Cumin Beef Fried Rice

5 from 10 votes

A quick & easy beef fried rice recipe made with ground beef, eggs, leftover rice and seasoned with cumin that can be made as a side or a meal

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Main, Side

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: Servings

Calories: 874kcal

Ingredients

Crack 2 eggs into a small bowl and scramble it. Set it aside for later
Finely grate 1 tablespoon ginger, and finely mince 1.5 tablespoons garlic and set it aside for later.
Using your hands, separate the leftover rice into small pieces and set it aside for later.
Cut the root tips off the green onions and finely chop it (including the whites of the green onion). Set aside for later.

Add a bit of oil to a frying pan, and set it to medium heat and wait for the oil to get hot.
Add in 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds and toast it for 15-30 seconds. Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn!
Add in the ground beef. Break up the meat into tiny pieces and cook for about 5 minutes or until the water in the ground beef evaporates away.
Add in ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1.5 tablespoons garlic and, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and cook the beef for another 2 mins
Push the ground beef to the side of the frying pan.
Add eggs into the pan and let it cook for a few seconds until the egg is about 50% cooked.
Add in the rice and mix the beef, egg, and rice together and cook for about 10 minutes.
Keep the rice moving to fully cook the eggs.
Turn off the heat, and add the green onions and enjoy!

Try to use leftover rice whenever you make fried rice. Compared to freshly made rice, leftover rice tends to be a bit drier and firmer and can hold its shape better while you are stir-frying it. This can make a big difference between having fried rice with whole individual rice grains with a good mouthfeel, or soggy fried rice.
If you don't have day-old rice, you can make a pot of rice and put it in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours. The texture you are aiming for is granular when you separating the big chunks of rice. Alternatively, you can also add slightly less water to your fresh batch of rice when steaming it.
Add the salt into the meat and not the rice, the grease from the meats spreads out the salt more evenly throughout the fried rice once everything is combined.
Toast your whole cumin seeds for a few seconds for a more robust and nutty flavor.
I try to use whole cumin for this beef fried rice whenever possible. Always toast it in a pan for a few seconds to bring out its flavor before using it. I have tried using ground cumin and although it does work, it does not have as strong of a flavor.
I have also tried sprinkling in some sumac for some extra flavor but this may not be for everyone. Sumac has an intensely sour flavor, so if you're up for a bit more flavor and you're okay with a bit of tartness then give it a try!