Five spice pork egg-fried rice recipe – a budget-friendly fakeaway that’s ready in less than 20 minutes. Nobody would ever know its gluten-free and Coeliac-friendly!
Five spice pork egg-fried rice recipe, anyone? I’m always searching for ways to help stretch our food budget whilst being gluten-free… and without compromising on taste. Though it’s not always easy to do, Mark certainly made it look like a walk in the park – one serving of this all-in-one meal is roughly £1 per person!
When it comes to a quick and easy dinner, I’m pretty sure Mark (my boyfriend!) would eat different variations of egg-fried rice every day. Well actually I’m 100% sure, because he literally said that just the other day.
However, having grown up with monthly Chinese takeaways back when I was a kid (who could still eat gluten), I’ve always seen fried rice as a side… not necessarily something you’d eat as a main… anyone else still feel like that?
But Mark has definitely changed that over the last few years, with his five spice pork egg-fried rice recipe being a great example of why! It’s packed with veg, protein, carbs and a boatload of authentic flavours – a complete meal in its own right.
It’s gotten to the point where I’ve realised… why would you need anything else with a dish that’s already so complete?! So here’s everything he used to make this, using ingredients that we bought from Aldi (apart from gluten-free soy sauce which you’ll need to get from elsewhere) – that means each serving costs about £1 per person.
Five spice pork egg-fried rice recipe: What you’ll need…
- Garlic-infused oil: An instant injection of wonderful garlic flavour – no chopping or pre-frying of fresh garlic required. And if your garlic oil doesn’t have any bits of actual garlic floating in it, then it’s low FODMAP too.
- Smoked bacon lardons: These are often overlooked as an ingredient in recipes, but are so affordable and convenient to use, not forgetting that they’re incredibly tasty when fried until crispy. You could also use thick, finely chopped, smoked bacon here instead.
- Five spice: This aromatic spice blend is available in the spice aisle of supermarkets. Ours is a blend of star anise, cinnamon, fennel, black pepper and clove.
- Light brown sugar: The combo of the natural molasses in light brown sugar, alongside five spice and gluten-free soy sauce, is a match made in heaven when paired with crispy pork.
- Gluten-free soy sauce: This is often found in both supermarket free from aisles and international aisles – sometimes it’s also called tamari. This is the only ingredient in this recipe you won’t find in Aldi, so make sure you have this already.
- Carrots and red/green (bell) pepper: This is Mark’s veg of choice – it’s super quick to prepare, cook and adds a wonderful crunch and colour to the finished dish. Most importantly, it tastes amazing!
- Eggs: Large or medium eggs works here.
- Rice: Long grain rice is ideal here, but basmati works too. Ensure it’s fully cooked and ideally cooled and chilled before starting this recipe. Or you can use 3x 250g packets of microwave rice if you’re in a hurry (no need to to microwave it first).
- Frozen peas (optional): Mark didn’t actually use these in the dish he made in the photos… but that’s just because he forgot! Feel free to add them if you have them.
- Spring onion: This is used as a garnish, yet adds an instant hit of onion flavour. If you use just the green parts, then it’ll be low FODMAP too.
So, what does it taste like? In a word: immense. The pork is crispy, smoky, savoury and aromatic with takeaway-worthy egg-fried rice that’s packed with crunchy veg and mountains of flavour. I absolutely had to go back for seconds… and thirds!
In case you missed it, I’ve dedicated my Instagram and TikTok feeds to showing you how to make 5 budget-friendly dinners from a £25 shop at Aldi. And Mark’s five spice pork egg-fried rice was one of the 5 meals during week 2 of this ongoing series!
Why? Well, as you probably know by now, being on a gluten-free diet can be expensive… so when you factor in the rising costs of living, things soon add up to more than we’d like.
So that’s why I’m gonna be posting more recipes that show you how to take modest, budget-friendly ingredients and transform them into exciting, flavourful meals that nobody would know were gluten-free and incredibly affordable.
Five spice pork egg-fried rice recipe: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Is it suitable for Coeliacs?
It is gluten-free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!
Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination.
Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make sure that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).
Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten-free products.
Can I make your Five spice pork egg-fried rice recipe dairy-free?
It is dairy-free!
Can I make your Five spice pork egg-fried rice recipe vegan?
Surprisingly, yes!
- Simply swap the bacon lardons for 200-300g of thinly sliced mushrooms. Use as directed in the recipe, ensuring they’re lovely and crisp.
- Omit the eggs or swap for 100g of extra-firm tofu, crumbled straight into the wok with a pinch of turmeric.
Is this recipe low FODMAP?
