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Got day-old rice staring at you longingly from your fridge shelf, looking boring AF? Good news, you're halfway to sinangag greatness. This Filipino garlic fried rice recipe is golden, a wee bit crunchy, and unapologetically garlicky.
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It's built on simplicity. No egg, no soy,-just oil-crisped grains and the kind of garlicky perfume that'll make your neighbor, Dracula, want to relocate to a new neighborhood STAT. The rice crisps, the garlic sings, and the whole thing's done in 10 flat.
Fried rice is a godsend for transforming plain leftover rice into something a lot more fun. If you've already tried doing that with my Thai basil fried rice recipe, khao pad, or sticky rice dumplings, you'll love that this bad boy has the shortest ingredient list of them all.
Sinangag is your brunch MVP, hangover savior, or late-night sidekick when fridge-foraging gets real. Get that skillet hot, and let's do this!
I was so excited to try this one because I used to eat it at my best friends house growing up. It was even better than I remembered! This will be added to my rotation FOR SURE!!!
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🥰Why you'll adore this sinangag recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all of my vegan Filipino recipes, this dish doesn't mess with eggs, dairy, shrimp paste, or fish sauce. It's also perfies for people looking for gluten-free vegan recipes to serve as part of their din din.
💶 Budget MVP: Uses leftover rice and 5 other ingredients you probably already have.
🍳 10-Minute Masterpiece: From fridge to table faster than your playlist can hit track 4.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this one was tried and tweaked by a massive team of hundreds of recipe testers from all over the globe.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🧄Filipino garlic fried rice ingredients
Day Old Rice
Day-old rice is ideal because it's drier, giving you better crisping action without turning mushy, as fresh cooked rice does.
Long-grain white rice is what's most commonly used in Filipino kitchens for sinangag. Jasmine rice (like you'd use in tom yum fried rice, or in my coconut Jasmine rice recipe) and aged basmati (perfect for a vegan biryani situation) also fry up beautifully here, if you don't mind the rice being a little more aromatic than is common for sinangag. Even brown rice works, as long as it's been thoroughly cooked the first time around.
If you're cooking rice specifically for this recipe, use 1⅓ cups uncooked rice with 2 ⅔ cups water to yield roughly 3 cups cooked rice, then let it cool completely (ideally overnight) before frying.
Garlic
Garlic is obviously the star of the show here. Make sure to cut off all butt ends, and don't use any garlic that is getting old and sprouty. Mince it fine and sauté until just golden. Burnt garlic gets bitter fast, so stir it constantly for best results. If you're the type to double it down (you garlic freak), check out my Lebanese toum recipe too. It's basically garlic that's spreadable, fluffy, and ready to slap on anything.
Garlic Chives
These long, grassy herbs (a.k.a. Chinese chives) have a mellow, garlicky flavor and fresh green color. Garlic chives are thicker than regular chives and stand up better when cooked, making them ideal for hot dishes like this. Regular chives or scallions can work in a pinch, but you'll miss that firm texture and garlicky taste.
White Pepper
White pepper blends right in the background and gives a faintly smoky undertone that works especially well in savory dishes. Black pepper is a fine substitute, though it's a
li'l less smoky and slightly more assertive. If you have some leftover after making this, I also use white pepper in my rau muống and Thai som tam recipes, so give those a shot next!
Fried Shallots (optional)
Fried shallots bring a nutty crunch. If you're out, those canned fried onions you'd use to top a vegan green bean casserole make a solid sub.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Green Curry Fried Rice
Green curry fried rice is basically your favorite Thai curry but in rice form, and wayyy faster. creamy, herb-packed, and laced with just the right amount of heat
Kimchi Fried Rice
Funky, spicy, and deeply savory, vegan Kimchi fried rice is what happens when fermented cabbage, chili paste, and leftover grains throw a party and you're invited.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make sinangag
If you wanna make this perfect, these step-by-step photos are loaded with helpful tips to get you through each stage. But if you're starving and don't care about seeing the dang photos, just scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe card.
Step One
No Pain, No Grain:
Break up cold cooked rice with a fork or your fingers until the grains are fully separated and fluffy.
