Before we get into the Nigerian Fried Rice recipe of the day, I thought to share something with you.
If there is one thing that I would say is beautiful about cooking, it is the way you can substitute certain ingredients for others.
If you don’t have ghee, use oil or butter. No cornstarch for thickening, use some flour, or if you’re out of bread crumbs, use ground cornflakes! If you apply this to real-life situations where you seem to be struggling to achieve or get something done.
As long as you do not stand still, you can always seek alternative ways, alternative solutions to getting that thing done. It is important to keep moving forward, no matter what.
Okay, now that I have gotten that message off my chest, today we are making Fried Rice, the Nigerian way. If you love fried rice and have yet to try this method, you have missed out, miss no more!
A lot of the other rice recipes go straight to stir-frying veggies and adding cooked rice, Nigerian fried rice is made first by parboiling the raw rice in chicken broth before anything else is added. The catch is to ensure you are using broth made by you and not the ones they sell in the stores.
Nigerian Fried Rice can be paired with delicious Homemade Peri Peri Chicken Wings. Take time to also learn How to Make Nigerian Fish Pepper Soup .
In Nigeria, the usual thing is to add curry to the fried rice to give it that greenish-yellow colour but I will not be adding curry to my recipe as I do not believe this is an essential part of a delicious fried rice dish. The veggies and protein are stir-fried briefly before combining with the rice.
Explore other savoury recipes such as Nigerian Jollof Rice and Ghanaian Jollof Rice.
Ingredients needed to make Nigerian Fried Rice
Parboiled Rice
Your choice of rice is so important. You will require long grain rice, the parboiled kind. This is the type that can withstand the long cooking process without getting all mushy or sticky.
Chicken
Soft chicken thighs can be used as those are easy to get at your local store. This is the answer to that rich chicken broth. A variety of spices will be needed to season the chicken before cooking.
Mixed Veggies
These include chopped carrots, spring onions, green peas, onions, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and sweet corn. Feel free to add to the list according to your preference. You can also take the shorter way by buying the frozen veggie mixes. I buy and chop up the other vegetables required.
Protein Garnishes
This is optional. I personally do not skip any opportunity to add some much needed protein to my dishes. I have used a variety of protein in my other fried rice recipes e.g. shrimp, shredded chicken, shredded turkey, beef cuts, liver etc. I used chicken gizzard and chicken franks for this pot of fried rice.
Oil
The same oil used for frying your chicken should be used to stir-fry the veggies. This will amp up the flavour of the veggies, more flavour is always welcome!
Herbs, Seasonings & Spices
As much as I like to spice up my food, it is also important to strike a balance to prevent any of the spices from overpowering the dish. Some of the ones used here are fresh thyme, black pepper, chicken bouillon, salt, bay leaves, paprika etc.
You will also need a wide skillet or pot, one that will give enough room for the tossing around of the rice and veggies while cooking.
Check out How to Make Thieboudienne (Senegalese Jollof Rice)
How to Cook Tasty Fried Rice
Ingredients
*Chicken broth*
- 10-15 soft chicken thigh pieces
- 1 large white onion chopped
- Garlic chopped
- Ginger chopped
- Salt to taste
- 3 Bay leaves
- 1 stick of fresh thyme
- 1 stick of fresh rosemary
- 3 Tbsp Chicken bouillon
- 1 Tbsp Black pepper
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 5 cups water
*Fried Rice*
- 5 cups long grain parboiled rice
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large white onion thinly-sliced
- Garlic chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 cup sweet corn
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 chopped scotch bonnet optional
- Salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
- Precooked chicken gizzard can be cooked with the chicken
- 10 chicken franks
Instructions
*Chicken/Chicken broth*
- Rinse the chicken pieces into a large pot.
- Toss in the chopped garlic, onion, ginger, the bay leaves and sticks of thyme and rosemary.
- Season with the salt, bouillon, black pepper, fennel seeds and paprika.
- Add in the 5 cups of water and let it cook for 15-25 mins or until chicken’s texture is to your liking.
- Take out the chicken and set aside the broth.
- In a pan, add in the 3 cups of oil.
- When hot, go in with the chicken pieces and the gizzard if applicable. Shallow-fry till brown on all sides, drain of any excess oil and keep in a warm place.
*Fried Rice*
- Pour in the chicken broth into a large pot and bring to a boil. While waiting for it to boil, rinse your long grain rice a couple of times till you have gotten rid of most of the starchiness.
- Add in the rice to the boiling broth and cover with the pot lid, let it cook on medium to low heat till the broth is all dried up in the rice. The texture of the rice should be semi-soft at this point.
- Heat up the oil and used to fry the chicken, add the unsalted butter, when hot add in the sliced onion and chopped garlic, fry till fragrant.
- Add in the chopped carrots and fry for 5 min before adding in the red and green bell peppers, green peas, scotch bonnet and sweet corn.
- Season with salt, bouillon and black pepper, stir-fry for 5-7 mins and add in the chopped chicken franks and the pre-cooked gizzard. Stir-fry for 3 mins, turn off the flame.
- Pour the veggie mix into the rice, combine and cover to cook for 20-25 mins or until the texture of the rice is according to your liking.
- Adjust seasoning, increase the heat and keep tossing and stirring the fried rice for another 10 mins.
Very helpful 💃💃💃💃💃
Thanks for your feedback Jessica! We appreciate your presence here.
I LOVE THE OUTCOME OF THE FRIED RICE.YOU ARE A GOOD COOK
Thanks Kehinde! Glad to hear you had a good outcome with our fried rice recipe.