It can be very easily! You just need to ensure a few things:
- Ensure your garlic-infused oil doesn’t have any actual bits of garlic floating in it (the one in Tesco is safe, but sadly the one in Aldi is not, for example)
- Ensure your five spice doesn’t contain onion or garlic powder
- Use two small green peppers (swap one red pepper for a green one) and ensure you serve no more than 75g of green pepper per person.
- Add no more than 4 tbsp of frozen peas, if using
Can I swap up the veg?
Of course! In reality, you can use almost whatever you like. Mushrooms (thinly sliced) or courgette (cubed) would work well in place of carrot or the peppers. You could also add steamed/boiled broccoli florets when you add the rice too.
But feel free to make it your own using the veg you like most!
How can I make this healthier?
If you want to make it even healthier you can always:
- Use half the amount of garlic-infused oil required (this will affect flavour and crispyness!)
- Use smoked bacon medallions (finely chopped) instead of pork lardons
Swapping to bacon medallions may may increase the price of the dish but I just wanted to give you a few ideas!
How should I prepare the rice for this recipe?
Any way that’s convenient for you! We steam our rice as, according to Mark, you want as little moisture left as possible once the rice is cooked.
As egg-fried rice is traditionally made from using up leftover rice, your cooked rice should then ideally be cooled and/or chilled overnight.
The fact it’s chilled means that the rice is no longer wet at all, allowing the grains to be more separate when fried so they end up crispier.
If you’re in a pinch, rice that’s been freshly cooked (and still warm) works fine, but make sure it’s as dry and as cooled as possible before using.
Or you could ignore all of the above and add packet long-grain microwave rice straight into the wok (no need to microwave it first). It won’t have quite the same impact as steamed rice that’s been chilled, but it’ll save time… whilst being a little more expensive of course!
Mark’s Five Spice Pork Egg-fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
For the pork:
- 1 tsp garlic-infused oil
- 200 g smoked bacon lardons
- 1.5 tsp five spice
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 1 tsp gluten-free soy sauce
For the fried rice
- 3 tbsp garlic-infused oil plus 4 tbsp more to drizzle
- 2 medium carrots thinly sliced
- 1 small red pepper sliced into thin strips
- 1 small green pepper sliced into thin strips
- 2 medium or large eggs
- 250 g long grain rice steamed/boiled then cooled and ideally chilled overnight
- 6 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce
- big handful of frozen peas optional
- big handful of spring onion greens finely chopped
Instructions
- Prepare your rice according to the packet instructions, then if possible, allow to cool completely and chill for as long as possible.
For the five spice pork:
- In a small frying pan, add 1 tsp of garlic-infused oil and place over a medium heat. Add the pork lardons and fry until they start to become a little crisp and golden. At this point, add the five spice, light brown sugar and soy sauce. Mix until well coated and fry until slightly darkened and super crisp. Keep warm until later.
For the egg-fried rice:
- In a large wok, add the garlic-infused oil and place over a medium heat. Once heated, add the carrot and red pepper, then stir fry until slightly softened (about 4-5 minutes).
- Create a well in the middle of the wok and crack in both eggs, beat them to break the yolks and allow to sit for around 30-40 seconds. Then turn the 'omelette' over and allow to sit for another 30 seconds before breaking up into chunks.
- Add in the cooked rice and stir to break it up. Once it’s a little more separated, add in 4 tbsp more of garlic-infused oil and stir fry well.
- Add the gluten-free soy sauce and stir fry once again so the rice is nicely coated and doesn’t look so white anymore.
- Add in the frozen peas, if using, then stir in. Stir fry for 5 minutes or until the rice starts to look a little crispy in places. If you didn’t have time to allow your rice to fully cool and chill in the fridge, you’ll likely need to fry for a little longer to reach that point.
- Lastly, sprinkle on the chopped spring onion and briefly mix in.
To serve:
Serve up the rice, then top with a portion of the five spice pork. Enjoy with gluten-free prawn crackers!
Notes
Rice preparation tips:
Proper egg-fried rice is traditionally made from using up leftover rice – hence why it should ideally be cooled or chilled overnight. The fact it's chilled means that the rice is no longer wet at all, allowing the grains to be more separate so they end up crispier when fried. If you're in a pinch, rice that's been freshly cooked works fine, but make sure it's as dry as possible – that's why steamed rice works best if skipping the chilling stage.Thanks for reading all about Mark’s five spice pork egg-fried rice recipe! If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out so don’t forget to take a snap of your creations and tag me on Instagram!
Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following me on Instagram and leaving me a comment on a recent photo!
Thanks for reading,
Becky xxx
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