This leek and mushroom fried rice is such an easy and delicious take on the classic. Ever since moving to France leeks have become a staple in my kitchen – I love the flavor they add which is sort of like if onions, chives and garlic had a baby. They pair wonderful with mushrooms and chicken and savory flavors which is where the inspiration for this dish came from. I was giving the New York Times Cooking Miso Chicken a try — which was truly wonderful, you should consider giving it a try if you have a subscription — and wanted to create a unique side dish to pair perfectly with it. This fried rice truly hit the spot. It’s packed with flavor from a base of leek whites, mushroom, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce and then topped with crispy pan fried leeks for added texture and flavor. The whole dish comes together in just under 20 minutes including prep work which makes it suitable for a quick weeknight meal to whip up while your chicken is baking.
Will This Make Good Leftovers – Absolutely! Store in the fridge for up to a week and it should be just fine.
What Are Some Pairing Ideas – Think any sort of savory asian sauce + chicken, beef or fish. You could use the salmon from my miso salmon bowls and just skip the rice & broccoli portion of that recipe.
Is This Recipe Family Friendly – Yes, mostly. Due to the soy sauce and fish sauce there is certainly a higher sodium content so it is up to you depending on the age of baby/toddler how comfortable you are. My toddler absolutely loved this dish, and we just balanced it out with some fresh lower sodium foods the rest of the day!
Can I Double This Recipe – You can halve it , double it, do whatever you want so long as you keep the ratios even and have a wok or pan the write size.
Can I Freeze This Recipe – Yes, you can. In my opinion fried rice doesn’t make the best frozen leftovers, but it is certainly an option. If you do so make sure to let the rice completely cool and put in a fully airtight container like a ziplock with air pressed out. I wouldn’t recommend leaving in the freezer longer than a few weeks.
Any other questions, feel free to ask in the comments, otherwise let’s get to cooking! 🙂
Leek & Mushroom Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked white rice (Instant or about 1/3 dry rice cooked according to package instructions)
- 1 + 1 tbsp + tsp sesame oil
- 1 leek
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp fresh shaved or minced ginger
- 100 g mushrooms (approx 6 medium mushrooms)
- 1 tbsp + soy sauce
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
Instructions
Prepare Produce:
- Slice mushrooms into fairly thin slices.
- The leek: Cut off a little from each end of the leek (the roots and the very tips of the greens). Remove a couple of the outer layers of the leek if it doesn't look super vibrant and throw away. Rinse well the remainder of the leek. Cut to separate the dark greens from the white of the leek. For the dark greens, slice thin cross ways and keep separated in a pile. For the white, do one long cut to lengthwise and then slice cross ways thin to get little half circles.
- Mince or thinly slice garlic & shave/mince ginger if using fresh ginger root not jarred.
Fried Rice
- Heat a wok ( or large skillet if you don't have a wok ) over medium high heat (around 60-70%) with 1 tsp sesame oil. Save remaining tbsp for later. When hot add in your dark green leek and fry until starting to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.1 + 1 tbsp + tsp sesame oil, 1 leek
- Add remaning tbsp of sesame oil to the wok and add in the rest of your leek + mushroom, continiously stir for 2-3 minutes until both mushrooms and leeks have fully softened.1 + 1 tbsp + tsp sesame oil, 1 leek, 100 g mushrooms (approx 6 medium mushrooms)
- Add in ginger & garlic and cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute — continuously stirring to avoid burning of any ingredient.2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp fresh shaved or minced ginger
- Add in vinegar & fish sauce and stir another minute to let the vinegar cook out.1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp fish sauce
- Add in soy sauce (just 1 tbsp to start) and your cooked rice and turn heat up a little (around 80-90%) and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat immediately to prevent rice stickig to pan.1 tbsp + soy sauce, 2 cups cooked white rice
- Taste test and stir in a little extra soy sauce until you have your desired level of salty/savory. Serve up and enjoy!
Notes
If you make this recipe I’d love to hear from you in the comments!