Oh, how I love fried rice! But depending on your location, you may prefer to cook it the Asian way or the Nigerian (West African) way. In this article, we show you how to cook Nigerian fried rice. This is a whole meal here, unlike other recipes where we try adding value to left rice.
Of course, fried rice is very common in Asian blogs and African, particularly West African food blogs. It’s also one of the most popular foods in Africa. Here you have a simple recipe for making it colorful and enriched. Not that you will need tons of veggies, meat, and stock.
I’m a sucker for trying new recipes, and thanks to my friend Gab, I could understand and follow along in the making process.
Understanding Nigerian fried rice
This very simple yet delicious rice style often occurs in different major functions. All this is why it’s easier to make, and the ingredients are mostly accessible.
Nigerian fried rice sits in the same space as the jollof and coconut rice styles. The major difference in this rice is that it has liver as the base additive. You could also use shrimp if you don’t like liver. We can never underestimate it because it features a mix of ingredients.
Unlike other methods, you will stir-fry the pre-cooked rice with other veggies and meats. This rice is my favorite choice because it’s one of the best quick meals, aside from being easy to cook.
Traditionally, though fried rice had the addition of beef liver, making it easily attain different colors and rich flavors. Regardless if you don’t like beef liver, you can use shrimp in its place.
My friend Gab says that anyone can make Fried rice, but not everyone can make Nigerian fried rice. I like it for its versatility and richness of flavors. This is one of the best options you won’t miss in any gathering event. This one and the Jollof rice is one of the most common dishes in Nigeria.
Nigerian fried rice recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of long-grain rice
- 1 cup of chopped mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans, sweet corn)
- ginger garlic paste.
- Chopped pepper.
- 2 cups of Beef liver
- One onion, chopped
- 2-3 scallions, chopped
- Two tablespoons of vegetable oil
- Three tablespoons of butter
- 3-4 cups of chicken stock or the Nigerian style stock
- 2-3 teaspoons of curry powder
- Chicken for the side dish
- Salt to taste
Instructions:
Is the liver cooked yet?
It’s important to cook the liver already, but for this one, I light season with beef cubes, curry powder, and salt, then add water to cook for a few minutes.
Once perfectly marinated, you can chop and set it aside, ready for the next parts.
Soak the rice
Rinse the rice thoroughly in cold water until the water runs clear. Soak the rice in cold water for about 30 minutes to soften it.
Cook the chicken
The next step is to make a fresh and delicious broth. In this, we only make it with the traditional African chicken. If you use chicken broilers, you won’t get the perfect broth you are going for.
So, let’s first season the chicken using chicken cubes, rosemary thyme, curry powder, minced garlic and ginger, chopped onions, and salt. You can add soy sauce to flex it a little if you like.
Note that we, however, don’t use soy sauce. Don’t forget pepper because what is a Nigerian recipe without pepper?
Now set it in the gas stove to steam cook for about 8 minutes. So cover it, and you can add in some water after ten minutes. Next, cover it and let it cook properly.
Drain the broth and then take the chicken to fry, air fry, or grill. We like the crisp, so you can set the onion into the oil to add more flavor as you fry it. Set it aside, and then fry the liver pieces.
Prep the rest of the ingredients.
Set a large saucepan enough to cook even the rice. Add in the oil and let it cook before you add onions, ginger, garlic, pepper, seasoning cubes, curry powder, and salt, then stir and let cook for 3 minutes. Allow it to boil and release the fragrance.
Now add your rice to this mixture to cook the rice. Mind you, we can also use parboiled rice. And so toss it in the mix and cover for 4 minutes to ensure all the rice is toasted.
Add the chicken broth, which works as the water, to cook the rice fully. But remember to sieve the broth to make the rice neat and without particles. Cover it and cook under very low heat.
Let’s cook the veggies.
Get another saucepan and add some of the flavored oil you already have. Add the chopped spring onions and let them fry for about 2 minutes. Spring onions are great when it comes to their rich flavors.
Next, add the carrots, french beans, peas, bell pepper, sweet corn, and fried liver, and then you can use the all-purpose seasoning options to enrich the flavors. Stir fry this mixture on high heat for about 5 minutes. Ensure you keep tossing, though.
Set it aside as it’s now ready, waiting for the rice.
Finalize the process
Check the rice to see that it’s cooked. Now take the rice and add it to the vegetables you just made. Do this gradually and gently because you don’t want to break it down. Remember, we are still cooking this time on lower heat, though.
Mix it all to combine everything well. I know you will like the color, but wait until you taste it, then come and tell me how you like it. Serve it alongside your fried chicken.
Enjoy your delicious Nigerian fried rice!
Difference between Nigerian fried rice and the Asian fried rice
I should mention that Nigerian fried rice differs from Asian fried rice. Most people who grew up with lots of Asians think that Nigerian fried rice is the same as Asian fried rice, and it’s not.
The taste: Asian fried rice tastes like soy sauce, but the Nigerian one tastes like curry powder seasoning cubes and thyme.
The cooking: Nigerian fried rice is often cooked in chicken or beef stock, but the Asian one is simply the leftover rice we enrich for the next meal. In most cases, Nigerians will use fresh rice than leftover ones.
The ingredients: Nigerian fried rice doesn’t include eggs, but the Asian fried one has eggs as a key ingredient. In its place, we mostly use beef liver.
Flavor and color source: Asian fried rice gets its flavor and color from soy sauce and oyster sauce. The Nigerian one gets its color from curry powder and many other seasonings.
Usually, we also add different kinds of veggies to the fried rice. In Nigeria, note that it’s a whole and great meal.
FAQs
Which one is better, the leftover rice or freshly made rice?
When making my fried rice at home, I mostly use leftover rice because it’s tastier than fresh rice. However, if you don’t have the leftover one, you can make fried rice using new rice.
Just make sure the type of rice you choose is not as sticky, and again you can select the ones with the longer grains.
What can I do to the leftovers?
It’s important to note that this rice gets bad pretty first. This is why you ought to make just enough fried rice. If you made a lot, make sure you immediately refrigerate it after it cools down.
Ensure you eat it within the next two days to be safe.
Can I reheat it
Yes, you can reheat it by adding a little water and cooking under low heat. Alternatively, set it in the microwave to heat it faster.
Tips
Be cautious with the salt, especially if you didn’t make the stock yourself. We don’t want the rice to have too much salt.
You can fry the liver, but you don’t want to do it so much as it tends to make the rice darker and not tasty. Just fry it a little. If you wish, you can air fry it or grill it and achieve the same.
We don’t want the soggy mashy fried rice, so remember to be cautious about the amount of water you use.
Don’t overcook the veggies; you want the veggies still to be crunchy.
Some people like beef stock, but you should be cautious as it can overpower the rice.