This is a great recipe to use as a side dish for dinner, or as a main for lunch. When we make this for dinner, we like to serve it with either Quorn breaded stakes or nuggets. But if you are not a veggie or vegan, you can add breaded chicken to it. You could also use it as a stir fry base and add chicken or beef to it. Or maybe even more veg to it!

Being the big foodies that we are, we love to try out new recipes from around the world, and we are big fans of Asian cuisine. We do love a good Chinese take-away! Especially an Egg Fried Rice dish. But it can sometimes be a bit too greasy or stodgy…

So we wanted something that we could make at home ourselves, which would be a healthier version of our beloved rice dish. 

We are always on the lookout for ways to sneak in a bit more veggies into our kids diet (as well as naughty husbands!). So, through trial and error, we came up with this Veggie Egg Fried Rice recipe, which would please all adults and kiddies alike.

We selected veggies that our kids would eat without saying “ew, that’s disgusting” (which is always great to hear, after you’ve slaved away in the kitchen for hours, just to make them something tasty and nutritious….). We went with carrots, peas and leek – leek is great to use as an onion substitute; it cooks very quickly, is good for your gut health, and comes out very soft without an overpowering flavour. If your family likes mushrooms, you can whack some of them in too!

The hardest part of this dish is prepping the veg. But once that is out of the way, it’s smooth sailing!

As always, we recommend trying our recipe first and then see how it inspires you to create something different that suits your family’s needs.

The recipe below has measurements for a side dish. But if you want to use it as a main, you can just increase the portions to taste.

So here we go, let’s have some fun!

Ingredients (serves family of 4; 2 adults + 2 young kids)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes (depending on how long your rice takes to cook)

• ½ medium carrot, or 1 small carrot
• 2 handfuls of frozen peas
• ¼  medium leek
• 3 medium eggs
• Dash of milk
• 150 gr long grain rice
• Olive oil
• Soy sauce, to taste (optional)
• 1 tsp dried parsley (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Note: As we are using this recipe as a side dish, we will be adding quorn/chicken stakes in the oven before starting the dish, as they usually take 25-30 minutes from frozen. That way, everything will be cooked and ready to eat together.

If you want to do this dish as a main, you can play around with the measurements, to get a portion that suits your needs.

1. First thing we need to do is prep the veg. As we will be chopping the carrot small, we like to keep the skin on, to keep all the yummy nutrients in (so need to peel!). Make sure you give the carrot a good wash. Then chop it roughly into small pieces.

2. Use a large frying pan. Drizzle some olive oil. Cook the carrot on low-medium heat for 8-10 mins; you want it to soften, not burn. We also add a lid to the pan, to keep the steam in and help soften the carrot. Stir occasionally.

3. Start cooking your rice, as per packaging instructions.

4. Whilst the carrot and rice are cooking, chop the leek into smallish pieces. Add to a medium bowl of water and give it a good wash with your hands. You want to make sure to separate the layers of leek and remove all the dirt in-between. 

5. Once the carrot has started to soften, add the leek and cook on low heat with the lid off. Make sure to stir occasionally.

6. Whilst the veg and rice are cooking, put your peas in the microwave to defrost.

7. In a separate bowl, break the eggs. Add a dash of milk and whisk until it’s all combined together. Add the parsley (optional), salt and pepper, then mix together.

8. We use rice that cooks in 10-12 minutes, so by the time the rice is cooked, all the veg should be ready to mix. If your rice is not cooked by the time the veg is done, simply take the veg off the heat and put aside until the rice is done.

9. Add the cooked rice to the frying pan with the carrot and leek. Add the defrosted peas. Mix all together on low heat.

10. Push the rice mixture around the sides of the pan, to make a well in the centre. Add a little more olive oil to the centre.

11. Add the egg mixture to the centre of the pan. Turn the heat to medium and stir the mixture gently inside the rice well. You want to achieve a scrambled egg effect.

12. Once the eggs are cooked, combine with the rice mixture in the pan. Add soy sauce to taste (optional).

13. By the time all this is done, your Quorn/chicken stakes should be done in the oven. This time round, we used Quorn nuggets.

Et voila! You now have an Asian inspired veggie rice side dish, to fill your bellies and satisfy all the family.

We hope you enjoy this as much as we do. Buon appetito!

Also, let us know of any different combos you have tried for this dish. Did you use different veggies? Or use the recipe as inspo for something else? We’d love to know!
As always, we welcome your comments and feedback.