Vegan Japanese Fried Rice
Quick, umami-rich vegan Japanese fried rice (chahan) with tofu and vegetables. Ready in under 30 minutes and easy to adapt to whatever’s in your fridge.
Servings: 2
Calories: 584kcal
Ingredients
- 400 g cooked japanese rice cold/refridgerated day old rice is ideal
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon sunflower oil or neutral cooking oil
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- ½ red pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cm piece of ginger
- 1 spring onion for garnish
- 100 g peas frozen
- 80 g sweetcorn frozen
- 280 g tofu extra firm
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 2 tablespoon soya sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 6 leaves pak choy optional
- ½ small red chilli optional
- Rayu (La-yu) chilli oil optional
- 3-4 pieces of pickled ginger optional
Instructions
- Dice onion into 1 cm cubes
- Finely slice the garlic (you can use a garlic crusher if easier)
- Peel the ginger and mince roughly
- Slice and dice your red pepper
- Peel and cube your carrot (1cm cubes)
- Finely slice your celery (rough mince)
- Finely slice your spring onion (for garnish)
- Finely slice your chilli (into discs)
- Chop tofu into 1cm squares
- Heat your oils in a frying pan over a medium heat
- Stir-fry the onion, garlic until golden then add ginger
- Add the carrot, pepper and celery and season with a big pinch of salt and pepper
- Turn up the heat and add your tofu, a tablespoon of soy frying until a little seared
- Next add the peas and sweetcorn, half a crumbled stock cube and mirin. Fry for a further 3 minutes
- Add the rice and drizzle over the remainder of soya sauce and the sugar
- Keep frying until all the colour has combined and ingredients are slightly seared
- Serve in your favourite bowl and garnish with chilli, optional soy-seared pak choy, spring onion, and homemade pickled ginger
Notes
Here are some punchy, recipe-card-ready notes:
Day-old rice works best. Freshly cooked rice is too moist and will steam instead of fry. If cooking rice fresh, spread it on a plate and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes first. Press your tofu. Wrap it in kitchen paper and press for a few minutes before cubing. This helps it brown properly rather than steam. Get the pan really hot. High heat is key to crispy rice and good colour on the tofu and veg. A wok or cast iron pan works best. Don't over-stir. Let the rice sit undisturbed for 30–60 seconds at a time so it can crisp at the edges. Frozen veg goes in straight from the freezer. No need to thaw peas or sweetcorn — they'll cook through quickly in the hot pan. Gluten-free? Swap soy sauce for tamari — same flavour, no gluten. Drizzle soy sauce evenly over the rice and toss quickly to avoid any salty patches. Serve immediately. Fried rice is best hot straight from the pan.
Day-old rice works best. Freshly cooked rice is too moist and will steam instead of fry. If cooking rice fresh, spread it on a plate and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes first. Press your tofu. Wrap it in kitchen paper and press for a few minutes before cubing. This helps it brown properly rather than steam. Get the pan really hot. High heat is key to crispy rice and good colour on the tofu and veg. A wok or cast iron pan works best. Don't over-stir. Let the rice sit undisturbed for 30–60 seconds at a time so it can crisp at the edges. Frozen veg goes in straight from the freezer. No need to thaw peas or sweetcorn — they'll cook through quickly in the hot pan. Gluten-free? Swap soy sauce for tamari — same flavour, no gluten. Drizzle soy sauce evenly over the rice and toss quickly to avoid any salty patches. Serve immediately. Fried rice is best hot straight from the pan.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 bowl | Calories: 584kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 1248mg | Potassium: 936mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 8529IU | Vitamin C: 104mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 4mg
