Burnt Garlic Fried Rice

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Burnt garlic fried rice is a popular and tasty Indo Chinese fried rice dish made with basmati rice, mix vegetables, soy sauce, pepper and lots of garlic. You will find this garlic rice easily available in Chinese restaurants and takeaways in India.

burnt garlic fried rice served in a black bowl with text layover.

I had got a couple of requests to post the recipe of burnt garlic fried rice. I have had this version of garlic fried rice many times in restaurants, so it was easy for me to know what goes into it and how the dish is made. Yes some of the times, I end up asking the chef in restaurants, as to how the recipe is made.

Preparing garlic fried rice is similar to making Veg Fried Rice but with a small difference. This small difference makes for a big change in the overall taste and flavor of this fried rice – finely chopped garlic are stir-fried till they are faintly or slightly burnt and then mixed with rice or the rice is mixed with it.

You can choose whatever method suits you. I stir fry the garlic before and then add the veggies and rice. If you want you can stir fry the onions, veggies and rice first. Then stir fry the garlic in a bit of sesame oil and then add to the veg fried rice.

While making most of the Indo Chinese recipes, you need to chop the veggies finely. Either use a good knife or use a food processor. Food processor is easier, but I prefer to chop the veggies with a sturdy chef’s knife. Could be as that’s how I have been trained 🙂

You can serve garlic fried rice as it is or with a side dish like Paneer Manchurian or mushroom manchurian or Veg Manchurian or Gobi Manchurian.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to make Burnt Garlic Fried Rice

Cooking rice

1. Rinse ½ cup basmati rice very well in water till the water runs clear of starch. Then soak rice in enough water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes drain the water and keep the rice aside.

Instead of basmati rice, you can also use long grained rice.

soaked rice in water in a pan

2. In a pot or pan heat 3 cups of water.

heating water in a pan

3. When the water becomes hot, add ¼ teaspoon salt.

salt added to hot water

4. Next add ¼ teaspoon oil.

oil added to hot water

5. Bring the water to a boil on a high heat.

boiling water

6. Then add the rice.

rice added to boiling hot water

7. Gently stir or shake the pan.

stir rice in the water

8. Cook the rice on high heat, till it becomes al dente. This is the rapid boiling method of cooking rice. Hence no need to cover the pan with any lid.

cooking rice on high flame in the pan

9. The rice should be al dente, meaning almost cooked but with a slight bite in the center. Don’t cook the rice more as while stir-frying in the later steps the rice grains can break or become pasty.

al dente cooked rice

10. In a colander or strainer, strain the rice.

straining rice in a colander

11. Gently rinse the rice with running water. This will stop the cooking of the rice.

rinsing rice with running water

12. Cover and set aside the rice to cool at room temperature. The rice has to be completely cooled at room temperature before you add it to the stir-fried veggies.

Alternatively, refrigerate the rice for about 30 minutes while you prep the veggies.

keep the rice aside till it cools down

Making burnt garlic fried rice

13. Now rinse and then chop finely all the veggies. You can use your choice of veggies. You can even grate the veggies you want.

I used ⅓ cup chopped spring onion whites, ⅓ cup finely chopped carrots, 5 to 6 french beans (finely chopped) and ⅓ cup finely chopped capsicum.

Also finely chop 9 to 10 small to medium garlic cloves and keep aside. You will need 1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic.

finely chopped veggies

14. In a well-seasoned wok or kadai, heat 2 tablespoons of sesame oil.

oil in a wok

15. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic.

garlic added to oil

16. On a low heat, begin to stir fry the garlic.

stir fry the garlic in the wok

17. First the garlic would start turning light brown and then become golden.

golden garlic after stir frying

18. When the garlic turns golden, remove 1 to 2 teaspoons of the garlic and set aside. We will use this fried garlic for garnish.

some garlic pieces removed aside

19. Now continue to fry the remaining garlic till it becomes more browned and a bit burnt.

browned garlic in the wok

20. Once the garlic becomes more browned, then add the spring onion whites. Reserve the spring onion greens to be added later and for garnish.

spring onion whites added to wok

21. Increase the heat to medium or high and stir fry the spring onions for a minute.

stir frying spring onion whites

22. Then add finely chopped french beans. This step is only if you are using french beans. If not using french beans, then move to step 24.

