Vegan Oil-Free Fried Rice

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• This stir-fried rice makes the perfect easy vegan weeknight dinner
• Albeit having no oil, this fried rice is still moist using as many whole foods as possible. It's an easy way to pack in a lot of vegetables
• Can be eaten as a main dish or a side dish, other sids of rice to check out include peas with basmati rice or turmeric basmati rice.
• Adaptable - use your favorite veggies, for the photos in this post, I used vegetables from my garden. 
• Dietary friendly - not only is this meal vegan, but it can be made gluten free and is low fat.

Ingredients Notes and Variations

About The Rice

Cold cooked rice is the main ingredient as the name of this dish suggests.

The type of rice you can use is either white or brown rice.

Use either medium grain (this is a little stickier), long grain, Jasmin or basmati rice.

Whichever you use, be sure to rinse thoroughly to expel the excess starch, (the water should run clear or almost clear), before cooking.

If you are using leftover rice, this will make cooking this fried rice a breeze.

Cooking The Rice On The Same Day

If you are cooking your rice on the same day, I recommend you spread it out (once cooked) on a large plate and let it dry out for at least an hour before stir-frying. See video.

Let it cool to room temperature in the plate and then transfer it to the fridge to cool even further, try and get it as cold as possible.

This will help to reduce excess moisture.

Do note that if it is warm (weather-wise) where you are, you are better off using day-old cold rice, which is best when making fried rice.

The photographed rice within this recipe is medium-grain.

Vegetables and Sauces

Vegetables can be any of your favorite ones.

I like to use fresh veggies when possible, such as Asian greens, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, kale leaves, green beans, snow peas, red bell pepper or similar (just think colorful veggies), which are all diced or sliced.

For the times when I'm short on time or running low on veggies, I use frozen trio vegetables, corn, carrots and peas.

Onion gets a special mention, as no matter which vegetables I use, I will never do without diced onion.

Soy sauce and vegan fysh sauce will flavor the oil-free fried rice. You can adjust the amounts to suit your liking, but start with the amounts I listed in the recipe card below.

Be sure to check the ingredients and labels if you need gluten-free options or perhaps a low-sodium soy sauce.

If you prefer to avoid soy, coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari sauce can be used, you will need to add salt to suit.

Scallions (green onions) and sesame seeds to garnish, I do recommend the scallion as it adds more flavor.

Traditional fried rice normally calls for the use of sesame oil (or vegetable oil - like in Korean Gochujang fried rice or zucchini fried rice), which is why I sometimes toast my sesame seeds before sprinkling them on top to boost the sesame flavor. 

Optional, from time to time, depending on my mood, I have tossed in some tofu scramble with chickpea flour or diced firm tofu for some additional vegan protein. 

Crushed garlic can also be added. Add this to taste, when adding in the vegetables. Or try this garlic fried rice.

Storage

I love making a big batch of this simple recipe so that it can be enjoyed the next day too.

Allow the oil-free fried rice to cool down to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

More Oil-Free Vegan Recipes

I have a many oil-free recipes on my site, some that I know you will love include sticky maple brussels sprouts without oil. Or try these sauteed beet leaves without oil.

For a something refreshing, try my smacked spicy cucumber salad.

Recipe