Cajun fried rice
Leftover rice fried with the Cajun trinity of onion, pepper and celery, sweet corn and crispy okra, with a good shake of hot sauce.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.39 a serving
- 430 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice, cooked and chilled, about 4½ cups (leftover rice is perfect)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ cups okra, sliced into ½-inch rounds
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp salt
Each serving has about 430 calories, 8 g protein, 74 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $1.39 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No hot sauce? Sriracha works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Break up the cold rice with your fingers. the onion, pepper and celery, the garlic, and the okra into ½-inch rounds.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large over medium-high heat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heat
Add the okra in one layer and cook 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until .
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: High heat and very little stirring keep okra crisp instead of slippery.Move it to a plate.
Add the rest of the oil, the onion, pepper and celery and cook, stirring now and then, 5 minutes, until soft.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Add the garlic, Cajun seasoning and smoked paprika and stir 30 seconds, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium-high heat
Add the rice and corn, press into the pan and cook 1 minute without stirring. Then 4 minutes, until the rice is steaming hot and a little .
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Use rice that went into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking. Rice left out overnight isn’t safe, even once it’s fried.Food safety: Put leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot, 165°F.
Stir in the okra, hot sauce and salt and 1 minute. Taste and add more hot sauce if you like.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Medium-high heat
Dolly’s tip: Cajun seasoning brands vary a lot in salt, so taste before you add any more.Serve topped with the green onions.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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