This rice dish with spices and vegetables adding both flavour and colour is sometimes eaten as a meal at home but more often eaten at parties and occasions. Nigerian fried rice comes seconds to jollof rice as party food – both jollof and fried rice are served on the same plate at most parties.
Traditional Nigerian fried rice is not only easy to make, it is nutritious and delicious. The rice absorbs flavours from the meat stock, vegetables and spices to create the signature savoury but slightly sweet flavours associated with Nigerian fried rice. In this post, I will share a Nigerian fried rice recipe with mixed seafood for extra "wow".
How To Make Nigerian Fried Rice
Here are the ingredients you need for this Nigerian fried rice recipe...
- Beef liver
- Onion
- Garlic
- Rice
- Oil
- Curry powder
- Thyme
- Chicken stock (or turkey)
- Chicken stock cubes
- Salt
- Mixed seafood
- Carrots (cubes)
- Green peas
- Sweetcorn
- Runner beans
- Red bell pepper
A few notes about the ingredients...
- Rice: Nigerian fried rice should have individual, separated grains. Long-grain parboiled rice works best as it is less likely to become sticky. I recommend Golden basmati/Sella basmati rice because it holds its texture no matter what you throw at it.
- Vegetables: You can use fresh, frozen or canned vegetables for this recipe; or a combination of one or more of the three – whatever works for you. Frozen mixed vegetable bags are great if you can find them. I always use fresh carrots and find the pre-packed carrot batons from the supermarkets very easy to cut into cubes.
- Added Protein: Beef liver is traditionally added to Nigerian fried rice. It works well with fried rice, and you don't have to add other protein sources if you prefer. If you want to jazz it up with more protein sources, then shrimp, chicken and seafood also work well with fried rice.
How to make it...
Peel the onion and the garlic cloves. Cut the red peppers into cubes and keep aside.
Cut the beef liver and add into a pan. Chop the garlic cloves, slice half of the onion and add both into the pan with some salt.
Add a cup of water and cook the liver until well done; it will take at least 15 mins. Remove from heat.
Cut the liver into cubes, and fry in some oil. Keep aside. You should not use this oil for cooking the rice as it will be dark and could prevent the vibrant colour of the rice from coming through.
Wash the rice until the water runs clear, then pour in a colander to drain. This step is essential as removing excess starch helps to keep the rice grain separate.
Add the oil to a clean pan. Fry the chopped carrots, sweetcorn, green peas and runner peas. I do this in two batches to prevent overcrowding the pot. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
Chop the remaining onion and pour into the pan. Cook until the onions start to brown.
Add the rice, curry powder and thyme. Reduce the heat and stir with a wooden spoon making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. Do this repeatedly for about 10 mins.
Bring the heat back to medium. Pour the meat stock into the pot, add the stock cubes and 3 cups of water. Add some salt to taste.
Cover the pan and boil the rice until all the liquid is nearly absorbed. Taste the rice and add a small quantity of water if not cooked through. Add the mixed seafood, cover the pan and leave to cook until all the liquid is dried out. Then pour in the fried beef liver, vegetables, and peppers.
Reduce the heat to the lowest and leave on heat for around 5 mins. Mix these into the rice with a wooden spoon. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. Leave for about 10 mins for all the flavours to meld together. Turn the rice with a wooden spoon again and serve.
Recipe FAQ
People tend to handle fried rice more carefully than white rice or even jollof rice because it is notorious for going bad very quickly. Uncooked rice contains spores of a micro-organism known as bacillus cereus , which can survive cooking. When rice is kept at room temperature in a warm environment, the spores multiply very quickly; making the food go bad.
Added ingredients to Nigerian fried rice also contribute to quick spoilage. For example, proteins and vegetables have a higher water content than rice. Food spoilage micro-organisms require high-water activity to thrive; hence, they multiply more quickly in fried rice and cause spoilage.
To prevent spoilage of the fried rice, consume hot. If not eating immediately, keep the pan open to encourage steam loss. Do not keep fried rice at ambient temperature for too long. Instead, transfer the rice into a refrigerator within a few hours.
Curry powder is traditionally used for Nigerian fried rice, giving the dish the yellow/greenish-yellow colour associated with it. However, some people add turmeric for an even more vibrant colour.
Related Recipes
Nigerian Fried Rice With Mixed Seafood
Ingredients
- 200 g Beef liver
- 1 big Onion
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 cups Rice
- 4 tablespoons Oil plus some extra for frying the liver
- 1 tablespoon Curry powder
- ½ teaspoon Thyme
- 1 cup Chicken stock or turkey stock
- 2 Chicken stock cubes
- Salt
- 1 cup Mixed seafood
- ½ cup Carrots
- ½ cup Green peas
- ½ cup Sweetcorn
- ½ cup Runner beans sliced
- ½ Red bell pepper big
Instructions
- Defrost the mixed seafood and frozen vegetables.
- Peel the onion and the garlic cloves. Cut the red peppers into cubes and keep aside.
- Cut the beef liver and add into a pan. Chop the garlic cloves, slice half of the onion and add both into the pan with some salt. Add a cup of water and cook the liver until well done; it will take at least 15 mins. Remove from heat.
- Cut the liver into cubes, and fry in some oil. Keep aside.
- Start the rice while the liver is cooking by washing the rice until the water runs clear,then pour in a colander to drain.
- Add the oil to a clean pan. Fry the chopped carrots, sweetcorn, green peas and runner peas. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
- Chop the remaining onion and pour into the pan. Cook until the onions start to brown.
- Add the rice, curry powder and thyme. Reduce the heat and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pot. Do this repeatedly for about 10 mins.
- Bring the heat back to medium. Pour the meat stock into the pot, add the stock cubes and 3 cups of water. Add some salt to taste.
- Cover the pan and boil the rice until all the liquid is nearly absorbed. Taste the rice and add a small quantity of water if not cooked through. Add the mixed seafood, cover the pan and leave to cook until all the liquid is absorbed. Then pour in the fried beef liver, vegetables, and peppers.
- Reduce the heat to the lowest and leave on heat for around 5 mins. Mix all these into the rice with a wooden spoon. Cover the pan and turn off the heat. Leave for about 10 mins. Turn the rice with a wooden spoon again and serve.
Fried Rice and Seafood are my husbands two favorite things! I'll definitely have to make this for him. It might make it onto his favorite meals list.
Thanks for stopping by Mel. I hope your husband likes it.