Got a WINNER of a fried rice dinner for you today. Like, put down your cold sandwich and break out your wok…or nonstick skillet if you’re wok-less. And if that’s case, do yourself a favor and get a Curtis Stone wok, which I had to publicly humiliate myself to receive (#worthit). I know some of you are rolling your eyes at the millionth mention of the time I met Curtis Stone, but I don’t care because I MET CURTIS STONE. And he kissed my cheek twice. And he smelled so good. I know.
Anyway, back to this fried rice. It pretty much looks like every other fried rice you’ve seen on this site and perhaps in existence, but it’s not. It’s 100% not. Sure, you’ve got your classic combo of cooked rice, veggies, and protein (I used shrimp,) but the glue that’s keeping everything together is a tongue-tickling homemade teriyaki sauce that takes just 5 minutes to make. 5 minutes!
I don’t know about you but I always skip over recipes that call for teriyaki sauce because a.) I don’t want to buy an entire bottle that will inevitably sit in the fridge for a year developing a disgusting gummy crust around the lid preventing me from being able to open it back up again, just for one recipe and b.) because that stuff is junk!
Too sweet, too expensive, too just, ick.
My homemade sauce, though, is made with ingredients I promise you already own, is just sweet enough, and doesn’t contain pineapple juice. I love me some pineapple, it’s one of my kryptonite foods, but for some reason it annoys me to no end when I see teriyaki recipes that call for pineapple juice. What am I supposed to do with the rest of the can?! Trust me, I know this is a weird thing to get riled up about.
Anyway, I made this Teriyaki Fried Rice earlier this week and both Ben and I went nuts for it. After the tenth, “This is bomb, baby!” from Ben I had to tell him to cool it. That is to say, this recipe is going into regular rotation at our house.
I’m calling this recipe a 20 minute meal if you use rice you’ve cooked the day or night before. If that’s the case then yes, dinner will absolutely be on the table in 20 minutes. If you need to cook fresh rice, it’ll be more like 45 minutes but since rice doesn’t need baby sitting while it’s cooking, your active cooking time should still remain relatively the same. Go for it!
Start by cooking 1-1/2 cups brown rice in 3 cups chicken broth. I used short-grain brown rice, but you could use long grain if that’s what you have on hand. You could also use white rice but be sure to decrease the amount of chicken broth by 1/4 cup as white rice doesn’t need as much liquid as brown rice. Rice rice rice.
Bring the chicken broth to a boil then add the rice, place a lid on top, and then turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until tender, 40-45 minutes. Note: to get this dish on the table in 20 minutes, use 4-1/2 cups leftover cooked rice. Fried rice actually tastes better if you use cold rice from the day before!
Next get to work on the homemade teriykai sauce. I promise you, this sauce will blow your everloving mind.
To a skillet or saucepan combine 1/4 cup gluten-free Tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce,) 2 Tablespoons water, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 1 Tablespoon mirin (or any sweet wine,) 2 teaspoons brown sugar, 2 cloves minced garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger. Cook the mixture over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves, 2-3 minutes.
Next drizzle in 1 teaspoon cornstarch stirred into 2 teaspoons water then let the mixture cook for another minute or so, just until it’s slightly thickened. That’s it! Homemade teriyaki sauce in under 5 minutes. Who knew?
Set the sauce aside while you get to stir frying. Heat 1 teaspoon grapeseed, wok, or other high-heat oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat then add 8oz chopped protein lightly seasoned with garlic salt and pepper. I used chopped raw shrimp but you could use chicken, pork, steak, or tofu. Stir fry until the shrimp is pink and bouncy, 1-2 minutes, then remove to a plate and set aside.
Heat another teaspoon oil in the wok then add 1 cup sweet corn kernels, 1/2 cup peas, and 2 chopped green onions then stir fry until they’re heated through, 2-3 minutes.
Finally, add the cooked rice, shrimp, and teriyaki sauce back into the wok and toss to combine.
I legitimately could have eaten this entire wok…!
Scoop the rice into bowls then devour!
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Teriyaki Fried Rice
Description
Gluten-free Teriyaki Fried Rice is made with a simple yet outstanding homemade teriyaki sauce. Use leftover rice and dinner will be on the table in 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups gluten-free brown rice (long or short-grain)
- 3 cups gluten-free chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons grapeseed, wok, or other high-heat oil, divided
- 8oz chopped shrimp, chicken, pork, or steak
- garlic salt and pepper
- 1 cup sweet corn kernels
- 1/2 cup peas
- 2 green onions, chopped
- For the Teriyaki Sauce:
- 1/4 cup gluten-free Tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce)
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoon mirin (or sweet wine)
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2Â teaspoons water
Directions
- Bring chicken broth to a boil then add rice, place a lid on top, turn heat down to medium-low, and then cook until rice is tender, 40-45 minutes. Alternatively you could use 4-1/2Â cups cold, leftover rice.
- Meanwhile, combine teriyaki sauce ingredients EXCEPT for the cornstarch and water in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat then cook until sugar is dissolved, 2-3Â minutes. Stir together cornstarch and water in a small dish then drizzle into sauce mixture and cook until thickened and bubbly, 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat a large, nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat then add 1 teaspoon oil. Lightly season protein of choice with garlic salt and pepper then add to wok and stir fry until cooked through. Remove to plate then set aside.
