This fried rice with mushrooms recipe is much easier to make at home than you might think. It can be ready in 15 minutes, creates minimal washing-up and makes a tasty side dish or stand-alone main course.
Do you have a favourite side dish when it comes to Chinese food? Mine is, without a doubt, egg fried rice with mushrooms. The tender, flaky rice, the hint of egg and a burst of extra veggies keeps me happy time after time.
Lightly seasoned, this fried rice recipe is fresh tasting and a great accompaniment to so many main dishes. It makes fantastic bowl food for a cosy night in too. Just add a comfy sofa and a warm blanket.
Why Make Fried Rice with Mushrooms?
Making your own fried rice with mushrooms is easy, fast (15 minutes) and requires just one pan. In a nutshell, it's a very low maintenance kind of recipe.
The rice can be served either as a main course in itself or as a side dish. And it is also a great base to expand from. Feel like adding a little chicken or some prawns? That's fine. Want to bulk it out with more vegetables? Go ahead.
Mushroom fried rice also a great way to use up an abundance of leftover rice (though if you only have a bit of rice to use up try it in mulligatawny soup instead).
Ingredients
The key component of this recipe is the rice itself. The best type to use is rice that has been cooked already, cooled quickly and then refrigerated.
Rice that is freshly cooked and still warm has a tendency to form clumps in the pan, whereas cold rice will fall apart more easily, resulting in a delightfully flaky final dish.
I've used white basmati in this mushroom fried rice recipe, but long-grain or brown rice can also be used. You can buy packs of pre-cooked rice but it's also easy to make your own.
The type of mushrooms used is entirely up to you. I enjoy chestnut mushrooms in this dish for their deep colour and robust flavour. Feel free to use any type of mushroom you enjoy or go for a mix. Slice and chop them depending on size.
I've used frozen peas but it's fine to use fresh ones too. If using fresh peas blanch them for 2-3 minutes in boiling water then drain before adding to the pan.
Step by Step Instructions
This recipe assumes that you are using pre-cooked rice. If making your own, once cooked, spread the rice onto a large plate, allow to cool completely and then refrigerate as soon as possible. This allows the rice to dry out and when it goes into the pan it will fall apart easily.
Please do not use warm rice in this recipe - the results will be inferior.
To make the fried rice with mushrooms follow these 5 steps:
1. Prepare the vegetables: slice or chop the mushrooms, mince the ginger and garlic and finely slice the spring onions and chives
2. Put a little oil into a wok or frying pan and cook the mushrooms over a medium-high heat for 2 minutes, stirring almost continuously. Add the minced garlic and ginger and fry for 1 more minute. When the mushrooms are cooked through take them out of the pan and keep them warm
3. Add a little more oil to the pan. Crack the egg into a small bowl and break up the yolk with a fork, then tip into the pan and stir, using a silicon spatula, until it begins to scramble and set slightly
4. Tip the rice and peas into the pan and stir/ toss until everything is cooked through (around 3 minutes). It is important to keep the ingredients on the move to ensure everything cooks evenly
5. Sprinkle the pepper over the rice then add the mushrooms (drained from any cooking liquid), spring onion and chives into the pan along with the rice vinegar and soy sauce. Give everything a good stir and cook for 1 more minute
The mushroom fried rice is ready to serve. Provide bowls with extra onion, herbs and soy sauce alongside for diners to help themselves to.
Tips and FAQs
Expert Tips
I cannot stress enough how much using pre-cooked rice simplifies making fried rice with mushrooms and helps guarantee success. But here are a few more tips:
- Do prepare all the vegetables before cooking starts. Once cooking begins there is very little time for chopping
- Use a variety of mushrooms for added interest. Shiitake and oyster mushrooms would be worthy additions
- There is no need to defrost frozen peas. Raw peas would benefit from being cooked briefly in boiling water though (3 minutes)
- Break the egg into a bowl and beat briefly to break up the yolk before adding to the pan. The egg will start to cook as soon as it hits the pan, so beating before it is poured in helps to achieve a better scramble
- Keep the egg constantly on the move once it goes into the pan - a silicon spatula does a great job here
- The seasoning (pepper, rice vinegar and soy sauce) can be adjusted up or down to suit tastes/ needs. Note: the recipe specifies quantities to produce a light seasoning. It is sufficient not to overpower any other dishes this rice might accompany. A little additional seasoning may be preferable if this dish is intended as the main course itself
Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all. Your pre-cooked rice can be added straight to the pan in this mushroom fried rice recipe. It does, however, need to be cooked until piping hot.
