Hibachi Style Fried Rice - 15 Minute Meal!

We went through a phase when we were dating and newly married where we went to a Japanese steakhouse almost every week. You know what I mean, the soup, salad, meat, veggies, fried rice, onion volcano, tossing spatulas. We were hooked (on the food, not so much to the onion volcano and spatula show). I don't know if it was the dating/newlywed fog of bliss that made us not think anything much of this habit, but we finally realized, "Okay, we are spending a little too much way too much money on this!" Our favorite thing was easily the fried rice and we were craving it one night like crazy. So, I googled it...and found a really great {and easy!} recipe that we have made tons of times since.

The key to this recipe is using leftover, cold rice. Sometimes I make rice just for this meal and put it in the fridge for a few hours or up to a couple of days, and other times I just make a triple batch if we're eating rice with another meal and put what's left in the fridge. Then, it's ready to go whenever we're ready to make this fried rice.

Oh, and let me tell you about one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. It's my rice cooker.

I bought it after I knew this recipe was a keeper and it makes it so much easier. You just add rice and water (I add a few drops of vegetable oil and about a teaspoon of salt to add a little flavor), turn it on, and you'll get perfect, fluffy rice every single time. I love my rice cooker because it doesn't take up much storage space and it was not very expensive at all! You can totally make this recipe without a rice cooker by just following the directions on the package of rice. It's just a lot easier for me to use the rice cooker because I'm guaranteed perfect rice and I don't have to babysit it at all!

Enough rice cooker love! Let's get to the recipe!

Hibachi Style Fried Rice
Makes 2 servings (Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled)
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2 cups cooked, cold rice
1 T. olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup peas and carrots, frozen
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg, optional (I usually leave this out and we like it just as well.)
2 T. butter
2 T. soy sauce (more or less to taste)
salt and pepper

1. Saute onions, peas, and carrots in olive oil over medium high heat until soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add the butter and cold rice and break apart the chunks of rice.* Add more salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium and saute for about five minutes.
3. Add soy sauce and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Variations: Make it chicken fried rice by dicing up a boneless, skinless chicken breast and sauteing it with a little soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Add the fully cooked chicken after you've sauteed the rice for a few minutes. You could also add a 1/2 cup of shredded cabbage with the onion, peas, and carrots. I don't usually have cabbage, but if I do, I add it and it's really good!

Recipe slightly adapted from Food.com

*I break up the rice with a plastic potato masher. I used to do it with just a metal serving spoon and rice would fly everywhere if I hit it at the wrong angle. Not good. My husband had a stroke of genius one day and suggested using our potato masher. It worked perfectly! No more flying rice!

{source}

So, not only have we saved a ton of money by making this rice at home, I've also saved myself the embarrassment of being hit in the face with a chunk of chicken or zucchini when they try to make you catch it in your mouth. {Daniel always gets it. I never catch it. NEVER!}

Let me know if you try this one! :)

I'm linking up with Lamberts Lately and The Country Cook!