Spicy Paneer Fried Rice
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Spicy Paneer Fried Rice is an Indo-Chinese dish featuring crispy paneer, crunchy veggies, and a tangy sauce! It’s the perfect weeknight meal that’s loaded with flavour!
Looking for a satisfying fusion meal? You’ll love this Spicy Paneer Fried Rice!
If you’ve been following the blog for awhile, then you know recently I had gone back home to India, and I enjoyed a cuisine I’ve never delved much into - Indo-Chinese! I’ve always enjoyed Indo-Chinese, but never ate much of it and only cooked a handful of dishes. I really got hooked and wanted to have more since visiting India!
Funny story about this dish - I was actually going to prepare my Chicken Hakka Noodles but was going to experiment with fried rice a few nights ago. I was getting my chicken out but unfortunately a funky smell came from the chicken. Guys, I hate food waste and I preach preventing it as much as possible on here, but no one’s perfect and sometimes these things are just out of our control. As long as you’re mindful of what you have and do your best, then that’s okay! I do encourage you to be mindful of what you have in your fridge and use your ingredients, and this can get that creative light bulb dinging! I explain this more in my 5 Tips To Make Cooking Fun! - my ultimate free guide to expand your creativity in the kitchen and inspire you to reach your potential! That being said, I needed a protein desperately as my veggies were already in the pan and they were about to burn. I thought super quick on my toes, and I had some frozen paneer! I quickly thawed it in the microwave, chopped it up, and threw it in! Not only was dinner saved, but I discovered an INCREDIBLE new recipe! You saw the outcome if you follow me on Instagram as I shared a reel of the preliminary recipe! If this Paneer Fried Rice sounds exciting to you, then read on for the recipe, and perhaps make this as part of my Live to Cook one month challenge! You’ll get this for free along with my 5 top tips in the kitchen if you sign up for my newsletter!
Don’t forget to watch the video at the bottom of this post to see all the steps of how to make this delicious Paneer Fried Rice recipe! I’d also appreciate it if you subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already, and make sure you hit the bell button so you receive the notifications when the recipe videos go live! The video recipes are excellent for you to get a tangible view of how to make this recipe, and you’ve got everything to set you up for success! Let’s get cooking!
What is Paneer?
Commonly translated to “Indian cottage cheese,” paneer is an Indian fresh cheese. Paneer is made with either whole milk or 2% milk, and it is brought to a simmer. Then, you curdle it with either buttermilk or lemon juice - something acidic. You then strain the milk curdles and put them under pressure to remove excess moisture. After they’ve been separated, you then shape and form your milk solids, and there it is! Paneer! For more details on how to make your own paneer at home, check out the recipe here.
WARNING! As mentioned, while paneer is translated to “Indian cottage cheese,” you CANNOT substitute it with Western cottage cheese! This is because paneer and cottage cheese have extremely different moisture content - paneer is dry and solid, which is how it can hold its shape in curries and sauces. If you try to use cottage cheese, it will crumble in your curry and turn to mush. I’ve made this mistake when I first came to Canada and I definitely learned my lesson!
You should be able to find paneer at your local grocery store or South Asian store. However, I’ve received many messages from folks who cannot find paneer anywhere near them. Unfortunately, you’re best off making your own. I tend to buy mine to save time and because it requires a lot of milk to make a small amount of paneer, but you gotta do what you gotta do! BUT the fresh paneer will taste incredible, so you won’t regret it!
About This Paneer Fried Rice Recipe
Paneer Fried Rice is an Indo-Chinese recipe. We have elements from Indian cooking with the veggies, paneer, and heat, and the stir fried cooking method comes from Chinese cuisine. You’ll adore the crunchy veggies and the crispy paneer that’s pan-fried to perfection! There are so many reasons why you need to try this delicious Paneer Fried Rice recipe for a tasty weeknight dinner!
Paneer fried rice is:
Vegetarian
Healthy with loads of veggies
Protein-packed with the paneer
Fast to make - the longest part is making the rice!
Can be veganized if the paneer is substituted with tofu
Tips for perfect paneer fried rice
Leftover rice works best for a rice based stir fry. For fresh rice, let rice completely cool down by spreading it out in a single layer over a plate or baking sheet.
Prepare all of the ingredients for the dish before you begin cooking.
Use a splash of vinegar to deglaze the pan if the bottom starts to brown.
Even though this is an Indo-Chinese dish, we follow the shape rule of Chinese cooking - where all components are cut into a similar shape. For this dish, our ingredients are cut into cubes.
