Monday, December 12, 2011

Fried Rice With Roast (or Chicken, or Pork)

By this point I probably had you fooled. You have seen posts using Goat Cheese, Spaghetti Squash, Wine, & other less common ingredients. You must think I'm an accomplished chef & I know what I'm doing in the kitchen.


I have you fooled!
I have a dirty little secret. 
I don't know how to cook rice if it doesn't have the word "Minute" on the box. 
I have tried & tried & have failed miserably each time. 
I didn't even know there was anything other than Minute Rice until I saw my high school boyfriend's mom cooking real rice grains. 
I seriously didn't even know that existed! 

That reminds me, and this is a little off topic, but his mom made The BEST Rice & Beans EVER. They were so good! It was an authentic Puerto Rican recipe- the pinto beans w/ the safrito & simmered with bay leaves, accompanied with real rice. Man, they were good. I wonder if I could get that recipe. She gave it to me years & years (& years!) ago but the 17yo Alison couldn't come close to her Rice & Beans yummyness and after a few disappointing attempts I gave up. 
Would it be weird to ask an old boyfriend for him mom's recipe? I'm married. He's married. It's been 15 years. 
Anyone know the Statute of Limitations on requesting recipes from old boyfreinds???

... Okay, this post is about oriental rice, not Puerto Rican rice...  

I'm making an effort to have my food be more photogenic. (fail.)


At the Westly house Fried Rice is one of those recipes that isn't written down, rarely has the same ingredients, & is never the same twice.

For me, Fried Rice is a nice way to use up vegetables I have in the fridge & need to get out. 



I listed Fried Rice in my post on Leftover Pot Roast Ideas but wanted to give a more detailed recipe.


Fried Rice with Pot Roast (or Chicken or Pork)
2 C Minute Rice 
(You can use any rice if you got the skills!) 
1C leftover cooked meat
3 eggs
Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil (or vegetable oil/Olive oil)
Salt & Pepper
Vegetables- carrots, bell pepper, onion, frozen peas, green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, etc.
green onions

1. Ideally you will use leftover rice. It's best a day or two old straight from the fridge. I usually just make fresh rice & go with it. Tip! If you make it fresh - undercook your rice! If your rice is perfect when you cook it then it'll tend to become mushy. For Minute Rice the trick is to use way more rice than the recipe on the box calls for. 
2. Chop vegetables into fairly big chunks. Frozen vegetables place in a bowl with lukewarm water to thaw.
3. Crack eggs, season with S&P, & whisk/beat with fork.
3. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1T+ Sesame oil. Scramble eggs in Sesame Oil. Remove from heat. Add 1T sesame oil if needed. Saute vegetables (except green onions) in skillet, leaving them slightly raw & crunchy b/c they're going to continue to cook. 
4. Add rice to vegetables in skillet. If your vegetables are pretty tender you can remove them from the skillet. Add Soy Sauce. Stir to combine. After 2-3 minutes return egg & meat to skillet. Add chopped green onions. Stir to incorporate & warm up egg & meat. 5. Enjoy!  
Vegetables! I sauteed onion & bell peppers first. Added my frozen/thawed broccoli. Then added other vegetables. 

Sauteed Vegetables + Rice + Egg & Meat + Soy Sauce + Green Onions = Fried Rice!

~ Alison

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