Written by: Nicole Majewsi
Edited by: Eleanor Jeavons
Designed by: Andria Sahar
Published by: Rayna Almas
This summer, I wanted to try something new. And, with barely any cooking experience, learning to make a dish felt like the perfect challenge! After some research, stir-fry started to stand out; it’s minimalistic, straightforward to cook, and perfect for a rice lover like me. And, I figured, this doesn’t just have to be a learning experience for me—I could also turn this into a guide to help other amateur chefs get started!
While I set out to make a vegetable stir fry with rice, I found that most recipes leaned more toward fried rice instead. But eventually, I found two beginner-friendly options: Easy Vegetable Stir Fry with Rice and Vegetable Stir Fry, which I’ll be referencing in this guide while also adding my own touches.
With all that out of the way, who’s ready to stir-fry something new?
What You’ll Need
First off, cooking utensils. Being primarily a pan dish, stir fry luckily doesn’t require much:
- Wok — This is a special pan with a unique shape that makes it perfect for stir-frying, but if you don’t have one, a skillet or frying pan will work fine too.
- Wooden spoon — For stirring the vegetables while they’re cooking.
- Cutting board & knife — To chop your veggies.
- Pot with Lid — For cooking the rice.
- Large Bowl — To rinse the rice.
- Plate — For cooling the rice.
- Fork — For fluffing the rice.
Once you have all that set up, you’re ready to find all of your ingredients. Now, stir-fry is a diverse dish. You can use any combination of vegetables alongside your rice, but here’s what I’ll be using:
- White rice, 1 cup.
- Bell pepper, 1.
- Medium carrot, 1.
- Small onion, 1.
- Broccoli florets, 1 cup.
- Zucchini, 1 cup.
- Frozen green peas, 1 cup.
- Vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons.
- Garlic clove, 1.
- Salt & pepper.
Preparation
Before you get into cooking, you’ll need to prepare. This involves getting your raw ingredients chopped, diced, et cetera. Sounds like a lot, right? Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it.
- Wash the vegetables in warm water.
- Cut the vegetables. Get your bell pepper, carrot, onion, and broccoli. Using your knife, chop them all up into bite-sized pieces. If you’re unfamiliar with knife work, I would recommend finding a quick tutorial online on how to safely use this tool. Next, dice your zucchini, which means chop it into extra-small pieces, ideally into small cubes. Finally, mince your garlic clove—basically, cut it into pieces as small as you can make them.
- Rinse the rice. Get your rice and bowl. Place the rice into the bowl, and fill it with cold water until all the grains are submerged. Next, stir and mix the rice with your hand—this should cause the water to become cloudy, because you’re rubbing off all the excess starch. Once you’ve swirled it enough, place your hand over the rice to stop it from falling out, and tilt the bowl over a sink to allow the water to drain. Repeat this process once or twice more.
- Cook the rice. Pour your rice into your pot, and add 2 cups of water. Turn up the heat on your stove and wait for the rice to boil. Once it does, place the lid back onto the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Let the rice simmer until all the water in the pot is absorbed—this should take about 15 minutes. Then, turn off the stove and move the pot onto a counter, making sure to keep the lid on. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff the rice using your fork.
- Cool the rice. Using the wooden spoon, scrape the rice out of the pot onto your plate. Spread out the rice as much as possible over it, into a thin layer, and then place the plate in the fridge. Leave the rice to cool there for 10-30 minutes (the longer it cools, the better) before moving on to the next step.
Cooking
Now that you have everything you need ready, you can start cooking!
- Heat the oil. Pour your vegetable oil into your pan. Then, turn your stove on to medium-high heat. Add your chopped onion and minced garlic to the pan. This helps add some fragrance that your rice will absorb as soon as you put it in.
- Add the vegetables. Start with your green peas, letting them cook for about 1 minute. This initial step is important because peas take the longest to cook out of all your vegetables. So, don’t add anything else until that minute is up, or you might end up having your other ingredients overcooked. Next, add your chopped carrot and broccoli to the pan—these take the second-longest to cook. Then, add the bell pepper, zucchini, and peas. Cook all of this for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously as they sizzle. If you want to make sure your vegetables are extra soft, you can leave them in for as long as 3 minutes. Just keep an eye on them and wait until they’re the texture you want.
- Set the vegetables aside. Using your wooden spoon, scrape your vegetables onto your plate. Don’t turn off your stove yet, because you still need to…
- Stir-fry the rice! Retrieve your now-cooled rice from the fridge, and place it in the pan. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously using the spoon.
- Combine everything. Add the vegetables back into the pan and cook everything together for a final 3 minutes, remembering to stir. Add salt and pepper.
Serving & Storage
Congratulations, you’ve just made your very first stir fry! You’re now ready to put it onto a plate, sit down, and enjoy! If you happen to have any leftovers, you’ll want to store them in an airtight container in the fridge—they can stay there for up to 4 days. When ready to eat, you can reheat them in a pan or microwave!
I hope you found this guide helpful and that what you’ve accomplished with it will inspire you to keep cooking! Remember, with the right recipe, it’s never as hard as you think.
References
https://lifemadesimplebakes.com/vegetable-stir-fry/
https://mollyshomeguide.com/easy-vegetable-stir-fry-with-rice-42203/
Image References
https://www.wannapik.com/vectors/7177