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What Is Sinangag and Why Filipinos Make It Differently
Sinangag is Filipino garlic fried rice made exclusively with garlic, oil, salt, and day-old rice — no soy sauce, no vegetables, no egg mixed in. The name comes from the Tagalog word “sangag,” meaning to fry rice. Unlike Chinese fried rice that relies on wok hei and a dozen add-ins, this recipe keeps the spotlight on one ingredient: garlic.
📝 Chef’s Note: the dish has been adapted and refined for reliable home kitchen results. It comes down to proper technique and fresh ingredients.
Filipino cooks use roughly 3 cloves per cup of rice — triple the amount found in most Asian fried rice styles. The dish exists because of practicality: Filipino households cook large batches of rice that inevitably leave leftovers. Rather than waste food, those cold grains get transformed into something arguably better than the original. This minimalist approach lets the Maillard-browned garlic dominate every bite, which makes it different from other fried rice dishes.
The 7 Ingredients You Need (With Smart Substitutions)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil — Neutral flavor with a 400°F-450°F smoke point. Canola or avocado oil work identically. Avoid olive oil; its lower smoke point causes burning.12 cloves garlic, minced — Hand-minced, not pressed. Uneven pieces fry at different rates, creating a mix of crispy bits and softer toasted pieces. That variation is the secret texture in any sinangag garlic fried rice recipe.4 cups cooked rice, cooled and dry — Day-old jasmine or long-grain white rice, refrigerated uncovered. Grains should feel separate, not sticky.¼ tsp salt — Added at the end, after tasting.Dash fresh ground pepper — Black pepper only. White pepper shifts the flavor away from traditional sinangag.1 scallion, thinly sliced — Raw garnish that contrasts the toasted garlic.4 eggs (optional) — Fried sunny-side-up with lacy edges. Cooked separately, placed on top — never scrambled into the rice.
Having your mise en place ready — breaking apart cold rice clumps with your fingers, mincing all garlic, and setting a paper towel-lined plate within arm’s reach — streamlines the entire cooking process before the wok heats up. This prep step is especially important for a this recipe, where timing at the stove is everything.
Step-by-Step Sinangag Garlic Fried Rice Recipe With Sensory Checkpoints
Step 1: Fry the Garlic (2-3 Minutes)
Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a large wok over medium-high heat until shimmering. Reduce to medium. Add all minced garlic at once. Stir constantly. At 60 seconds, garlic turns translucent. At 90 seconds, edges go pale gold. At 120-150 seconds, most pieces reach light golden-brown. Remove immediately with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels.
Sensory checkpoint: The garlic should smell sweet and nutty, not acrid. It continues darkening from residual heat — pull it one shade lighter than your target color.
Step 2: Toast the Rice in Garlic Oil (6-10 Minutes)
Keep garlic-infused oil in the wok. Increase heat to medium-high. Add cold rice and stir to coat every grain — about 30 seconds. Spread rice flat across the entire surface. Now stop stirring. Let it cook undisturbed for 3-5 minutes . This step is what gives any great this dish its signature crispy texture.
Sensory checkpoint: Listen for a steady sizzle — that is moisture evaporating and Maillard browning at the contact points. Peek at the bottom layer. Golden-brown spots indicate proper crisping. Scrape and flip, spread flat again, cook another 3-5 minutes . Repeat until desired crispiness — typically 2-3 cycles. Note that total active cook time for this step can range from 6 to 10 minutes depending on your wok and stove.
Step 3: Reunite Garlic and Season (1 Minute)
Return three-quarters of fried garlic to the rice. Reserve the rest for garnish. Add salt and pepper. Toss for 20 seconds. Transfer to a serving plate. Top with reserved crispy garlic and sliced scallions. Serve immediately.
Prep: 5min Cook: 10min Total: 15 minutesServings: 4
Ingredients
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
12 cloves garlic, minced
4 c cooked rice, cooled and dry
¼ tsp salt
Dash fresh ground pepper
1 scallion, thinly sliced (for garnish)
4 eggs (optional, for serving)
Instructions
In a large wok or skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the minced garlic. Stir fry the garlic for 2-3 minutes, until it turns a light golden color. Carefully remove the garlic from the pan, leaving the garlic-infused oil behind. Drain the fried garlic on paper towels until cool.
Add the cooked rice to the garlic oil in the wok, stirring to coat all the grains with oil. Spread the rice out in the wok, covering as much surface area of the hot pan as possible. Let the rice cook, undisturbed, for 3-5 min. Stir the rice well, then spread it out again and cook, undisturbed for 3-5 min more. Continue this process until the rice is cooked to your liking.
Once the rice is golden and starting to get crispy, return the fried garlic to the pan (saving some for garnish, if desired).
Season the rice with salt and pepper and transfer it to a serving dish.
Garnish with extra fried garlic and sliced scallions.
If desired, serve the rice topped with fried eggs.
Recipe Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days
Can be frozen for up to 3 months
Reheat gently on stovetop for best results
Garlic Timing Guide: Raw to Burnt in 3 Minutes
No competitor provides exact timing for garlic stages in a it . Here is what I documented across 8 test batches at medium heat.
Stage
Time
Color
Smell
Action
Raw
0-30 sec
Pale, wet
Sharp, sulfur
Stir steadily
Fragrant
30-90 sec
Slightly opaque
Sweet garlic
Lower heat if sizzling spikes
Light golden
90-180 sec
Blond edges
Nutty, toasted
Remove immediately — this is the ideal stage for sinangag
Burnt
180+ sec
Dark brown
Acrid, harsh
Start over
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Why Cold Rice Makes Better Fried Rice (The Starch Science)
Day-old refrigerated rice produces better sinangag because of starch retrogradation. Harold McGee explains in On Food and Cooking that when cooked rice cools, amylose molecules re-crystallize into tighter structures. This makes grains firmer, drier, and resistant to clumping.
