Corn Fried Rice Recipe (Indo Chinese Style)

Got fresh corn on cobs at home and wanting to create a rice-corn combination? This Corn Fried Rice is your best bet as well as answer. Make a vegan and gluten-free dish with rice, sweet corn, capsicum, spring onions, herbs, spices, and enjoy it to with your. This is a comforting, easy and fusion Indo Chinese style preparation, yet high on flavors.

About Corn Fried Rice

There’s no doubt of the fact that there are numerous ways you can bring together rice and corn, and create deliciousness out of it. This Corn Fried Rice is how I make it often at home.

This recipe is a simple and flavourful Chinese variation with capsicum, spring onions, some cracked pepper and soy sauce.

The soy does enhance the umaminess of this dish, but it is still optional. You can give it a miss too.

You can modify this recipe as per your spice and taste preferences. So, you can add the fiery Schezwan sauce or tomato ketchup or perk it up with some of your favorite herbs. For me, I’ve kept it basic with some celery, soy sauce as well as the vinegar.

I’ll suggest you to keep it this way, in order to get a complete flavor of the corn. However, what’s more is that you can also add some garlic and mushrooms, to make it a fuller and more umami-laden rice preparation. Burnt garlic will also taste good in this combination set.

About My Recipe

It is one of our chosen rice-based dishes, in which both the Indian corn or American corn varieties can be used. It tastes simply amazing with any of these.

Also, I make it a point to cook fresh rice for any fried rice recipe. You can use your leftover rice too.

This Corn Fried Rice makes for a sumptuous and satisfying lunch or dinner, where you can make a larger batch by easily doubling the quantities. Halve for making a smaller batch.

A similar fried rice variation is this Schezwan Fried Rice that can also be done with the addition of corn.

How to make Corn Fried Rice

Cook Rice

1. Rinse 1 heaped cup basmati or any long grained rice very well till the water runs clear of starch.

Soak rice in 1 cup water for 20 to 30 minutes. After 20 to 30 minutes, drain all the water and keep the rice aside.

2. In a pot, add 3 cups of water with ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon oil. Adding oil is optional. Bring the water to a boil.

3. Add the soaked rice to the hot water.

4. Gently shake the pan carefully or stir the rice grains with a fork.

5. On medium to high heat, cook the rice without the lid.

6. Cook till the rice grains become al dente or just about cooked.

7. Remove the pot from the heat and strain the rice. While straining, you can also gently rinse the rice in water so that they stop cooking and don’t stick to each other.

You can also fluff the rice with a fork and keep aside. Cover the rice and keep aside till the rice cools completely.

Cook Corn

8. When the rice is soaking, steam or pressure cook 1 medium to large corn on cob. You can steam 1 medium to large sweet corn cob in a steamer, pressure cooker or in an Instant pot.

If pressure cooking, then pressure cook in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker for 2 to 3 whistles in 1.5 cups of water.

Let the pressure drop naturally in the cooker and then only open the lid. Carefully remove the corn cob with a pair of tongs and set aside on a plate to cool.

You can also use 1 to 1.25 cups of canned corn kernels instead of fresh corn cob.

9. When the corn on cob becomes warm or cools down, slice off the corn kernels from the cob.

Be careful while slicing the kernels. You will need about 1 to 1.25 cups corn kernels. Keep the corn kernels aside.

Make Corn Fried Rice

10. Heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil or toasted sesame oil in a wok or kadai. Keep the heat to medium and then add ½ cup chopped spring onion whites.

You can also add some spring onion greens along with the whites. But make sure it is ½ cup overall.

Choose to stir fry all the ingredients on medium to medium-high heat depending on the heaviness and type of wok or pan you use.

11. Stir fry for a minute on medium heat.

12. Then, add ¼ cup chopped capsicum. I have used green bell pepper. You can use yellow or red bell pepper.

13. Stir fry for a minute.

14. Now, add 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped celery. This is optional. Skip, if you do not have celery. Stir to mix.

15. Now, add the corn kernels.

16. Stir fry for a minute or two.

17. Add 1 tablespoon fermented and naturally brewed soy sauce. I have used a gluten-free soy sauce. If using any other soy sauce, then add as per taste.

Opt not to add soy sauce if you do not prefer it.

18. Add 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper or pepper powder. You can add pepper powder less or more as per your taste preferences.

19. Give a good mix.

20. Now, add the cooked rice in parts.

21. After adding one part. Lightly stir and mix.

22. Then, add another part of rice. Also season with salt. Add less salt as soy sauce already has salt.

23. Mix very well.

24. Add 2 tablespoons chopped spring onion greens.

25. Add ½ to 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or sweet rice wine (mirin) and mix gently.

If you do not have these, then you can use regular white vinegar. You can also skip adding vinegar. 

26. Serve Corn Fried Rice hot or warm garnished with the remaining 1 tablespoon spring onion greens.

Serving Suggestions

You can enjoy the Corn Fried Rice as is without any sides or pair them with some saucy and spicy Chinese dishes.

Some vegetarian options are Veg Manchurian, Chili Mushroom, Chili Paneer or any other Chinese dish of your choice.

Corn Fried Rice can be packed as a lunch in your tiffin-box as well.

Expert Tips

1. I prefer using freshly cooked rice, you can make it with leftover rice. If you are cooking the rice, the addition of oil is optional there.
2. While straining the cooked rice, you may rinse the rice gently with water. This will stop the carry over cooking and avoid the rice grains from sticking to each other.
3. To steam the corn on cobs, use either of these: pressure cooker, steamer or Instant Pot.
4. In place of fresh corn, 1 to 1.25 cups tinned/canned corn kernels can be used in this recipe. But the flavors with fresh corn really make a difference.
5. You can use only capsicum or pair it with other varieties like red and yellow too. Other additions can be garlic and white button mushrooms.
6. Pepper powder can be adjusted according to your taste likings.  
7. Soy sauce and celery is completely optional. If you don’t have these at home proceed without them. Also, I have added a gluten free soy sauce, you can use any.
8. You can add or skip vinegar completely. If adding and you don’t have rice vinegar or sweet rice wine (mirin), you a regular white vinegar.

Corn Fried Rice recipe from the archives was first published on July 2016.