Step Two
Oil Be There:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add minced garlic and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes until just golden and fragrant.
Step Three
Rice & Shine:
Add rice to the skillet and stir constantly for 4-5 minutes until heated through and lightly toasted in spots.
Step Four
Garls Barkley:
Stir in garlic chives, white pepper, sugar, and salt. Cook for 2 more minutes, mixing well until evenly seasoned.
Step Five
Shallot the Dogs Out:
Transfer to a serving dish and top with optional garnishes like fried shallots, sliced chives, or cilantro.
💡Serving Ideas
Sinangag's the kind of rice that rolls deep with anything fried, saucy, or coconut-drenched, and it's more than ready to headline your next spread. Throw it down next to vegan lumpiang shanghai or tofu sisig sizzling on the side, and you've got a full meal that slaps. Or you can swoop in some ginataang langka or laing, both slow-simmered in coconut milk, on top for rainy days.
It's even pretty glorious as a rice to serve dal over. Chana dal, red lentil dahl, and arhar dal tadka are all killer options.
Brighten up your rice-based meal with some ensaladang talong or achara on the side for that vinegary smack. Wash the whole thing down with a frosty glass of sago't gulaman and bam, instant Filipino culinary nostalgia.
Then make room for dessert, 'cause karioka's ube-glazed chew or a slice of tupig is just the beginning. You know you're not stopping 'til you hit buko pandan salad, turon with lemongrass caramel, or a sticky wrap of suman malagkit to seal the deal.
👉Top tips
- Use Cold, Dry Rice: Freshly cooked rice steams and the grains smush easily, ending up with a mushy mess. Day-old rice has had time to firm up in the fridge, making it ideal for that signature crisp-tender sinangag texture. Break it up before cooking so every grain gets a chance to get toasted in the hot oil.
- Cook It In Something Big: Give your rice room to breathe. Crowding the pan traps steam and stops crisping in its tracks. A large, flat skillet or a wok gives you the spread you need for even browning. And if you're trying to keep things a little less messy, a Dutch oven works great too; it reins in those rogue oil splatters and keeps your stovetop from looking like a war zone.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Stir constantly over medium-high heat and watch closely. Garlic goes from golden to burnt in seconds, and bitter garlic will ruin your batch.
Definitely, quick-cooking veggies like shredded cabbage, peas, or diced peppers add color and variety. Stir them in right after the garlic.
Or just keep the rice veggie-less and add the veggies on top. Curries like aviyal, parwal, vegan tikka masala, or Indonesian sayur lodeh could be just the thing.
Your skillet might be too crowded or not hot enough. Use a large pan and give everything space to fry, not steam.
❄️ Refrigerating:
Store cooled sinangag in an airtight container for up to 4 days. For best texture, avoid cramming it into the container while it's still warm.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating:
Add a small splash of oil to a skillet and reheat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the rice is hot and lightly crisped again.,
🇵🇭You'll love these vegetarian Filipino recipes too:
Learn to make absurdly good vegan food from the Philippines in a super-fun recorded cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Sinangag
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked rice white rice, jasmine rice, or other long grain varieties
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons garlic chives chopped
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
Optional garnishes:
- 1 tablespoon fried shallots
- 2 teaspoons chives thinly sliced
- Cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Break up any clumps in the cooked rice with a fork or your hands until the grains are separated.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. After 90 seconds when the oil is hot, add the minced garlic. Cook for just 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant and lightly golden.
- Add the rice to the skillet. Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes to heat the rice evenly until it's lightly golden and crispy in some spots.
- Add the garlic chives, white pepper, sugar, and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes until the rice is well seasoned and thoroughly heated through.
- Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with fried shallots, sliced chives, and cilantro leaves, if using.
Notes
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Marna says
You guys this recipe is soooooooo good!!! The only thing, and I mean only thing, you will want to change is the 3 cup serving portion.....take my word for it double this recipe! You still wont have left overs!
Tee Hansen says
I was so excited to try this one because I used to eat it at my best friends house growing up. It was even better than I remembered! This will be added to my rotation FOR SURE!!!