Pepper Fried Rice

Updated June 11, 2024

Pepper Fried Rice
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(293)
Notes
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I was once amazed to find I could use frozen red and yellow bell pepper strips straight from the package. (I am aware that this is not a revelation to everyone; call me stupid.) The peppers are great in a simple quick dish of fried rice. If frozen vegetables are handled expeditiously, they are often better than buying 'fresh' at the store."

It's true. Freezing, especially after blanching (which is almost always a part of the process), locks in both flavor and nutrients. And the use of I.Q.F. (individually quick frozen) technology has become routine, and the results are profoundly better than freezing vegetables in solid blocks. (These products are almost always sold in plastic bags, not boxes, and as a rule you should buy frozen vegetables in plastic bags.)

Featured in: THE MINIMALIST; Frosty the Vegetable

Learn: How to Make Rice

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 4tablespoons peanut or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
  • 1pound frozen bell pepper strips, preferably a mixture of red and yellow
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4cups cooked rice, preferably long grain
  • 2tablespoons good soy sauce, or to taste
  • 1tablespoon dark sesame oil
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

279 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 54 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 681 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put peanut oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to medium high. A minute later, add peppers and raise heat to high. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Add rice, separating it with your hands as you do so. Cook, stirring and breaking up the rice lumps, until it is hot and begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and sesame oil, taste and adjust seasoning, and serve.

Ratings

4 out of 5
293 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

The only thing he forgot to mention is that the rice works best if it is cold - it doesn't work at all if you have just cooked the rice and it is still hot.

I added about 1/3 lb. ground pork and a generous 1T garlic sesame paste. Sprinkled the result with chopped green onions. Fantastic.

Great recipe! I make this dish often, usually as a side dish with fish, chicken or pork. My biggest compliment is that my 2 years old niece chooses this over mashed potato! How often you can see that!

I really liked this recipe, it was tastier than I expected. I made it as written, except for folding in 2 well beaten eggs towards the end. My husband and I shared it as a meal

I like that if I keep frozen peppers in the freezer, have all the other ingredients at hand. A great fast meal. It's going into our rotation.

I used fresh colored peppers plus a few thai to spice it up. I also used brown rice since I had some already leftover. I like more veggies too so in went some carrots, onions and broccoli. Delicious! This is a great starter recipe and then add what you like.

I used just rice, 1 green pepper, olive oil, salt/pepper, and soy sauce. It's faitly quick to cook and delicious ever time!

I added a few slices of diced ham and I substituted Calrose rice for long grain. I cooked the rice in the rice cooker in the morning and left it spread out on a plate uncovered in the refrigerator until it was time to cook. It made three generous servings as an entree.

It was delicious.

Very nice! Made it as described but used fresh shishito peppers, brown rice and a little Thai basil.

I make this with leftover brown rice all the time and everyone likes it better than they like me.

Stellar. Used fresh red bells and jasmine rice cooked day before. Not having a non-stick pan, I used a large stainless fry pan. Hard to keep the mix from sticking, but scraping up the stuck bits resulted in a sort of tahdig. Crunchy, umami-rich, filling, attractive on the plate. Served with NYT Pork Chops with Tamarind and Ginger.

I’m trying to teach my 17 year old, vegetarian, son to cook. This recipe is super easy and while he doesn’t love cooking (yet?). He has no trouble with it. He also makes baked, marinated tofu to go with it and the whole family is happy with the meal.

Had some leftover flank steak that I slivered and added, otherwise followed the recipe. As others have said, let freshly cooked rice mostly cool if you’re not using leftovers. Best home attempt at fried rice yet ...

I used cold cooked rice and added a beaten egg at the end.

Good, not great. Added a well-beaten egg near the end and chopped scallions and chopped peanuts as a garnish. Still tasted not lively enough. Ingredients did not “pop” in the mouth.

Very flavorful. I added onion and used some heirloom peppers from my CSA. I make fried rice frequently and usually include more variety of vegetables - but peppers and onion were all I had on hand and I found this when I searched for recipes to use up some of my peppers. It was really very good with just the two veggies, and I added the called for amounts of soy sauce & sesame oil. Served with sliced poached chicken (a la Cockaigne per Joy of Cooking) on top. Thank you!

This is a great basic recipe that lends itself well to variation. I added half a sliced onion, some chopped garlic and ginger, and some frozen peas for color. I also added two scrambled eggs at the suggestion of another commenter. Delicious!

Easy way to use up leftover rice and chicken... I used a pack and a half of sweet peppers (fresh), some leftover ginger rice that I had made using the Trader Joe's miso broth as the liquid, and some leftover chicken breast from instant pot! Followed Naomi's advice and added beaten eggs at the end and it gave it that nice take-out rice oomph.

I really enjoyed this recipe. I fried half an onion along with peppers and added a few scallions. I saw too late note how you can't cook rice right before but mine turned out wonderful. I would definitely reduce the amount of grapeseed oil since mine turned out to be a bit too oily-but still delicious.

I really liked this recipe, it was tastier than I expected. I made it as written, except for folding in 2 well beaten eggs towards the end. My husband and I shared it as a meal

I like that if I keep frozen peppers in the freezer, have all the other ingredients at hand. A great fast meal. It's going into our rotation.

I added about 1/3 lb. ground pork and a generous 1T garlic sesame paste. Sprinkled the result with chopped green onions. Fantastic.

I used fresh colored peppers plus a few thai to spice it up. I also used brown rice since I had some already leftover. I like more veggies too so in went some carrots, onions and broccoli. Delicious! This is a great starter recipe and then add what you like.

I added a few slices of diced ham and I substituted Calrose rice for long grain. I cooked the rice in the rice cooker in the morning and left it spread out on a plate uncovered in the refrigerator until it was time to cook. It made three generous servings as an entree.

It was delicious.

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