
0 from 24 votes
Thai Basil Fried Rice (Vegetarian) (20 min)
This Vegan/ Vegetarian Thai Basil Fried Rice is a deliciously easy dish on the dinner table in under 20 minutes. It's the ultimate Asian comfort food: sweet, salty, savory, and budget-friendly! (Not including rice cooking time, if not using leftover rice.)
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 249 kcal
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Thai
Ingredients
- 1 Cup uncooked jasmine rice Not everyone has leftover rice on hand so I'm giving the measurement for uncooked rice. If using cooked rice, use 3-4 Cups. Substitute: basmati, brown or cauliflower rice
- 8 cloves fresh garlic Pound with red chilies.
- 8 Thai red chilies If you can't take spicy food, use fewer chilies or larger chilies which are less spicy. You will need to reduce the sugar to balance the flavor.
- For the sauces
- 3 Tablespoons dark soy sauce Substitute: Sweet Soy Sauce (Kick Manis) but reduce the amount of sugar added.
- 1 Tablespoon light soy sauce if GF: tamari or coconut aminos. This is a very savory sauce. If you don't like your food too flavorful, use low-sodium soy sauce or add teaspoon by teaspoon, to taste.
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar Palm Sugar is traditional but it comes in blocks which is a pain to grate into smaller pieces. Substitute: white sugar. Use bone char free if vegan.
Other Ingredients
- 1-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil neutral vegetable oil such as palm oil. Do not use olive oil if you want the recipe to taste authentically Thai.
- 4 shallots Optional but I find they add a great texture to the fried rice! If you've no time to slice and crisp them up, simply smash them together with the garlic and chilies, and saute together. Substitute: ½ red onion
- chili-garlic paste that you pounded or minced above
- 1⅓ Cup frozen pea and carrot mix Substitute: Carrot, pea and corn mix or 1-2 red or orange bell peppers, depending on size. If you use mushrooms as a substitute, it will increase the cooking them as they will release a lot of water which you will need to cook off.
- 1 Cup fresh Thai basil You can get it at the Asian grocery store or grow it yourself with ClickandGrow. Substitute: Holy Basil in a pinch. Not to Italian Basil.
Garnishes
- 1½ lime Cut into wedges and squeezed over rice. Highly recommended
- Cilantro, spring onions and more red chilies
Instructions
- If you don't have leftover rice: you will need to cook it from scratch. Wash the rice 2-3 times, till the water runs clear then cook as per normal, but add slightly less water.
- Once the rice is cooked, allow it to cool slightly. Pound the garlic cloves and chilies into a paste. Note: Thai people sometimes add some salt to help loosen the garlic- if you do so, please remember to reduce the amount of light soy sauce added later.
- In a small bowl, mix the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar and sugar till well-combined.
- Optional: if using, fry the sliced shallots till fragrant.
- In the same pan, adding more oil if necessary, quickly stir fry the garlic-chili paste. Ideally, do this over high heat, but if not confident, medium high heat works too.Note: Be quick as garlic burns easily. In addition, be prepared for the fumes as sautéing chilies can make you cough and choke! Make sure your hood is on!
- Once fragrant, add the frozen vegetables (or vegetables of choice) to the pan and stir-fry till cooked but not mushy.
- Add the rice, followed by the sauces then quickly stir-fry till well-combined. Note: If using leftover rice, it may have clumps so break that down and stir-fry till all the rice is thoroughly warmed up.
- Quickly stir in the Thai Basil- we only want to wilt it not to cook it into oblivion!
- Garnish with sliced spring onions or cilantro leaves and, if you enjoy spicy food, some sliced chilies.
- Serve with a lime wedge- a squeeze of lime will make it even tastier!
Cup of Yum
Notes
- Store: if using leftover rice, I do not recommend storing the fried rice. If made with freshly cooked rice, keep for at most 1 day in the chiller in an airtight container. Please ensure you follow safe rice storage rules, such as chilling within 1 hour of cooking as rice can give you very bad food poisoning.
- Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition Information
Calories
249kcal
(12%)
Carbohydrates
51g
(17%)
Protein
6g
(12%)
Fat
3g
(5%)
Saturated Fat
0.5g
(3%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
2g
Monounsaturated Fat
1g
Trans Fat
0.01g
Sodium
359mg
(15%)
Potassium
423mg
(12%)
Fiber
4g
(16%)
Sugar
13g
(26%)
Vitamin A
2845IU
(57%)
Vitamin C
99mg
(110%)
Calcium
55mg
(6%)
Iron
2mg
(11%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 6people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 249
% Daily Value*
Calories | 249kcal | 12% |
Carbohydrates | 51g | 17% |
Protein | 6g | 12% |
Fat | 3g | 5% |
Saturated Fat | 0.5g | 3% |
Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
Trans Fat | 0.01g | 1% |
Sodium | 359mg | 15% |
Potassium | 423mg | 9% |
Fiber | 4g | 16% |
Sugar | 13g | 26% |
Vitamin A | 2845IU | 57% |
Vitamin C | 99mg | 110% |
Calcium | 55mg | 6% |
Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.