There’s a sushi spot here in Chicago that gives you the option to choose black rice with your roll. The first time I decided to try it, I was blown away by the rice’s slightly sweet flavor and chewy texture. At this point, I can’t really enjoy sushi unless it’s made with black rice (which also happens to be known as purple rice or forbidden rice.)
If you haven’t cooked with black rice before, it’s very easy to make and absolutely delicious. I have quite a few recipes that use black rice, including salmon tacos, thai peanut chicken bowls, and these chile lime salmon bowls. It’s a must-try!
Here’s how this recipe came to fruition: I wanted to use up some black rice that had been lurking in my pantry for a few months, so I decided to make this amazing vegetarian fried rice using forbidden rice, pineapple, edamame, and tons of vegetables. It’s a plant-based, healthy take on traditional fried rice and damn is it good!
White rice vs forbidden rice
Forbidden rice, also known as black or purple rice is loaded with antioxidants as well as higher amounts of fiber and protein than both white and brown rice. I love cooking with forbidden rice because it adds a nutty, slightly sweet flavor to savory recipes. Use up the rest of your forbidden rice from this recipe in these delicious tacos, and this gorgeous bowl.
How to cook black rice
Add 1 cup of rice and a little coconut oil (or sesame oil) to a medium pot and place over medium heat. Toast rice for 1 minute with the oil to enhance the flavor and texture, then add 2 cups water and salt, and stir. Allow water to come to a boil, then turn heat to low, cover and cook for 45-50 minutes. Do not at any point, lift up the lid. Remove from heat and allow to sit in pan covered for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. The rice should be slightly chewy but still soft.
Ingredients in this vegetarian forbidden fried rice
I mean, just look at all of those gorgeous colors! This vegetarian fried rice recipe is packed with fresh produce and wonderful flavors. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Forbidden rice: as I mentioned, this may be called black rice or purple rice when you look for it in the store. It’s nutty in flavor and absolutely delicious.
- Oil: you’ll need a little coconut oil or sesame oil to toast the rice before cooking it. It really takes it to the next level!
- Eggs: just like with traditional fried rice, we’re scrambling a couple of eggs and adding them to the dish (hello, protein).
- Produce: you’ll also cook down pineapple (fresh or frozen), garlic, fresh ginger, green onions, red bell pepper, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, and edamame. We’re eating the rainbow, kids!
- For the “sauce”: get a lovely sauce texture and flavor from gluten free soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos) and chili paste.
- Nuts: I like to add chopped honey roasted cashews or peanuts right in with the “sauce” for the perfect texture.
- To garnish: top your fried rice with fresh cilantro, the tops of the green onion, and extra chopped nuts!
Can I make it vegan?
Yes! Simply omit the eggs and add in extra edamame, chickpeas, or tofu.
Tips for making vegetarian fried rice at home
Fried rice is very easy to make right at home, and after you make it once, you’ll be addicted. The best part is that you can add a variety of veggies and protein to mix it up. Here are some tips for making vegetarian fried rice at home:
- Use old rice: my advice is to use day old rice for the best texture and to achieve the crispiness you desire. If you want to use fresh rice, you absolutely can, just make sure that it’s sat out for 5 minutes before you cook with it. I like to spread mine on a tray to cool for 5 minutes.
- Use a hot wok or pan: Make sure your pan is nice and hot when you cook your fried rice. This will help to achieve crispiness. Use coconut oil or sesame oil for additional flavor.
- Pre-cook your eggs to speed up the process: fried rice typically doesn’t take a long time so you’ll want to cook your eggs and any protein first. Then set aside and you can toss them in when the fried rice is done.
- Add in additional veggies, sauce or protein. Feel free to change this recipe up and add whatever veggies you have it on hand. You could also add fish sauce, more soy sauce and even extra protein if you feel like you need it.
What to serve with vegetarian forbidden fried rice
You can (of course) enjoy this pineapple fried rice as is, but here are some other great (non-vegetarian) recipes to serve it with:
- Spicy Maple Glazed Salmon for Two
- Grilled Sesame Chicken
- Baked, pan fried, or Grilled Tofu
- Grilled or pan fried shrimp
- Or your favorite beef recipe!
Storing tips
Store any leftover fried rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Feel free to heat up leftovers in the microwave or enjoy cold!
More recipes you might like
- Sweet and Sour Pineapple Broccoli Chicken Stir Fry
- 30 Minute Vegan Stir Fry Sesame Noodles with Chickpeas & Basil
- Sweet & Spicy Sesame Chicken Meatball Bowls
- One Pot Vegan Coconut Curried Brown Rice with Tofu
- Vegan Curry Chickpea Salad Collard Wraps
If you make this vegetarian forbidden fried rice recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment below to let us know how you liked it! We really appreciate your readership. Thank you! xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Vegetarian Thai-Inspired Pineapple Forbidden Fried Rice
Ingredients
- For the rice:
- 1 cup uncooked forbidden rice
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or toasted sesame oil
- 2 cups water
- Pinch of salt
- For the scrambled eggs*
- Nonstick cooking spray (I like avocado oil cooking spray)
- 2 large eggs + 1 tablespoon water
- For the fried rice + veggies:
- 1 ½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil or coconut oil, divided
- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen cubed pineapple
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped (reserve some for topping)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots (or carrots cut into matchsticks)
- 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame
- 1 tablespoon chili paste
- 2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos, plus more to taste
- 1/3 cup coarsely chopped honey roasted or regular cashews (or peanuts)
- To garnish:
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- Extra green onion/scallions
- honey roasted cashews (use regular roasted cashews if vegan)
Instructions
- To make the forbidden rice: Add rice and coconut oil to a medium pot and place over medium heat. Toast rice for 2 minutes with the oil to enhance the flavor and texture. After 2 minutes, add water and salt and stir. Allow water to come to a boil, then turn heat to low, cover and cook for 45-55 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit in pan covered for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. The rice should be slightly chewy but still soft.
