with a little vegetable oil and good twist of black pepper. Bake in a hot oven for about 20 minutes until the peppers are lightly charred. Remove from the oven. 

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a small frying pan and add the beaten eggs. Stir the eggs around until they are lightly cooked (looks like a messy omelette) and transfer onto a plate. Allow to cool a little then roughly chop into bite size pieces. 

Boil the kettle and pour enough boiling water over the peas to cover them. 

Heat a large, deep frying pan/wok and add the bacon lardons and cook until golden brown, add the chopped spring onions and sauté for a few minutes before adding the garlic. Sauté for a few minutes longer before transferring the contents of the pan into a bowl.

Clean the pan and place it back on the heat, add the butter and a drop of oil (prevents the butter from burning). Once the butter has melted add the mushrooms and a little black pepper and fry until golden brown. Transfer the mushrooms from the pan into a bowl. 

Wash and dry the pan again and then place it back on the heat. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and gently heat. Once the oil is hot add the rice and give it a good stir. Add 1 – 2 tablespoons of  soy sauce. Once the rice is heated it’s good to taste at this point and add a little more soy sauce if you feel it needs it, remembering the other ingredients you add later will be add more flavour too. You can always add more soy sauce at the end but it’s nice to build the flavours up throughout the cooking process. 

Add the bacon, onions, garlic, mushrooms and peppers to the pan and give everything a good stir. Drain and add the peas. Cook on a medium to high heat for a few minutes. Keep giving it a gently stir.  

Finally add the chopped egg and stir through to ensure you have an even distribution of all the ingredients. Check that the rice is piping hot and season to taste before serving up. 

Recipe notes and suggestions:

Best to eat the rice freshly cooked. It can be stored in fridge for up to 24hrs and reheated providing you hadn’t used previously cooked and reheated meat in the rice. Ensure the rice is piping hot and only reheat once.

For egg fried rice: Simply add about a tablespoon of veg oil to a large frying pan, add the cooked rice a good splash of gf soy sauce, season to taste and add the chopped egg. Again, just ensure piping hot.

Me and Neil love special fried rice drizzled with Lingham’s chilli sauce (one of my store cupboard essential items). And it also works REALLY well drizzled with honey!

So many other delicious things can be added to this rice dish.  Simply use the base recipe, add or remove ingredients and you rustle up whatever takes your fancy. 

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Thanks for checking out my special fried rice recipe. I do hope that you’re  inspired to make it. Please drop me a message if you are ever unsure about anything I share. 

For now
Liz x

*Due to manufactures process rice can sometimes display a ‘may contain’ warning on the pack. Always best to double check.