UK Food Standards Agency guidelines state that rice should only ever be reheated once. Since this dish uses pre-cooked rice that is then heated again in the recipe I do not recommend reheating leftovers.
By all means, the egg can be left out. Doing so will turn this recipe into vegan mushroom fried rice. In this instance, I'd suggest adding in several handfuls of frozen sweetcorn at the same time as the peas to boost the colour of the dish and provide a little extra protein.
Serving Suggestions and Variations
This fried rice with mushrooms is a flavourful and satisfying dish just as it is. But to ring the changes try the following suggestions:
- top with finely diced red chilli, chopped peanuts and coriander in place of the chives
- sauté a few finely sliced strips of chicken or a handful of prawns and stir in with the mushrooms
- add some frozen sweetcorn along with the peas to increase the vegetables
- create a feast of dishes to accompany the rice. Try Kung Pao chicken, garlic pork & green beans and chilli-garlic prawns
More Tempting Rice Dishes
Take a look at the following ways to include a little more rice in your meals:
Have you made this mushroom fried rice recipe? Did you know commenting and rating recipes is one of the best ways you can support your favourite food bloggers? Let me know what you thought of this recipe in the comments below and don’t forget to show me a picture of it on Instagram – use #littlesugarsnaps and tag me @jane_littlesugarsnaps.
Mushroom Fried Rice with Egg and Peas
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Groundnut oil or other flavourless oil
- 100 g Chestnut mushrooms
- 1 Garlic clove
- 1 Piece ginger the size of a cherry tomato
- 1 Egg large, free range
- 250 g Pre-cooked basmati rice must also be cooled/ chilled
- 75 g Peas frozen is fine
- ⅛ tsp Black pepper
- 3 Spring onions
- 2 tbsp Chives chopped
- 1 tsp Rice vinegar
- 1½ tbsp Light soy sauce
Instructions
- Prepare all the vegetables and herbs before cooking begins: slice or chop the mushrooms, mince the ginger & garlic and finely slice the spring onions & chives
- Put 1 tbsp oil into a wok or frying pan and cook the mushrooms over a medium-high heat for 2 minutes, stirring almost continuously. Add the minced garlic and ginger and fry for 1 more minute. When the mushrooms are cooked through take them out of the pan and keep them warm
- Add the rest of the oil to the pan. Crack the egg into a small bowl and break up the yolk with a fork, then tip into the pan and stir, using a silicon spatula, until it begins to scramble and set slightly
- Crumble the pre-cooked rice into the pan, add the peas and stir/ toss until everything is cooked through (around 3 minutes). It is important to keep the ingredients on the move to ensure everything cooks evenly and does not stick to the pan
- Sprinkle the pepper over the pan then add the mushrooms (drained from any cooking liquid), ⅔ of the spring onion and ½ of the chives into the pan along with the rice vinegar and soy sauce. Give everything a good stir and cook for 1 minute
- Serve the rice straight away with the remaining onion and chives in small bowls plus a bottle of soy sauce alongside for diners to help themselves to
Notes
Cooking Tips
I cannot stress enough how much using pre-cooked rice simplifies this fried rice recipe and helps guarantee success. But here are a few more tips:- Do prepare all the vegetables before cooking starts. Once cooking begins there is very little time to chop the vegetables
- Use a variety of mushrooms for added interest. Shiitake and oyster mushrooms would be worthy additions
- There is no need to defrost frozen peas. Raw peas would benefit from being cooked briefly in boiling water (3 minutes)
- Break the egg into a bowl and beat briefly to break up the yolk before adding to the pan. The scramble will be better than if the egg is cracked directly into the pan and then beaten as the egg starts to cook as soon as it hits the hot pan
- Keep the egg constantly on the move once it goes into the pan – a silicon spatula does a great job here
- The seasoning (pepper, rice vinegar and soy sauce) can be adjusted up or down to suit tastes/ needs. The recipe specifies quantities to produce a light seasoning, sufficient not to overpower any other dishes this rice might accompany. A little additional seasoning may be preferable if this dish is intended as the main course itself
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