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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

fried rice

Fried rice is quite possibly the best use of leftover food food. It works best with day-old rice (the rice dries out and will absorb the sauce better) and there is almost nothing you cannot add to the mix. (Ok so chocolate might not be the beside idea here, but you get where I am going.)

Last year, this Bittman adaptation of a Jean Jorge recipe changed the way I thought about what fried rice could be. Its light, delicate, fragrant and not overpowering. I ate way too much of it, thanks to the culinary marvels of my friend Alex who convinced me via making it with me of how wonderful this recipe is. (And how the extra step of toasting the garlic and ginger is a mild pain but TOTALLY worth it.)

So friendly readers, I sit here, desiring this recipe, but lacking half of the ingredients. But that is the beauty of fried rice... I can still make a killer dish, and just add in other ingredients.

Saute the garlic in oil, over low heat. This is going to go slow, but burnt garlic is nasty, so stay with me.



Once the garlic is golden brown, drain it and the oil out of the pan. Make sure you get all the bits of garlic off the bottom of the pan.

Return 1 tablespoon of the garlic oil into the pan and turn the heat up to HIGH. Saute each vegetable over high eat (one at a time works best). Scallions for less than a minute, then remove and set aside. Carrots for a few minutes, peas for less than a minute. You are going for super fast, high heat cooking (if you have a wok USE IT).

Once the veggies are removed, add another tablespoon of the garlic oil in the pot and over high heat saute the rice, stirring continuously. Remove the rice after 1-2 minutes and stir it in with the veggies.

Return the rice and veggies into the hot pan and drizzle with wheat free tamari and stir constantly until heated through. You can serve as is, or sprinkle a few drops of toasted sesame oil over the top.
tada

2 comments:

  1. Yum! I like to add a bit of ground ginger as well!

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  2. The original recipe toasts the ginger with the garlic and it is WAY better. Its so so good. I also sometimes throw in some chilies if I am feeling saucy.
    I haven't tried it with ground ginger before. Is it awesome?

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