
Fried rice Pad Thai style
A vegetarian fried rice with the flavours of Pad Thai that comes together quickly with whatever vegetables you have in the fridge.
I LOVE pad thai, in fact all vegetarian thai food. What is not to love?? Its sweet, tangy, spicy, salty all in one bite. And pad thai as a noodle dish is popular for a reason, it’s got everything. Crunch, texture and above all, a perfect balance of flavours.
This recipe originated as I had nothing else in the fridge except 1 carrot, half a cabbage, and 1 capsicum and some leftover rice. And Sunday being my off day from kitchen, I wasn’t going shopping. So here is where my quick fried rice with the flavours of pad thai come in play.
Not only this recipe is quick and delicious but it is also highly customizable. Use whatever is left in your fridge and make a delicious peanutty rice that everyone will enjoy. Eat it hot or even at a room temperature making it a perfect meal to enjoy on the go. And in case, you need some more delicious ideas like this which is container friendly, check ‘lunch box ideas’ on my Instagram highlights.
And as I mentioned earlier, this rice is highly customizable. As for example, following few vegetables would taste equally great in this rice:
- Beans
- Snap peas
- Baby corn
- Bean sprouts
- Tofu or paneer
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Baby spinach
- Bok choy
Depending on the vegetable you choose, you may have to cook it a bit longer or just a quick fry. For example, if you were to put bean sprouts and/or zucchini and/or baby spinach or bok choy, do so right at the end of cooking as they cook/wilt very quickly. However, if you were to put paneer/tofu, stir frying it in a different pan with salt and pepper or soy sauce would give it a rich brown crust which would add so much texture and flavour to your rice.

I love recipes which are adaptable and this rice with pad thai flavours, the Gujarati delicacy – muthia and handvo are all that and more. Use what you have in the fridge and make a delicious meal in manner of minutes.
If you are looking for a step by step process video of this recipe, do check ‘Fried rice’ in highlights of my Instagram account.
If you have enjoyed this recipe, you might some of these interesting as well:
Recipe Card
Fried rice Pad Thai style
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AUTHOR
Hema B Kathrani
CUISINE
Asian
PREP TIME
5 minutes
COOK TIME
10 minutes
SERVINGS
serves 3-4
Author: Hema B Kathrani | Cuisine: Asian | Category: Mains
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Servings: serves 3-4
A vegetarian fried rice with the flavours of Pad Thai that comes together quickly with whatever vegetables you have in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked and completely cooled long grain rice
- 3 tbsp oil, preferably peanut
- Base aromatics:
- ½ inch ginger
- ½ inch turmeric (optional)
- 1 tsp coriander root
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 green chili
- Veggies:
- ½ cup sliced onions
- ½ cup capsicum sliced
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 1 carrot julienned
- For the sauce
- 4 tbsp peanut butter *see notes
- 2 tsp soya sauce
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp water
- ¼ tsp red chili powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup crushed roasted peanuts, sliced green onions, coriander and lemon for garnishing
Method
- Prep:
- Chop all the base aromatics in a fine dice.
- In a bowl, combine all the ingredients listed under sauce and make a sauce.
- Keep all the vegetables prepped as the rice comes together quickly.
- Make the rice:
- In a wok or a large pan, put oil to heat on a medium to high flame.
- Once hot, fry the aromatics for 20 seconds stirring continuously.
- Place onions in with the aromatics and fry for 1 minute.
- Add carrot and cook for another minute.
- Next, add the capsicum followed by shredded cabbage and stir fry all the vegetables together for a minute.
- Pour the peanut sauce over the veggie mix and combine it well.
- Add salt and pepper and adjust the seasoning.
- Turn off the flame and add the rice in parts to mix it well.
- Garnish with sliced green onions, coriander, a wedge of lime and a generous sprinkle of crushed roasted peanuts and serve.
- This rice tastes great straight out of the wok and even at room temperature.
Notes
- Leftover rice works wonderfully well with this recipe. Fluff the rice with a fork before using.
- You can choose to make extra peanut butter sauce and drizzle it over the finished rice for a creamier, peanutty flavoured rice.
- I have kept it as a mild flavoured rice. Do increase the chilly if you like it spicy.
- You can cheat’s peanut butter at home as well. In a grinder, add 1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts with 1 tsp jaggery/sugar and blend until it forms a thick paste. Adjust the consistency to your liking by adding 1 tsp of water at a time.
- As this rice tastes wonderful at room temperature, it is a perfect meal to carry as lunch too.
- 1 cup of uncooked long grain rice will yield 3 cups of cooked rice.
- I turn off the flame and then put the rice in parts to the veggie mix so that the rice does not break and remains fluffy. The residual heat of the veggie mix heats the rice sufficiently.
- 1 tsp coriander root can be substituted with 2 tbsp of coriander leaves.
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