- While the rice is cooking, you can chop your veggies and cook your eggs. Add eggs and water to a bowl and beat slightly with a fork. Place a large skillet or wok over medium low heat and spray with a little nonstick cooking spray (alternatively you can use a little oil). Add eggs to the pan and season with a little salt and pepper, scramble and cook eggs until done but still slightly wet. Transfer eggs to a bowl and set aside.
- Once rice is done cooking, you can start cooking your veggies. Wipe the same large skillet or wok you used clean with a paper towel, then add in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or sesame oil and place over medium high heat. Add in pineapple, garlic, ginger, green onion and red bell pepper; saute for 4-6 minutes until pineapple starts to caramelize and turn slightly golden brown on the edges.
- Next add in the remaining veggies: red cabbage, carrots and edamame. Saute for 3-5 more minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer all of the veggies to a large plate or bowl.
- Now it’s time to fry up the rice! Add the remaining ½ tablespoon oil to the same pan and place over medium heat. Add in your cooked rice and cook, stirring frequently for 2-4 minutes.
- Add all of your cooked veggies plus the cooked eggs back to the pan. Stir in the the chili paste, soy sauce and honey roasted cashews and cook for a few more minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. You may want to add another tablespoon of soy sauce or even some crushed red pepper flakes for a little hint of spice. It’s up to you.
- Garnish with additional nuts, cilantro and a little extra green onion. Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
28 comments
Love the forbidden rice. I make your salmon with it all the time.
Amazing!! So happy to hear that.
I made this for a friend who came to dinner at my house. The rest of us ate ham and potatoes but he wanted something “vegan” so I made this. He wouldn’t eat it because of the eggs. He also doesn’t eat any dairy products, including butter! So I covered the dish and put it in the refrigerator. I had it the next day and thought it was delicious!
Oh no! Vegans do not eat any animal products, so the eggs definitely would have been an issue for him (but they’re easy to leave out). Glad you got to enjoy it the next day!
Amazing colors and flavors in this recipe! We added some baked tofu and topped with sriracha and fresh jalapeños. The forbidden rice makes it so unique! Thank you!
Love that! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Such a fun recipe, to make and to eat! I love how versatile it is, too. I mixed some mango in with the pineapple for a little extra tropical flavor. Next time I’ll probably add some tofu like I see others have done, but it was definitely filling enough as written too! Keep crushing it Monique!
Absolutely!! Love the idea of adding mango and tofu. Thanks for your comment, Melanie!
This was quite possibly one of the most delicious things i ever ate! Added grilled shrimp. Wow!
Can you buy chili paste? Does it come in a jar?
Yes! It usually comes in a squeeze tube like this one.
Delicious!!! Do you recommend heating up leftovers in a skillet or in the microwave?
Either will work just fine! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
You have completely changed my life by introducing me to forbidden rice! This dish is so yummy…and filling! My rice wasn’t a photogenic as yours though… once I stirred in the vegetable mix with the soy sauce, it all kind of darkened and lost its pop of color. But, still so yummy!
Forbidden rice is the best! It’s all about the taste anyway 😉 glad you love this one!
Sounds tasty – you mentioned this dish is gluten free and vegan, but you would need to leave out the eggs in order for this dish to be vegan, and you’d need to use cashews that are not honey-roasted. Some with very high sensitivity to gluten also avoid soy sauce, since it’s made from wheat, but you could substitute tamari.
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Thanks for the catch – I meant to write vegetarian in the post and added additional notes for making this vegan 🙂 I did include gluten free soy sauce options within the recipe, too.
I love this recipe, but I absolutely hate this website and all the ads. I almost gave up before I got to the recipe.
As much as I enjoyed this dish I won’t be back to this site. Just too many ads and pop ups.
It’s is not user friendly and it’s sad.
Hi Nicole! Thank you for your note – we’re constantly working to better our site and user experience. I’m glad you loved the recipe itself!
We don’t usually like pineapple in savory dishes, but this turned out well! I just used brown rice, and it still turned out great. I would say it’s more like 6 servings!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This is so very tasty! I followed the recipe to a T but my rice only needed to cook for 30 minutes. And I added 1/4 of a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Very yummy
Quick and easy! Glad you enjoyed!
This is sooo good! I’ve had it bookmarked for a while and finally bought some forbidden rice to try it. My boyfriend wasn’t sold on black rice at first….but he loved it!! Thanks for a delicious plant-based recipe!
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
Loved this recipe!
I love your recipes and have been following you for many years. I was really looking forward to this dish, but I’m worried about the rice. I bought the Forbidden rice from the bulk section of Whole Foods, and followed the directions on the recipe looked at the rice at 45 minutes and there was still water in it so I cooked it longer. When I tried it, it was soooo mushy. I’m so bummed. Any thoughts?
Hi Caroline! At what temperature was your rice cooking at?