Also do finely chop the french beans. You can also blanch the beans, chop and then add.

finely chopped french beans added to wok

23. Stir fry for 2 minutes on a medium to high heat.

stir frying beans

24. Then add all the other finely chopped veggies.

finely chopped veggies added

25. Stir and mix well.

stir and mixing the veggies

26. Add ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper or pepper powder and 1 teaspoon finely chopped celery. Add black pepper as per your taste requirements. Skip celery if you do not have it.

crushed black pepper and celery added

27. Mix very well.

mix pepper with veggies

28. Stir fry the veggies for 2 to 3 minutes on a medium to high heat. The veggies should have crunch in them.

stir frying the veggies

29. Then add 1 teaspoon naturally fermented soy sauce. The one I used was a gluten-free soy sauce. So this recipe is also gluten-free.

soy sauce added

30. Mix the soy sauce very well with the stir-fried veggies.

mix soy sauce with veggies

31. Add the cooled rice grains.

rice added to veggies in the wok

32. Season with salt according to taste. Go easy on the salt as some brands of soy sauce will have salt in them.

salt added as per taste

33. Mix and toss the rice very well with stir-fried veggies and burnt garlic. You can mix with a fork or spoon.

mix and stir the rice and veggies

34. Stir fry rice for a minute.

stir fry for a minute

35. Then add ¼ teaspoon rice vinegar and mix. Adding rice vinegar is optional and you can skip it.

Instead of vinegar you can also add regular vinegar or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I generally add less vinegar, but you can add more or less as per your requirements.

Check the taste of garlic rice and add more black pepper or soy sauce or salt if required.

rice vinegar added

36. Switch off the heat and lastly add 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped spring onion greens. Mix very well. Keep a few spring onion greens for garnish.

spring onions added for garnish

37. Garnish it with some spring onion greens and the reserved browned garlic that we had kept aside. 

Serve burnt garlic fried rice hot with a gravy dish like veg manchurian or gobi manchurian or mushroom manchurian or Chili Mushroom or any gravy dish of your choice.

For the best taste enjoy this stir-fried garlic rice hot or warm. Leftovers can be kept for a day. While reheating the garlic fried rice, saute the rice in a frying pan until warm or steam in the instant pot or a pan for 5 minutes.

burnt garlic fried rice served in a black bowl

Few more delicious Fried rice varieties from Indo Chinese cuisine are:

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burnt garlic fried rice recipe

Burnt Garlic Fried Rice

Burnt garlic fried rice is a popular and tasty Indo Chinese fried rice dish made with basmati rice, mix vegetables, soy sauce, pepper and lots of garlic.
5 from 7 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 42 minutes
Cuisine Indo Chinese
Course Main Course
Diet Gluten Free, Vegan
Difficulty Level Moderate
Servings 2
Units

Ingredients

For cooking rice

  • ½ cup basmati rice or any long grained rice or 100 grams
  • 3 cups water
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon sesame oil

For stir frying rice

  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 10 grams garlic or 9 to 10 small to medium garlic cloves or 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
  • 60 grams spring onions (scallions) or 1 large or 2 small to medium spring onions or ⅓ cup chopped spring onion whites
  • 80 grams carrot or 1 small to medium carrot or ⅓ cup finely chopped carrots
  • 30 grams beans or 5 to 6 beans – finely chopped
  • 80 grams capsicum or 1 medium capsicum or ⅓ cup finely chopped capsicum (bell pepper)
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped celery (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper or pepper powder – add as required
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce – naturally fermented
  • ¼ teaspoon rice vinegar or regular vinegar (optional)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped spring onion greens
  • salt as required

Instructions
 

Cooking rice

  • Rinse basmati rice very well in water till the water runs clear of starch. Then soak rice in enough water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes drain the water and keep the rice grains aside.
  • In a pot or pan heat 3 cups water.
  • When the water becomes hot, add salt and sesame oil.
  • Bring the water to a boil on high heat. Then add the rice. Gently stir or shake the pan.
  • Cook the rice on high heat, till it becomes al dente. This is the rapid boiling method of cooking rice. Hence no need to cover the pan with any lid.
  • The rice should be al dente, meaning almost cooked with a slight bite in the center. Don't cook the rice more as it will also get cooked while stir-frying in the later steps.
  • Then in a colander or strainer, strain the cooked rice.
  • Gently rinse the rice with running water. This will stop cooking of the rice.
  • Cover and keep the rice aside till it cools at room temperature. The rice has to be completely cooled at room temperature before you add it to the stir fried veggies.

