Sausage Fried Rice

You only need a handful of everyday ingredients to make this easy sausage fried rice:
Chipolatas - These give the fried rice lots of flavour and make it a really filling family meal. I use chipolatas instead of regular sausages as they make for a smaller bite, which seems to work well in this egg fried rice. You can use regular sausages instead if you already have them. You'll need to fry them a bit longer, and make sure they are cooked through.
Long grain white rice - Long grain or white basmati rice works particularly well because it gives you separate, fluffy grains. Soaking and rinsing the rice helps to remove excess starch and gives a better texture.
Butter - Just a little will add lovely flavour to the onions and mushrooms. You can swap it for a dairy-free butter or a little extra oil if needed.
Onion - Finely chop one onion so it cooks quickly and blends into the fried rice.
Sliced mushrooms - Buying them pre-sliced makes prep quicker, but you can use whole mushrooms if thats what you already have. You can use whole mushrooms and chop them yourself instead. Chop these up roughly into smallish pieces, especially if you are making this for a fussy eater. Once cooked and mixed through the rice, they are not noticeable.
Large eggs - Lightly beat 5 eggs before adding to the pan. The egg cooks around the vegetables and rice to give the dish its classic fried rice texture.
Soy sauce - This is what gives the fried rice its lovely savoury flavour. Use reduced-salt soy sauce if you want to reduce the salt, or gluten-free tamari instead if needed.
Salt - Go easy on the salt because the sausages and soy sauce will already add quite a bit of saltiness.

This is a great trick if you have a fussy eater who isn't keen on mushrooms! My son actually came up with the idea for this recipe and likes chopping the mushrooms up really small. Once they are cooked and stirred through the egg and rice, they become much less noticeable, so you still get the flavour and goodness of the mushrooms without big pieces being obvious. You can leave them sliced if you prefer, you may need to leave them to fry with the onions a minute or two longer.

The rice can be prepared ahead of time, but for the best texture and food safety, I prefer making the finished fried rice fresh. If preparing rice ahead, cool it quickly and refrigerate it promptly, then use it within 1 day.

Yes. Chipolatas are ideal because they cook relatively quickly and work well in this meal as you get a smaller bite, but you can use other sausages if that's what you have. If you use regular sausages you'll need to fry them a bit longer, and make sure they are completely cooked through before slicing and adding them to the fried rice.

Yes. If mushrooms are a definite no-go in your house, simply leave them out. I have to point out though, that my fussy eater son recommends to chop them up small and you won't even know they are there, and that they add to the flavour in a great way. Otherwise, you could replace them with another finely chopped vegetable like green bell peppers, or just increase the amount of onion.

Absolutely. This is a very adaptable recipe. You could add finely chopped green bell peppers, peas, sweetcorn or grated carrots. If you're cooking for a fussy eater, I'd stick with vegetables you know they will tolerate and chop them small.

You can serve it completely on its own because it already contains sausages, egg, mushrooms and rice. If you want to add something extra, try steamed broccoli, peas, cucumber or some simple stir-fried vegetables.

For the best texture, and the healthiest way to cook it, yes I recommend it. Soaking the rice for 1-2 hours and then rinsing it several times until the water is fairly clear helps remove excess starch and can also reduce the amount of arsenic in the rice.

You can, although the cooking method and timings will be different. Brown rice generally takes longer to cook, so I recommend cooking it according to the packet instructions before adding it to the recipe.

This method was taught to me by my mother, and it's generally the Persian way of cooking rice (my dad is Persian!). It's a great way of getting fluffy, separate rice grains without it becoming sticky. The rice is briefly boiled, drained and then returned to the pan to finish cooking gently with a little oil and salt. Make sure you fluff it up with a fork once cooked.

The biggest thing is to make sure your rice is well drained before adding it to the pan. Rinsing the rice thoroughly and following the cooking method helps give you separate grains. Stir-fry everything together over a reasonably high heat for the final few minutes.

Yes, and this is actually a great way to use up leftover cooked rice, if you have enough! Make sure the rice has been cooled quickly (within 1 hour ideally) and stored for 24 hours or less in the fridge. Add the cold rice to the pan when instructed and stir-fry until piping hot all the way through.

Yes, absolutely! If you have a favourite way of cooking rice, you can use that instead. I recommend cooking it for slightly less time than you normally would, though, as the rice is going to be stir-fried with the other ingredients for a few minutes afterwards. You want the rice to be cooked through but still lovely and fluffy, rather than overly soft or mushy.

Allow the fried rice to cool quickly, then transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. Because this recipe contains cooked rice, don't leave it sitting out at room temperature for a long time - I recommend 1 hour, but 2 hours maximum should be okay. Store leftovers in the fridge and use within 24 hours for best food safety. Add just a little water so the rice doesn't dry out and reheat until steaming hot all the way through. Only reheat leftovers once.

More on safe food storage and reheating.

Yes, you can freeze leftovers. Allow the cooked fried rice to cool quickly, then portion it into suitable freezer containers or bags and freeze. Defrost thoroughly in the fridge before reheating and add a little water, then reheat in the microwave until steaming hot all the way through. Only reheat once.

Yes, with a couple of swaps. Rice, eggs, sausages, mushrooms, onion and butter are naturally gluten free, but you need to check your sausages and soy sauce. Use gluten-free sausages and gluten-free tamari or soy sauce.

This recipe is suitable for the following diets:
Nut-free.
Gluten-free when using gluten-free sausages and tamari or gluten-free soy sauce.
Vegetarian if you replace the sausages with a suitable vegetarian sausage alternative.
Dairy-free if you replace the butter with dairy-free butter or oil
This recipe is NOT suitable for:
Vegan diets because it contains sausages, eggs and butter
Egg-free diets

Always check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens, particularly sausages and soy sauce.