Vegetable Fried “Rice” (more like Bulgur)

Just like vegetable fried rice, but with more iron and fiber – use bulgur for this bulgur fried rice – it’s a quick and easy weeknight dinner!

Vegetable Fried Rice + Me = LOVE

Vegetable fried rice has been my favorite since I discovered the only Chinese restaurant in my little home town about 15 years ago. I liked fried rice for two main reasons: it was cheap and it was delicious.

I would go there with my friends and we would share a big plate of fried rice. 4 people. One dish. 4 plates. Not only all of us had to count our last coins to pay, we also never left any tip. Stayed there for hours. I repeat – 15 years old. Yep, they hated us.

Back then, at the age of 15, when the internet was not full of recipes and I lead a happy social life in front of the TV, watching telenovelas and MTV, I had my first try at making what I hoped to resemble Chinese fried rice.

No luck there. The rice was sticky and bland and nobody would eat it. About 15 tries after I still didn’t manage to make something edible. But I knew that one day, I will.

More than 10 years after, I am in this big city with access to all kinds of foods and to all kinds of cuisines. The last time when I was in a Chinese restaurant to have vegetable fried rice and some dumplings, the people working there were quite unfriendly. I don’t know if it’s the theme of the restaurant and they actually have to greet everyone with the song “F*** you” by Lilly Allen, but they were just incredibly rude.

The waiter didn’t even want to give me a plate for myself, because I was sharing a dish with my friend. Then he threw the menu in my face and he said – In yo face! Can you imagine? What a douche. Okay, he didn’t say “in yo face”. Not in English, or in any other language I would understand at least. Nevertheless, they cook like they’re sent from some kitchen heaven. As happy as I was with the meal, this just isn’t the way you treat someone who’s nice to you and is paying you for a service. So I, dramatically, promised myself I would never get back to the Chinese restaurant, ever again.

Quite like when Scarlett O’Hara held that carrot in the air and promised herself to never be hungry again. Can you picture it? Me with a fork in the Chinese restaurant (cause I can’t use sticks), saying – “I’m again never coming back here again”! I know, it’s like you’re there, right? Are you mouthing the words right now?

I had also made a pact with myself on not being hungry a loooong time ago. Mrs. O’Hara, I like your style! No wonder we share the same birthday! I think people in the restaurant were looking and pointing fingers at me.

So I went home with my belly full and head held up high. I was rebelling and whining for weeks against this unfriendliness, unforgivable rudeness and all the physical abuse at the Chinese restaurant. Then I decided I will have to learn to make my own vegetable fried rice. I’m not a little scared 15 years old with limited access to food anymore! So I was up for the challenge. China, here I come!

Changing Fried Rice

Of course, I couldn’t leave this dish like that – I mean, that’s it? Vegetable fried rice? As in vegetables with rice? That’s not the best it could be. There were a few things I wanted to fix about this dish: 1. rice and 2. fried. There’s not much going for white rice, honestly – not much fiber, not much phytochemicals, I have to also cook it and leave it for a year to chill…What a mess.

So I substituted it with my Bulgur friend. It’s high in iron, fiber, doesn’t even need cooking, it doesn’t stick together and I can even decide to cook it spontaneously, as it’s not needed for it to be chilled overnight or decades. Isn’t that the dream?

Healthier Fried Rice

Bulgur won my heart many years ago, even though it’s not gluten-free and fancy.

And what’s up with stir-frying? There’s not much to do about it – except shorter cooking times and less oil. Plus I added most of the veggies like always at the end of cooking – after heat is turned off to keep all the good nutrients fresh and going.

This is probably not the healthiest Beauty Bites recipe, because of the oil quantities, but it’s still very much beautifying, as it uses a lot of different vegetables, which work really well in this dish.

High Protein: Thanks to the eggs, bulgur and peas it’s a high protein recipe – complete protein not only from eggs, but also from the combination of peas and bulgur. That’s good news for your skin and for your muscles. What a nice outcome, huh?

High Fiber: I cannot stop bragging about bulgur. He’s got more fiber, than Facebook has fake profiles. And with cabbage, broccoli, carrots, peas, onions and peppers, this dish is on fibre! Soluble or insoluble, you name it – it’s got both. And as we already know – fiber helps us get rid of toxins. So say bye bye to toxins, wrinkles and dullness in your life and skin!

Antioxidants: We’ve all heard of them – those little heavenly antioxidants. Guardian angels they are indeed. And Yoda, I am, indeed. Antioxidants protect us from developing all kinds of diseases around the clock.

This vegetable fried bulgur is simply packed with them, as there are so many in every single plant. Yes as shocking as it is, Vitamin C is not the only antioxidant molecule on Earth.

And this meal is almost only plants, so you do the math. Antioxidants protect not only against diseases (also of the skin), but also fight wrinkles and aging.

Continue to Content

Healthy Vegetable Fried Bulgur

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Make healthy vegetable fried rice at home by using bulgur and not actual rice! Bulgur cooks faster, has more nutrients and is delicious. This easy fried rice recipe is great for a weeknight dinner!

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Ingredients

• 1 cup bulgur, coarse
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 carrot
• 1 pepper
• 1 cup cabbage - chopped
• handful shiitake mushrooms
• 3 tbsp soy or tamari sauce
• 4 tbsp olive oil (more if needed)
• optionally: sesame oil
• cilantro
• salt

Instructions

1. Prepare your bulgur: boil water and soak 1 cup of dried bulgur in a pot with a lid for around 10 minutes. You would need to cover the bugur with the boiling water, so around 1 part bulgur to 1 1/2 parts water.
2. Chop onion, garlic, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and measure one cup of peas.
3. In a large nonstick pan with a lid put some olive oil and scrumble the eggs. When they're ready - add some more oil in the pan, add onion, garlic, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and peas. Stir in well for 1-2 minutes, then cover with the lid and let cook for about 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on the pan and stir from time to time, if you need to.
4. In the mean time chop broccoli, carrot and some cilantro.
5. After the 5 minutes cooking time, add the soaked bulgur (should now be ready). Stir in, add olive oil and the soy sauce. Stir for around 3 minutes.
6. Turn off heat, add the broccoli, carrots, pepper and cilantro and stir. Cover the lid for 2-3 minutes and you're ready.

Notes

vegetarian, nut-free, dairy-free

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 302Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 990mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 6gSugar: 4gProtein: 10g

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Now I’ll head to the kitchen to try and make some dumplings.

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