Making garlic fried rice

  • Now rinse and then chop finely all the veggies. You can use your choice of veggies.
  • In a well seasoned wok or kadai, heat sesame oil.
  • Add finely chopped garlic. On a low heat, begin to stir fry the garlic.
  • First the garlic would start turning light brown and then become golden.
  • When the garlic turns golden, remove 1 to 2 teaspoon of the garlic and keep aside. We will use this stir fried garlic for garnish.
  • Now continue to fry the garlic till it becomes more browned and a bit burnt.
  • Once the garlic becomes more browned, then add the spring onion whites. Reserve the spring onion greens to be added later and for garnish.
  • Increase the heat to medium or high and stir fry the spring onions for a minute.
  • Then add finely chopped french beans. This step is only if you are using french beans. If not using french beans, then move to step 12.
  • Stir fry for 2 minutes on a high heat.
  • Then add all the other veggies. Mix well.
  • Add crushed black pepper or pepper powder and finely chopped celery. Add black pepper as per your taste requirements. Skip celery if you do not have.
  • Mix very well. Stir fry the veggies for 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Then add naturally fermented soy sauce.
  • Mix the soy sauce very well with the stir fried veggies.
  • Add the rice. Season with salt as per taste. Go easy on the salt as some brands of soy sauce may have salt in them.
  • Mix and toss the rice very well with the stir fried veggies and burnt garlic. You can mix with a fork or spoon.
  • Stir fry rice for a minute.
  • Then add rice vinegar and mix. Adding rice vinegar is optional and you can skip it. 
  • Instead of vinegar you can also add regular vinegar, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. I generally add less vinegar, but you can add more or less as per your requirements.
  • Switch off the flame and lastly add spring onion greens. Mix very well. Keep a few spring onion greens for garnish.
  • Garnish with the reserved fried garlic and spring onion greens. Serve garlic rice hot as it is or with a side of gobi manchurian, veg manchurian, mushroom manchurian.

Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)

Nutrition Facts
Burnt Garlic Fried Rice
Amount Per Serving
Calories 353 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Polyunsaturated Fat 6g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Sodium 1098mg48%
Potassium 436mg12%
Carbohydrates 49g16%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 8411IU168%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 1mg67%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 1mg59%
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 2mg10%
Vitamin B6 1mg50%
Vitamin C 64mg78%
Vitamin E 1mg7%
Vitamin K 88µg84%
Calcium 84mg8%
Vitamin B9 (Folate) 59µg15%
Iron 2mg11%
Magnesium 39mg10%
Phosphorus 110mg11%
Zinc 1mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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This Burnt Garlic Fried Rice post from the blog archives first published in August 2016 has been republished and updated on 27 August 2021.

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Meet Dassana

Welcome to Dassana's Veg Recipes. I share vegetarian recipes from India & around the World. Having been cooking for decades and with a professional background in cooking & baking, I help you to make your cooking journey easier with my tried and tested recipes showcased with step by step photos & plenty of tips & suggestions.

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8 Comments

    1. meenakshi, i am using sprig toasted sesame oil. toasted sesame oil gives a lovely Chinese style smoky flavor. but even sesame oil (gingelly oil) made from raw sesame seeds can be used.

  1. Hi tnx for sharing, it looks yummy, will surely try. Sesame Oil which we have here is thicker and added at the end for flavour and to make the rice fragrant. It cannot be used for frying. What type of Sesame Oil do you use for this recipe please do share….tnx so much. God bless you 🙂 for all your wonderful recipes !

    1. dimpy, i use the regular sesame oil which is made from raw sesame seeds. the toasted sesame oil can also be used. thats what the restaurant folks use in most of the chinese cooking here. welcome dimpy and thanks for your kind wishes 🙂