Burnt Garlic Mushroom Fried Rice My Food Story

on Jul 21, 2020, Updated Jul 03, 2024 After a long day of work, some days I don’t feel like cooking at all. And that’s when I quickly whip up the perfect 15 minute recipe – mushroom fried rice. We LOVE mushrooms so much that I always have at least 1-2 packs of button mushrooms in the fridge, and a couple varieties of dried mushrooms – shiitake, oysters, porcinis etc! Because they are such a great way to add flavour, texture and taste. Anyone else loves their meaty taste? And mushrooms and garlic? Match made in heaven! Love Fried Rice? Also try my Veg Fried Rice, Egg Fried Rice Recipe, Thai Pineapple Fried Rice and Schezwan Fried Rice

Prepping Rice for Fried Rice (so it’s not sticky)

Any vegetarian fried rice is great, unless the rice gets mushy and sticky. If you have leftover rice in the fridge – that’s perfect for a fried rice recipe! Rice grains tend to dry a little and firm up once they’ve been refrigerated which is exactly what we need. If you’re using freshly cooked rice just for the burnt garlic mushroom fried rice, make sure to air it out to remove moisture. You can spread the rice in a tray and leave it under the fan or refrigerate it for a couple of hours before making the fried rice.

Mushrooms and More

I love adding mushrooms in my fried rice. Especially when they’ve been stir fried and caramelized in the process. Button mushrooms are one of my favourite varieties ingredients for fried rice because they add an earthy flavour with a chewy texture. I’ve also used shiitake mushrooms in this recipe for an extra boost of umami and that meaty, chewy texture. You can choose to add oyster mushrooms or cremini or any other variety that you have on hand. Remember to wash mushrooms well. There’s a lot of dirt in the crevices. If you are using dried shiitake mushrooms, soak them in hot water for about 20 minutes before cooking. The best thing about fried rice is that just about ANY additional ingredients will taste good! I’ve made a vegetarian mushroom rice stir fry, but here are other ingredients that will taste great!

Shredded chicken or pieces of chicken breast for more proteinScramble a couple of eggs along with the rice for a quick egg mushroom fried rice. We have a basic egg fried rice recipe that you can use as reference!Prawns and shrimp are amazing additions tooAny other veggies like peas, juliennes of carrot, green beans, peppers and cabbage for a veggie loaded bowl of fried rice!

Getting Everything in Place before Starting

To make burnt garlic mushroom fried rice, I am using a wok. The cooking time is about 15 minutes, and it’s really all about just adding the ingredients one after another. So, it’s good to do your prep before starting off. Here are some tips to get everything in place:

Make sure the rice is properly aired out (for fresh rice) and refrigerated for a whileSlice the button mushroomsSoak the dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes to rehydrate them. Then, take them out and squeeze the excess water and cut themSlice garlic cloves thinly which helps them cook evenly plus garlic chips are amazing!Finely chop onions, spring onions, celery, green chillies, and other ingredients you wish to addKeep ingredients like soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil measured and readyThough I usually don’t add MSG, you can add this for instant umami flavour enhancement!

So that’s how simple it is to make burnt garlic mushroom rice! SO easy and SO satisfying for a lazy meal! Try this recipe and let me know your favourite version of fried rice in the comments below!