Oven Baked Fried Rice (small batch)

 

 

 

I am a huge fan of baked rice recipes.  They are so simple to do. No fuss. No muss cooking. That is how I like to do things for the most part in my kitchen.

I am also a huge fan of oriental flavors! That's why when I saw this recipe for an easy oven rice on Recipe Tin Eats I immediately popped it onto my "to do" list of things to try! 

I knew I wouldn't be disappointed and I wasn't!  Its fabulously tasty!

 

I did cut the quantities in half and made a much smaller batch, as well as adapting it to my way of doing things in my kitchen and the ingredients I happened to have on hand.  This worked very well for me.

I just didn't think I needed that much rice for just little old me.  Not that I don't enjoy leftovers. I do.  But these days I am really getting more into small batch cooking because I have found that to do otherwise in my kitchen means waste. 

And I hate waste. My freezer can only hold so much.

 

This easy dish makes the perfect mid-week side dish!  There is no need to precook the rice ahead of time. Nor the vegetables.  You simply stir everything together in a baking dish, cover and bake, leaving your hands free to get on with something else.

Easy peasy.  I also like this recipe because it uses ingredients that I normally have on hand, so its a great store-cupboard recipe as well!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE OVEN BAKED FRIED RICE

Like I said above, simple store cupboard ingredients.  If you keep a fairly well stocked larder like I do,  I am betting you can even make this today! 

• 3/4 cup (160g) uncooked long grain rice
• 1 cup (240ml) chicken or vegetable stock
• 3/4 TBS soy sauce
• 1/2 TBS rice wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 cup (150g) frozen mixed vegetables, unthawed (a mix of peas, corn, carrots and beans)
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 2 rashers of thick sliced streaky smoked bacon, diced

To garnish:

• 1 spring onion, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 large free range egg, beaten
• 1/2 TBS toasted sesame oil

Optional additions: (your choice)

• chopped cooked meats (chicken, pork, beef, prawns)
• finely shredded cabbage (cooked crispy tender)
• bean sprouts
• baby spinach (chop and stir through at the end, the heat from the rice will cook it.)
• a splash of hot sauce (Sriracha is good)

 

I used Uncle Ben's converted long grain rice for my dish.  You can also use Basmati, medium and short grain rice.   It is not recommended that you use Jasmine rice, brown rice, paella rice, risotto rice, wild rice, quinoa or other specialty rice.

You also don't need to rinse the rice first. I didn't.  If you feel that you do, then you need to reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1 TBS for this small batch recipe.

 

Mixed frozen vegetables. I always keep a bag of these in my freezer.  I use the mix that has peas, corn, green beans and carrots. This is the most common mix and I find it comes in handy for all sorts.

Pot pies, soups, omelets, etc.   I added the vegetables frozen and they were perfectly cooked when the rice was done. Not overcooked in the least.

 

I always have bacon frozen in my freezer. I buy it by the one pound package and separate it when I get it home. I usually buy two packs when it is on offer at the shops. 

One I will cook and then freeze for times when I want or need some cooked bacon for whatever it is I am making.

The other package I will separate into individual rashers. I roll each rasher up and pop them single layered into an airtight container.  Into the freezer it goes. 

Once frozen you can transfer the frozen rolls into a zip lock bag if you want. These frozen rolls are very convenient for when you only want a few rashers of bacon as they thaw quickly. 

Its also super-easy to chop them while the bacon is frozen. If you have ever tried to chop raw bacon that is not frozen, you know how difficult this is! It stretches, etc. Not easy!  Its much better to do it when the bacon is frozen.

 

HOW TO MAKE OVEN BAKED FRIED RICE 

Nothing could be easier. I am rather lazy at times and this fits right in with that! 

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.  Have ready a 7 X 11-inch casserole dish.

Place all of the ingredients for the rice, except for the bacon, egg and onion into the baking dish. Give it a good stir and then spread it out evenly. Sprinkle the chopped bacon over top. Cover tightly with foil.

 Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 12 to 15 minutes. Re-cover and let stand for about 5 minutes while you cook the egg.

Spray a skillet with some canola oil spray. Add the beaten egg and lightly scramble until just cooked.

Drizzle the rice with the sesame oil. Scatter the egg and onion over top. Fork through and fluff with a fork, adding in any optional ingredients you enjoy, or not.

Serve immediately.

 

 

You can of course turn this into a main dish by adding any quantity of cooked meats (beef, pork, ham, lamb, ground beef), poultry (chicken or turkey) or other protein (think prawns here) at the end, simply stirring them into the rice when you fluff it up.  Easy peasy.

If you like more egg by all means scramble two of them!  I found one large free range egg to be just the right amount! 

 

Baked rice, its a good thing as Martha would say!  Beautifully textured and nicely flavored. Some other baked rice dishes you might also enjoy are:

BAKED MUSHROOM RICE - A mix of rice, stock, thyme and garlic powder is put into the bottom of a casserole dish and covered with a thick layer of garlic mushrooms. No need to cover as the layer of mushrooms serves as a sort of a jacket for the rice, covering it . . .  the juices running down and mingling with the stock and rice beneath it as it cooks.  This is fabulously delicious!

GARLIC CHEDDAR CHICKEN & RICE BAKE - Loaded with chicken and rice and plenty of cheese, this delicious and easy casserole is the epitome of comfort food. Its all very simple to make. Just mix the chicken, rice, some chicken stock, grated cheddar and your seasonings together in a casserole dish. Cover and bake. Easy peasy.

BAKED RICE PILAF - Delicious and simple to make. Healthy and economical as well. With carrots, onion, celery and rice, at the end of the cooking time you are rewarded with a delicious perfectly cooked rice pilaf that is loaded with color, veg and fibre!  This is a beautiful side dish to go with just about anything. No fuss. No muss.

Oven Baked Fried Rice (small batch)

Yield: 2 - 3

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 42 MinInactive time: 5 MinTotal time: 52 Min

Nothing could be easier than this dump and go dish. Just throw everything into a casserole and bake. No need to cook the rice ahead of time. The end result is a well seasoned and delicious, perfectly cooked dish of rice that tastes amazingly just like fried rice!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (160g) uncooked long grain rice
• 1 cup (240ml) chicken or vegetable stock
• 3/4 TBS soy sauce
• 1/2 TBS rice wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 cup (150g) frozen mixed vegetables, unthawed (a mix of peas, corn, carrots and beans)
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 2 rashers of thick sliced streaky smoked bacon, diced

To garnish:

• 1 spring onion, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 large free range egg, beaten
• 1/2 TBS toasted sesame oil

Optional additions: (your choice)

• chopped cooked meats (chicken, pork, beef, prawns)
• finely shredded cabbage (cooked crispy tender)
• bean sprouts
• baby spinach (chop and stir through at the end, the heat from the rice will cook it.)
• a splash of hot sauce (Sriracha is good)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.
2. Have ready a 7 X 11-inch casserole dish.
3. Place all of the ingredients for the rice, except for the bacon, egg and onion into the baking dish. Give it a good stir and then spread it out evenly. Sprinkle the chopped bacon over top. Cover tightly with foil.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 12 to 15 minutes.
5. Cover and let stand for about 5 minutes while you cook the egg.
6. Spray a skillet with some canola oil spray. Add the beaten egg and lightly scramble until just cooked.
7. Drizzle the rice with the sesame oil. Scatter the egg and onion over top. Fork through and fluff with a fork, adding in any optional ingredients you enjoy, or not.
8. Serve immediately.

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