Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Chicken / Veggie / anything you want fried rice

Alrighty folks. Let's talk about home made fried rice. This is a fantastic time of year for fried rice because it is a quick, adaptable dish that you can make without turning on your oven. If you're like me and are the recipient of lots of seasonal veggies, either from your garden or a CSA, you'll be looking for some fun things to do with them.

BUT, you need to remember that I am Croatian / Hungarian / German / English. This is SOOOO far from authentic, but good none the less. The method for making fried rice couldn't be simpler, the key is good ingredients, of course. I'll show you what I made tonight going through step by step, but please be creative and use any veggies, protein, spices that you like.

Ingredients for tonight's rice
1 cup dry jasmine rice cooked according to directions on package
canola oil
1 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed small (omit if want vegetarian)
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
two crookneck yellow squash, cut into small cubes (use anything on hand: carrots, cabbage, peppers, etc)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 eggs
0.5 cups frozen green peas
Tamari
kosher salt
1-2 teaspoons butter

Instructions
1. Cook rice on stovetop according to directions

2. Pre-heat large wok or skillet over medium-high heat

3. Salt cubed raw chicken liberally

4. Add 1 tablespoon canola oil to wok, add chicken.

5. When chicken is brown and cooked throgh, remove from skillet
and set aside

6. Add another tablespoon canola oil to wok, add onions, garlic,
and ginger. Sprinkle with pinch of salt and cook until translucent.

7. Add squash to wok, cook about 2-3 minutes.

8. Add red pepper flakes.



9. Push veggies to exterior of wok, add two beaten eggs and cook,
stirring, until just scrambled and solid.


10. Add in froze peas, give a good stir to distrubute.






11. Add cooked rice and chicken to wok.

12. Sprinkle with good quality soy sauce (I use tamari) until top layer is coated well. Stir well.

13. Finish rice off with 1-2 teaspoons butter.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Yum, I love homemade fried rice! I love lots of goodies in it too. Instead of extra oil or butter, I sometimes uses a few strips of bacon for the bacon fat, and the bacon to crumble into my fried rice. Everything seems to be better with bacon, in my opinion :)

An old Boston Chinatown restaurant employee told me a long time ago that the best fried rice is made with rice cooked the day before and then put in the fridge over night uncovered to let a little moisture evaporate. I don't get to try this too often because I usually eat the rice I made the day before on the day before.

Natalie said...

Bacon. That's brilliant!