Freshly cooked rice has a gelatinized starch layer — sticky and moist. When it hits a hot wok, that moisture generates steam. Steam caps the surface temperature at 212°F. Maillard browning begins at approximately 280°F. Dry rice gets hot enough to brown. Wet rice physically cannot. That is why cold rice crisps and fresh rice turns mushy.
The 4 Mistakes That Ruin Sinangag (I Made All of Them)
Mistake 1: Leaving garlic in the pan while frying rice. Cold rice drops the pan temperature. You increase heat to compensate — and the garlic, still sitting there, scorches. Always remove garlic first and return it only in the final 30 seconds.
Mistake 2: Stirring the rice constantly. Constant stirring prevents the rice from contacting the hot surface long enough to brown. Think of it like searing a steak — if you flip every 20 seconds, you get gray meat. Spread it flat and walk away for 3-5 minutes .
Mistake 3: Using hot, freshly cooked rice. The wok sounds like a pot of boiling water instead of a sizzle. Surface moisture creates a steam barrier that physically prevents browning.
Mistake 4: Overcrowding the pan. If your wok is small, cook in two batches. Each grain needs direct contact with the hot surface to develop the crispy texture Filipinos call “tutong.”
Vegetable Oil vs. Butter vs. Garlic Oil: What I Found
No competitor addresses this, so I tested three fats side by side.
Fat
Smoke Point
Rice Crispiness
Flavor Notes
Vegetable oil
400°F-450°F
Crispiest
Clean, lets garlic dominate
Unsalted butter
350°F
Moderate
Rich but masks garlic
Store-bought garlic oil
Varies
Good
Double garlic, one-note
Verdict: Vegetable oil wins for traditional sinangag. If you want richer results, serve butter-based proteins alongside — try lemon garlic butter shrimp or garlic butter shrimp with rice .
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The Silog Meal Builder: Pair Your Sinangag Like a Filipino
Sinangag anchors the “silog” meal system — the Filipino national breakfast. “Silog” combines sinangag + itlog (egg) + a protein. The protein determines the name.
Silog Name
Protein
Flavor Profile
Tapsilog
Tapa (cured beef)
Sweet-savory, slightly chewy
Longsilog
Longganisa (Filipino sausage)
Garlicky, sweet or savory
Tocilog
Tocino (sweet cured meat)
Caramelized, sweet edges
Bangsilog
Bangus (milkfish)
Crispy skin, flaky flesh
Standard silog ratio: 1 cup sinangag + 1 fried egg + 100g protein per person. For more protein pairings, explore ground beef and rice recipes or one pot chicken and rice .
Storage, Meal Prep, and the 30-Minute Freezer Shortcut
Refrigerator: Cool completely, store in airtight containers within 2 hours . Consume within 5 days. Reheat in a dry skillet to restore some crispiness.
Freezer: Portion into single servings. Maintains quality for 3 months. Thaw overnight before reheating.
The 30-Minute Freezer Shortcut (no day-old rice needed): Spread freshly cooked hot rice on a parchment-lined sheet pan in a thin layer. Freeze uncovered for 25-30 minutes . The rapid evaporation mimics overnight drying. I tested this side by side with true day-old rice — results were 90% as good.
Weekly silog meal prep: Cook 8 cups rice Sunday. Refrigerate in shallow containers. Make fresh sinangag in 10 minutes each morning, rotating through different silog proteins. Pair Friday’s batch with sausage and sweet potatoes with honey garlic sauce for variety. Browse Bon Appétit’s breakfast collection for more morning inspiration.
Your Sinangag Questions Answered
What makes this sinangag garlic fried rice recipe different from regular fried rice?
Sinangag uses 12 cloves of garlic versus 3-4 in standard fried rice and contains no soy sauce, vegetables, or eggs mixed in. The garlic gets fried separately until crispy, removed, then reunited with finished rice — creating textural contrast that Chinese or Thai fried rice lacks.
Why does my garlic fried rice taste bitter and how do I prevent burnt garlic?
Bitter garlic fried rice results from garlic cooking past light-golden into dark brown territory. Remove garlic when pieces are light gold — they continue browning from residual heat. Total frying time should stay under 3 minutes at medium heat.
Can I make sinangag with freshly cooked rice instead of day-old rice?
Freshly cooked rice produces inferior results because surface moisture creates steam instead of allowing browning. For acceptable results, spread fresh rice on a sheet pan and freeze for 30 minutes to remove moisture and begin starch retrogradation.
What is silog and what meats go with Filipino garlic fried rice?
Silog is the Filipino breakfast combination of sinangag (garlic rice) and itlog (fried egg) with a protein. Tapsilog uses beef tapa, longsilog uses Filipino sausage, and bangsilog includes crispy milkfish. Halal options include beef tapa, chicken longganisa, and corned beef.
How many calories are in a serving of sinangag with egg?
One serving of sinangag contains approximately 382 calories. Adding one large fried egg contributes about 90 calories, bringing the total to roughly 472 calories per silog serving.
About Chef Lucía
Chef Lucía Barrenechea Vidal brings 15 years of recipe development experience to FrutaMeal.com. She tests every recipe multiple times to ensure foolproof results in your home kitchen.
According to the Serious Eats Test Kitchen ,
