This fried brown rice with sausage and zucchini is one of my favorite quick and easy dinners to make when zucchini is in season. The flavors of soy sauce and teriyaki with a hint of ginger pair beautifully with the savory kielbasa, sauteed veggies and chewy brown rice. You can also use white rice in this recipe and feel free to add the vegetable blend of your choice to this stir fry. I opted not to add fried eggs, but there again, you can toss in a few eggs to fry up with the veggies and rice. Either way, it is a great option for a busy day when you need an easy dinner to throw in the skillet! If you enjoy skillet meals, you may also enjoy steak and rice dinner or white chicken skillet lasagna.
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Sausage Fried Rice Dinner
Equipment
- Large non-stick skillet (linked below)
- Cutting board (linked below)
- Stainless steel measuring cups (linked below)
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked brown rice *see note (recipe linked below)
- 12 oz. sliced kielbasa
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup diced onion
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced or cubed roughly one pound
- Handful fresh kale or spinach
- 4 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Coat a large non-stick skillet with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, then add the prepared zucchini, onion, garlic, kielbasa and kale to the skillet. Season lightly with salt and pepper (optional), then saute and stir over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes until the veggies and sausage have browned lightly and softened.
- Combine the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and ground ginger, then add to the skillet along with the cooked brown rice. Continue to fry and stir for an additional 5 minutes, or until the rice has browned lightly and soaked up the excess liquid.
- Allow the fried rice and sausage skillet to cool slightly, then serve and enjoy!
Notes
Equipment needed for this sausage fried rice and zucchini skillet:
- Large non-stick skillet A large non-stick skillet is needed to fry up the veggies, sausage and rice needed for this fried rice recipe. If you do not have a non-stick skillet, I highly recommend investing in one for dishes like this sausage fried rice!
- Cutting board A cutting board and chef’s knife are useful for slicing, mincing and dicing the veggies and kielbasa needed in this fried rice recipe.
- Measuring cups and spoons I like to use my measuring cups and spoons for measuring out the ginger, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and onion.
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Ingredients needed for this sausage fried rice recipe: Kielbasa (smoked sausage), medium zucchini, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, garlic cloves, ground ginger, kale, diced onion and brown rice.
Brown rice vs. white rice:
I like to use brown rice for this recipe simply because it is healthier than white rice and also has a nice chewy texture when fried with the veggies and sausage. White rice works just as well in this recipe, but the cooking times and method varies a bit from brown to white rice. For cooking brown rice you can follow these instructions for How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice from Cookie and Kate, or you can use my Tips for Making Great Stovetop Rice for cooking white rice.
Step 1: Pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large non-stick skillet, then add the prepared zucchini, onion, garlic, kielbasa and kale to the skillet. Saute and stir over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes until the veggies and sausage have browned lightly and softened.
Step 2: Combine the soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and ground ginger, then add to the skillet along with the cooked brown rice.
Step 2 continued: Continue to fry and stir for an additional 5 minutes, or until the rice is also browned lightly and the liquid has evaporated.
Why “Stir Fry” Instead of “Set It and Forget It”:
When frying rice and veggies in oil it is best to cook the ingredients uncovered and over a medium high heat to get a nice brown on the meat and rice, plus a crisp tender texture on the veggies. Because you are frying all those goodies over a medium-high heat, you will also want to keep stirring the dish constantly, or quite frequently, to keep the veggies, meat and rice from burning. Keep a close eye on the skillet and resist the urge to multi task with other kitchen chores around you!
Last step: Allow the sausage and rice skillet to cool slightly, then serve and enjoy!
Storage options for this sausage and rice skillet:
This sausage and rice stir fry tastes great reheated in the microwave or oven. The leftovers can also be refried in a skillet on the stove top to reheat them. You can keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container or tightly wrapped dish. I do not recommend freezing the leftovers if you are using zucchini, because zucchini can become mushy and watery in the freezer.
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