Sesame oil is so flavourful that I used it for the entire dish. But you can use soybean oil, rapeseed oil or even Indian mustard seed oil for to stir fry the veggies and protein and then finish with sesame oil for added sheen and flavour.
Ingredients for Paneer Fried Rice
It’s time to see what ingredients we’ll need to make our Paneer Fried Rice! Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card, with all ingredients and their quantities. You can save this recipe for later and the recipe card will also allow you to scale the entire recipe based on how many portions you want to make. All the ingredient quantities will be automatically adjusted, so you don’t have to figure this out!
Rice: For this recipe, you’ll want to use your favourite short grain rice, such as arborio rice. Something long grain like basmati be too fragile for a stirfry like this, and you run the risk of the rice turning mushy.
Vegetable broth: This will be added to our rice when it cooks to add some extra flavour.
Vegetables: I’ll be using ginger, poblano pepper, red pepper, red onion, green beans, and carrots, which will be chopped.
Oil: Everything will be sautéed in sesame oil. I love the flavour that comes from sesame oil, and it adds a Chinese flair to the dish. If using an alternative, make sure it has a high smoke point. Good options are peanut oil or vegetable oil.
Sauces: We’ll be adding teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar and chilli garlic sauce. These sauces work together to add a nice sweetness and flavour with a touch of spice.
Garlic: Finely chopped. This will be cooked with our paneer and add a wonderful aroma.
Paneer: Cut into small cubes. You can either buy it from the store or make your own.
Spices: Salt and pepper is all we need!
How to make paneer fried rice
Rinse the rice well and then add to a saucepan. Add 2 1/2 - 3 Cups of vegetable broth or water and bring to a boil. Boil the rice until tender, drain any excess liquid.
Prepare baking sheet or large plate with parchment and spread the drained rice over the parchment in a thin layer. Let it cool down for at least 25-30 minutes .
Heat a wok or large pan on medium high heat and add the sesame oil. Once hot, add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the paneer and toss well with the oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
Sear the paneer until it is lightly golden brown and the garlic is roasted. To prevent the garlic from burning, make sure to stir the paneer and garlic every minute or so.
Then add the remaining veggies: the onions, peppers, carrots, green beans and ginger. Toss well to coat the veggies with the oil. If you notice any browning on the pan, add a little splash of water or vinegar to prevent it from burning.
Season with a small pinch of salt to help cook the veggies. Cook until the veggies are halfway done. They should have a shine and still have some of their crispness.
Add the teriyaki sauce, chilli garlic sauce and rice vinegar. Mix well.
Add the rice to the wok/pan and toss well to combine. Garnish with green onions, taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Watch How to Make spicy paneer fried rice Here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!
Spicy Paneer Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup short grain rice (example: arborio rice)
- 2 1/2 - 3 Cups vegetable broth
- 125 grams paneer (store-bought or homemade), cubed 1/2 inch thick
- 1/2 Cup diced onions
- 1/4 Cup diced carrots
- 1/4 Cup diced green beans
- 1/4 Cup diced poblano pepper or green pepper
- 1/4 Cup diced red peppers
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
- 1 heaping Tbsp chilli garlic sauce
- 1 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the rice well and then add to a saucepan. Add 2 1/2 - 3 Cups of vegetable broth or water and bring to a boil. Boil the rice until tender, drain any excess liquid.
- Prepare baking sheet or large plate with parchment and spread the drained rice over the parchment in a thin layer. Let it cool down for at least 25-30 minutes .
- Heat a wok or large pan on medium high heat and add the sesame oil. Once hot, add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the paneer and toss well with the oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
- Sear the paneer until it is lightly golden brown and the garlic is roasted. To prevent the garlic from burning, make sure to stir the paneer and garlic every minute or so.
- Then add the remaining veggies: the onions, peppers, carrots, green beans and ginger. Toss well to coat the veggies with the oil. If you notice any browning on the pan, add a little splash of water or vinegar to prevent it from burning.
- Season with a small pinch of salt to help cook the veggies. Cook until the veggies are halfway done. They should have a shine and still have some of their crispness.
- Add the teriyaki sauce, chilli garlic sauce and rice vinegar. Mix well.
- Add the rice to the wok/pan and toss well to combine. Garnish with green onions, taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve hot immediately.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
579.8Fat (grams)
30.22Sat. Fat (grams)
11.53Carbs (grams)
61.79Fiber (grams)
4.9Net carbs
56.86Sugar (grams)
12.32Protein (grams)
14.94Sodium (milligrams)
2412.67Cholesterol (grams)
41.25Nutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
