Zucchini and Egg Fried Rice

This super quick, easy, and delicious Zucchini and Egg Fried Rice can be made in 20 minutes. Perfect for lunch or the lunchbox.

Fried rice is comfort food for those of us who consider rice as a staple. Since we cook rice on a daily basis, there is a high chance that we would have some leftover rice in the refrigerator. This makes preparing fried rice very quick and easy. A hot delicious meal can be ready in under 20 minutes.

Vegetables in Fried Rice

While there are a few classic and favorite combinations of ingredients for fried rice, the possibilities are almost endless. Any firm vegetables like cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, corn, green beans, green peas, and peppers to name a few, are good ingredients for fried rice. Never use tomatoes or cucumbers as these vegetables give out a lot of water which will cause your fried rice to be soggy, and that is not a good thing.

While cucumbers are generally not used in fried rice, zucchinis on the other hand work really well. In fact, zucchinis are great in fried rice because they are firm and easy to prepare. Zucchinis also combine well with eggs, hence this super quick and easy Zucchini and Egg Fried Rice. The first time I ever tasted zucchinis in fried rice was in Sydney, Australia at a distant relative’s home. It was delicious and I have loved it since!

Protein in Fried Rice

Quick and easy options for fried rice are bacon, ham, sausage, roasted meats like char siu, shrimp, canned meats like Spam, and even canned sardines. These protein need very little prep work and they taste great in fried rice.

Eggs in Fried Rice

Eggs are the favorite protein in fried rice, so much so that many think eggs are an essential ingredient. That is not the case as you can most certainly prepare fried rice without eggs. There is hardly any prep work needed for eggs and they are so inexpensive and easily available.

There are different ways though to incorporate eggs in fried rice and they fall in 3 broad methods. It is more of a preference as there is no right and wrong method.
1. The eggs are likely beaten and fried into an omelet which is then broken or torn up with the spatula. Some will even remove the omelet from the wok and only return it to the wok towards the end of stir frying.
2. The eggs can be cracked directly into the wok (or lightly beaten) and rice added on top so that the rice is coated with the eggs and stir fried until the rice is dry, fluffy, and fragrant.
3. An egg is fried and place on top of the fried rice.

My preferred method is the method #2. I like my fried rice grains to be coated with egg because the egg coated grains are so fragrant and delicious. This is why you see me adding the rice onto egg that is barely set. As such, I also seldom cook fried rice without eggs unless I have had my quota of eggs for the week.

Cooked Rice for Fried Rice

Nothing can be more disastrous than soggy fried rice or fried rice that clumps together. The best rice to use is day old rice or leftover rice in the refrigerator which has had a chance to dry up a little. If you do not have leftover rice, try cooking your rice with a ¼ cup (60ml) less water than the water you would usually use. Once the rice is cooked, let it sit for 10 minutes. Then, fluff the rice with chopsticks or a fork and leave the lid open until it is more or less cool. Place cool rice in the refrigerator uncovered until ready to be used.

Tools Used in Making This Zucchini and Egg Fried Rice

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Hand Hammered 14 inch, Round Bottom Carbon Steel Pow Wok with Bamboo Handle
Traditional Heavy Gauge Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok (14 inch, round bottom)
Traditional Carbon Steel Wok, Hand Hammered (14 inch, round bottom)
Carbon Steel Hand Hammered 14 inch Flat Bottom Wok (Gauge – 1.2mm)
Carbon Steel Wok 12-inch, flat bottom
Traditional Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Pow Wok (12 inch, Round bottom)

5 from 2 votes

Zucchini and Egg Fried Rice

This super quick, easy, and delicious Zucchini and Egg Fried Rice can be made in 20 minutes. Perfect for lunch or the lunchbox.

Author : Linda Ooi

Course : Main Dish

Cuisine : Chinese

Keyword : egg fried rice, zucchini fried rice

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Servings : 2

Calories : 512kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 small carrot (diced)
• 1 small zucchini (diced)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups cooked white rice (preferably kept overnight)
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• Salt to taste
• 4 green onions / spring onions (thinly sliced at a diagonal)

Instructions

 

• In a wok or large fry pan, heat vegetable oil. Saute garlic for 30 seconds.
• Add carrots and zucchini. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
  
• Push the vegetables to the side of the wok or large fry pan. Lightly beat the eggs and pour into the wok or fry pan. Allow eggs to set.
• When eggs are almost set, add rice over the eggs and vegetables.
  
• Add ground pepper and soy sauce. Stir to get everything well mixed. This will take 3 to 4 minutes.
  
• Half way through stir frying, add salt to taste. Continue to stir fry until rice is dry and fluffy.
• Stir in sliced green onions. Turn off stove.
  
• Dish into bowls and serve immediately.
  

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 512kcal

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Quick and Easy Zucchini and Egg Fried Rice

If you are in a pinch and need to make a quick and easy meal, try this Zucchini and Egg Fried Rice. It is quick, easy, and delicious!

NOTE: The original publication of this post was on January 25th, 2013. This republication comes with minor changes to the recipe, a new writeup, and video.