I’m using a one pot method where everything starts and end in one pot rather than cooking the rice and sauce separately. This is my go to way of making Nigerian fried rice, it’s easier and not just that, you just get a more in-depth delicious flavour this way.
INGREDIENTS
700g Rice (I used Golden Sella Basmati Rice, just so perfect for Fried Rice!)
650g Chicken breast (diced)
340g King Prawns (use raw king prawns instead of cooked king prawns if you can)
2 Scotch bonnet peppers
Mixed Vegetables (I used frozen mixed vegetables, it has a mix of carrots, garden peas, green beans and sweetcorn. You can also use fresh)
1 Onion
4 Spring Onions
2 Garlic cloves
Ginger (2 teaspoons grated)
Chicken stock
1 tablespoon Thyme
2 teaspoons Curry powder
2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper
2 Bayleaves
1/2 cup Sunflower oil
Salt, All-Purpose Seasoning, and Knorr Stock Cubes to taste
METHOD
Delicious fried rice starts with great chicken stock.
To prepare chicken stock: Boil chicken with onions, garlic, ginger and a choice of seasonings, I used thyme, curry powder, black pepper, little salt, all-purpose seasoning and Knorr chicken stock cubes. Before adding any water, add all of the ingredients into a pot along with the seasonings and cook on high heat for 5 minutes, then cover the chicken with water and boil. Once the chicken is ready, take it out, and then cook the remaining liquid on high heat for 5 minutes to reduce the stock a little. This way you get a richer tastier stock. Which in turns leads to a more delicious fried rice.
To make the fried rice:
So to begin add oil into a pot and once the oil is hot enough add in one diced onion and fry on a low-medium heat till they start to turn translucent, this should take about 4 minutes.
Next add in the spring onions and fry together. Make sure to only use the white part of the spring onion at this stage, the green leafy part will be added later. This prevents the green part from wilting too much. Now let the onions and spring onions fry together stirring occasionally for 2 minutes.
After this add in 2 finely sliced scotch bonnet peppers, use more or less to suit your tolerance. Stir in with the onions and spring onions and fry together on medium heat for 2 minutes making sure it doesn’t burn.
Next add in the grated ginger, I used about 2 teaspoons. Stir in well and fry together for 1 minute. TIP – Adding the different ingredients bit by bit and not all at once, develops all of different flavours making the fried rice even more delicious.
Still frying on medium heat, add in the grated garlic, add the garlic last because it burns quickly.
After a minute increase the hob to high and add in the diced chicken breast. Stir to incorporate everything together.
After about a minute, before the chicken breast cooks, add in the seasonings: salt, all-purpose seasoning and Knorr chicken stock cubes to taste, 2 teaspoons dry pepper/cayenne pepper, a tablespoon of thyme, teaspoon curry powder, and 2 bay leaves. Stir to incorporate everything together, continue to fry and stirring occasionally.
Once the chicken is no longer pink add the vegetables (be careful not to overcook the chicken at this stage), Mix in well and immediately add in the chicken stock and cover to bring to a boil.
While its coming to a boil wash the rice. So wash the rice repeatedly to remove the starch. You want to do this until the water turns clear. TIP – Make sure to wash the rice continuously till the water turns clear. This step is very important as if not done well, the fried rice will be clumpy and sticky.
So back to the pot…As soon as its all come to a boil add in the king prawns and immediately after add in the washed rice, doing this ensures the prawns do not overcook or get tough and chewy. So stir in properly to get the rice well mixed in.
Add in boiled hot water, add in just enough water to cover the rice, so the water should be just above the level of the rice. After adding the water stir well. TIP – Make sure to use hot water and not cold water so to start the cooking process quickly.
Cover and leave to cook on a high heat first of all for 15 minutes.
After the first 15 minutes stir the rice from the bottom up (not too much as it can make the rice go a little mushy). You will see that most of the water has been absorbed and the rice is halfway cooked.
Now reduce the heat of the hob to medium low, cover the pot and continue to leave to cook for a further 15 minutes.
So after a total of 30 minutes the rice is fully cooked. So now add in the green leafy part of the spring onions. Mix in well and the fried rice is ready!
Here are a few photos:
Watch the recipe tutorial | https://www.youtube.com/watch?edufilter=NULL&v=whvcaCKdBok