{Note: This post was updated with a new recipe video. Check it out below!} How was your Memorial Day weekend? Did you travel? We stayed in town, but it was nice to have a day off and some extra play time with the kiddos. We made it to the pool (3 times!), had a cookout, waved a flag and said a quiet thanks to all of those who sacrificed to make these things possible. We also said happy birthday to our chocolate lab puppy Dixie, who is now 7 years old and not a puppy at all. Still sweet as ever though! After a weekend of all American food and fun, I’m bringing you another quick and easy weeknight dinner.
And you know a dinner is delicious when you fight with your husband over the leftovers. We couldn’t get enough of this spicy pork fried rice! I love the balance of flavors - the sweet, tender vegetables (and I like to use LOTS of veggies in my fried rice), the fluffy rice, the meaty pork pieces and the silky soy sauce running all over everything. Plus, the spicy sriracha sauce infuses such a great background heat and is cooled down with the crisp cucumber spirals that add so much freshness to the final dish. (You might also like this quick and easy chicken fried rice for a quick and classic dinner.)
We didn’t end up adding any extra sriracha at the table and this was perfectly spicy for us - not burning our mouths but had a kick. And it was addictive! My husband and I had seconds that night and did battle over the leftovers a couple days later (I won. Cook’s advantage ) Just means I will be making it again soon! And again and again after that. Which is great because it’s so fast and easy — ready in under 30 minutes — and is full of veggies. And it uses my new favorite shortcut, ground pork, which I also used for my quick and easy pork and broccoli slaw stir fry.
Notes on spicy pork fried rice:
I use ground pork to make this easy and fast. If you can’t buy any at your store, you can make it yourself with a good food processor. Need to tone down the heat? You can do half the amount of the spicy garlic sauce and omit the sriracha in the recipe. That’ll make the main dish not spicy and anyone who wants a little heat can add some sriracha to their bowl at the table. (I do this when making it for my kids.) I love how veggie-loaded this is, but you can certainly substitute any of your favorites or omit any here that you don’t like. I use steamed brown rice but you could substitute white rice or cauliflower rice if you prefer.
Oh, and the spiralized cucumber is optional but it really adds a nice fresh, crisp and cool texture to this spicy fried rice. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can cut the cucumber into matchsticks or use a vegetable peeler and to some long, thin strands.
I hope you give this easy pork fried rice a try soon. And cheers to a short work week! Enjoy! XO, Kathryn P.S. If you love a fun twist on fried rice, definitely check out my Mexican fried rice.
Cooked rice is needed for this recipe. You can use brown or white rice. Plan ahead accordingly. The spiralized cucumber is optional but it really adds a nice fresh, crisp and cool texture to this spicy fried rice. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can cut the cucumber into matchsticks or use a vegetable peeler and to some long, thin strands. Need to tone down the heat? You can do half the amount of the spicy garlic sauce and omit the sriracha in the recipe. That’ll make the main dish not spicy and anyone who wants a little heat can add some sriracha to their bowl at the table.