- Heat remaining teaspoon oil in the wok then add corn, peas and green onions. Stir fry until heated through and tender, 3-4 minutes, then add rice, cooked protein, and teriyaki sauce and then toss to combine.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Salty with that signature teriyaki-sweetness, this fried rice is incredible. My favorite fried rice recipe to date. Hope you enjoy, too!
Laurel Loves 05.25.2014
Oooh this looks totally delicious, really healthy too. Will try this out!
Emily 05.24.2014
Can I just say…I feel like I was one of the first people obsessed with Curtis Stone. I used to watch Take Home Chef when I was younger and dream that he would “pick me up” in the super market ;) And I am a sucker for Aussie accents!
Susan the farm quilter 05.24.2014
I love your recipes. but hubs can’t eat rice so I won’t get to try this one for him, but when I go to visit my dad, I’ll be fixing this for him! Loved the pictures of you with Curtis – you never looked scared on stage!
Kayla @ Lettuce Talk About... 05.23.2014
AWESOME fried rice! Saw the recipe this afternoon and knew I would be making it for dinner. Being vegan, I loved that this fried rice recipe didn’t include eggs! A few changes I made were: cooking the rice in a rice cooker (while I went to the market, SO EASY!!). I also sautéed some roughly chopped mushrooms in a little sesame oil, soy sauce, S&P for an Asian flavor instead of meat/seafood. YUM YUM YUM! Thank you for this super.eary.recipe!!
Kristin 05.25.2014
So glad you enjoyed, Kayla!!
Linda 05.23.2014
It looks great! Lovely illustrations.
VickiT 05.23.2014
Thank you so much. This looks SO good.
I had to laugh at your comment about the pineapple juice; I’m sorry. The reason that stuck my funny bone is that I have had that same feeling for years when needing 1 tablespoon of tomato paste in a recipe. Of course, now you can buy that in a tube similar to toothpaste! Problem solved although it’s much more expensive that way. I read a tip years ago and this will help you maybe with the Pineapple Juice problem. You can put the rest of the, in my case, tomato paste into an ice cube tray putting 1-2 tablespoons in each hole and freeze it. Then when frozen, put the frozen tomato paste ‘cubes’ into a freezer bag and save for the next recipe needing such a small amount instead of having to open an entire can then toss it. There is no reason you couldn’t do the very same thing with the Pineapple Juice as well. With the Pineapple juice frozen cubes, if you ever make punch, you can drop those into the punch bowl to help keep it cool and as they melt, they’ll just add a Pineapple flavor instead of diluting it if you used regular ice cubes. You can also buy the Pineapple Juice in the smaller 6 pack of 6 ounce cans too. Anytime I have leftover Pineapple Juice, I pour it into a glass and then add Squirt or another type of soda to make a refreshing drink.
Anyway, I’ll shut up now. Thank you again for such a great looking recipe.
Polly @ Tasty Food Project 05.23.2014
Yum! This looks so flavorful and I like how it only takes 20 minutes to prepare! I love quick and simple meals!
Isobel 05.23.2014
Yummmmm!!!!! I just came across this blog and you definitely have a new follower. :) x
Chicago Jogger 05.23.2014
Yum! On lazy nights, my husband and I end up dining on the SUPER easy Trader Joe’s fried rice (you know, the frozen stuff in a bag…) We fancy it up with egg and extra veggies. But, this looks way tastier.
erin @hooleywithaz 05.23.2014
i NEED to pull the trigger and just make the easy fried rice already. i’m thinking maybe this week on our stir-fry night. looks SO good.
Joanna Gehrke 05.23.2014
Cannot wait to make this! Thanks Kristin! Also, I hate to admit I am a bit relieved that you won’t be 100% sugar free for the blog! Whew!(does this mean I am an addict and I probably should be looking into the program?) haha :)
Jackie 05.23.2014
Mouth. is. Watering….
Erin | The Law Student's Wife 05.23.2014
This is the exact kind of dinner I love. Simple, flavorful, and healthy too! Take out has nothing on you lady!
Katie 05.23.2014
Suggestion for remaining pineapple juice from making teriyaki sauce: cocktails.
That is all. :)
Erica 05.23.2014
This looks delicious! Have you tried the America’s Test Kitchen method for oven baked brown rice? It’s so simple and makes dinner prep and baby wrangling easier :-)
Sherri@The Well Floured Kitchen 05.23.2014
Is it embarrassing to admit that I googled Curtis Stone because I had no idea? I guess I’m not too much of a tv watcher. But his website looks intriguing. Just placed a hold on one of his cookbooks from the library.
Love any sauce that only takes 5 minutes. This dish looks delicious!
Danielle 05.23.2014
I’ve been looking for a good fried rice recipe. This looks delicious! I made your PF Changs lettuce wraps the other day my husband and I ate the whole batch that night. So good!
Haley @Cupcakes and Sunshine 05.23.2014
OHHH YUM! This sounds incredible!!!
Laura @ Raise Your Garden 05.23.2014
Now that you said it, the teriyaki store version is pretty gross, which makes me now wonder why I always marinate my chicken in that stuff. hmmmm. Time to chuck the yucky stuff in the fridge. Too sweet. Too sticky.
I appreciate how I can use my leftover rice in this recipe. I always make the expensive Near East variety of rice (Because we do love that kind) but it’s like 2 bucks a box here. I hate throwing away the extra! Now I can make this and be happy.
Amanda 05.23.2014
This looks amazing! I’ve been disappointed by the pre-made teriyaki sauces at the grocery store too, so I hope this works out better :)