Adobo Garlic Fried Rice (Sinangag)

Cooking fried rice from leftover rice, especially garlic fried rice, is a regular thing to me back in the Philippines. I enjoy it better than steamed rice and it provides me with my most wonderful everyday meals. Simply pairing it with any fried viand – be it meat, cured meat, sausages, fish, dried fish or smoked fish, and along with a side dish of fried eggs or salted eggs and fresh tomato and it’s already a sumptuous meal for me. Actually, the same goes with my brothers, brothers-in-law, cousins and some sisters who always make requests for such humble meal whenever hungry strikes while we are engaged in some family activities.

Garlic fried rice is probably the most popular fried rice in the Philippines. Actually, when one mention fried rice in the Philippines, it generally refers to garlic fired rice. A simple concoction of mashed leftover day-old rice fried with mashed garlic in a small amount of oil and seasoned with some sea salt. The flavor and aroma of fried garlic is enough to transform the leftover rice into another dish probably more sought than the plain steamed rice.

Using the basic Filipino garlic rice recipe, I experimented a lot to combine some leftover meat dishes and seasonings to further enhance the flavor of the fried rice. I could say I am pretty successful with it because repeat requests became a regular thing and the dish was look forward by most of the family members. So whenever we have family gatherings, expect me to be cooking fried rice after the main feast or celebration, utilizing the leftover rice and leftover meat dishes. And I tell you; sometimes it’s more fun and satisfying.

The most common type of such fried rice I prepare is the adobo-garlic fried rice, with the pork adobo being a regular part of the family food preparation. So to be able to post the fried rice dish, I intentionally kept some adobo from my last post about the second version of my pork adobo.

It’s also a ggod timing for this post that we ran out of Jasmine rice and was forced to buy Pakistan rice. I find Jasmine rice extremely good as steamed but not quite for fried rice. Indian Basmati rice could ha been better but it’s not available from the neighborhood grocery. About a cup or less of the adobo meat is all we need for some 4 cups of day-old rice that I have.

The other ingredients needed are 2 tbsp vegetable oil, 8 gloves garlic, peeled and minced, 2/3 cup of pork adobo, roughly chopped, 1 tbsp seasoning either from Uncle “Knorr” or Auntie “Maggi”, 1 tsp salt or to taste and ½ small carrots, very finely minced.

The cooking procedure is very simple. In a large pan or wok, heat the oil and fry the garlic. When slightly browned, add in the chopped adobo meat and continue frying, until both are aromatic. It will show if the adobo is done good as it will smell good. Add seasoning, followed by the rice and continue frying on high heat stirring regularly. Mix everything properly and continue cooking for some 5 minutes more. Taste and add some salt if necessary.



When the rice is cooked through, add the minced carrots and stir once more. Cook for a minute more while stirring. Then, it’s done.


Transfer in large plate and serve immediately. The aroma of hot adobo-garlic fried rice, like my previous dried fish fried rice, is truly hard to resist. It’s the reason why I seldom cook this now that I’m far from the family and trying very hard to maintain a low-card diet. :-)

We ate the fried rice with sunny side up egg, fried “tuyo” (a popular type of Filipino dried fish, which is my and my daughter’s favorite) and some chopped fresh tomato and my low-card diet was thrown out of the window. :)

Enjoy ……..I did! c”,)