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Fried Rice

Also known as Fried Rice (Nigerian Style)

Nigerian Fried Rice is a vibrantly colourful, generously seasoned stir-fried rice dish that is as important to Nigerian party culture as Jollof Rice itself. Unlike Chinese fried rice, the Nigerian version is characterised by its extraordinary variety of vegetables — diced carrots, sweet corn, green peas, green beans, spring onions and mixed peppers — all stir-fried together with parboiled rice, liver and prawns in a large wok or pot.

Fried Rice, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 4 big cups of parboiled long-grain rice
  • 2 big carrots, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 big cup of sweet corn (fresh, frozen or tinned)
  • 1 big cup of green peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 big cup of green beans, finely sliced
  • 2 spring onions (green onions), finely chopped
  • 1 big green bell pepper, finely diced
  • 1 big red bell pepper, finely diced
  • Half a medium chicken liver, finely diced
  • 1 big handful of fresh or frozen prawns, deveined
  • 3 cooking spoons of vegetable oil
  • 2 big tablespoons of soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon of thyme
  • 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 big glasses of chicken stock

Method

  1. 01

    Parboiling the Rice. Wash the rice and parboil in salted water for exactly 8 minutes — the rice should be half-cooked. Drain and spread on a tray to cool and dry. The rice grains must be separate and dry before stir-frying, otherwise the fried rice will be mushy.

  2. 02

    Cooking the Chicken Stock Rice. In a wide pot, bring 2 glasses of seasoned chicken stock to a boil. Add the parboiled rice, curry, thyme and seasoning cubes. Cook covered on low heat for 15 minutes until the stock is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked but still separate. Spread on a tray to cool completely.

  3. 03

    Stir-Frying the Vegetables. Heat 3 cooking spoons of oil in a very large wok or wide pot over high heat until very hot — almost smoking. Add the diced liver and prawns. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the diced carrots and green beans first (they take longest to cook) and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the sweet corn, green peas and both bell peppers. Stir-fry for 2 more minutes — the vegetables should be cooked but still have a slight crunch.

  4. 04

    Adding the Rice. Add the cooled cooked rice to the wok in batches, folding it into the vegetables with a spatula. The heat must remain high throughout. Add the soy sauce and spring onions. Toss everything together vigorously for 4 to 5 minutes until every grain of rice is coated with the vegetable mixture and the rice is heated through. Taste and adjust salt and seasoning.

  5. 05

    Finishing. The finished Nigerian Fried Rice should be beautifully multi-coloured — golden rice dotted with orange carrots, green peas, yellow corn, red and green peppers. Every grain should be separate and glistening.

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