Fried rice does not have to consist of white rice and overcooked vegetables drenched in oil, as I found out when I tried the "Vegetable Fried Rice" (page 268). The trick here is to cook the rice ahead of time and chill it, so some planning ahead is necessary. But this is a necessary step so that the rice remains fluffy and separated when cooking with the vegetables. (I used long grain brown basmati rice.) The recipe calls for a total of 3 tablespoons of oil, 2 for sautéing the veggies (onion, carrot, zucchini), and an additional 1 tablespoon of sesame oil added at the end for flavor. I completely omitted the sautéing oil, as this isn't necessary in a good non-stick skillet, and used only ½ teaspoon of sesame oil for flavor, not too bad stretched over four servings. In addition to the sautéed veggies, green onion, ginger, and frozen green peas are incorporated into the mix, with soy sauce and dry white wine providing extra flavor as well. Turmeric is suggested as an optional ingredient if you want to color the dish yellow, but I opted to leave it out this time. This is a great dish that goes well alongside any Asian themed meals.Saturday, July 14, 2012
Vegetable Fried Rice
Fried rice does not have to consist of white rice and overcooked vegetables drenched in oil, as I found out when I tried the "Vegetable Fried Rice" (page 268). The trick here is to cook the rice ahead of time and chill it, so some planning ahead is necessary. But this is a necessary step so that the rice remains fluffy and separated when cooking with the vegetables. (I used long grain brown basmati rice.) The recipe calls for a total of 3 tablespoons of oil, 2 for sautéing the veggies (onion, carrot, zucchini), and an additional 1 tablespoon of sesame oil added at the end for flavor. I completely omitted the sautéing oil, as this isn't necessary in a good non-stick skillet, and used only ½ teaspoon of sesame oil for flavor, not too bad stretched over four servings. In addition to the sautéed veggies, green onion, ginger, and frozen green peas are incorporated into the mix, with soy sauce and dry white wine providing extra flavor as well. Turmeric is suggested as an optional ingredient if you want to color the dish yellow, but I opted to leave it out this time. This is a great dish that goes well alongside any Asian themed meals.
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Tried this and it was excellent, also omitted all the oil except for a little sesame. Did use the turmeric which turned it pretty yellow...
ReplyDeleteThanks for your take on this, Bert, I'm always happy to hear from others who are trying the dishes, too. Sounds like leaving the oil out (other than a smidge of sesame) worked well for you also! I'm going to use the turmeric next time, too.
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