Saturday, May 26, 2012

Vegetable Fried Rice

This is a family favorite. I have been playing with the flavors and amount for a while and I know think I have a perfect dish.  Of course perfect is one of those subjective ideas, but for us this is perfect.  A great light dinner or hearty lunch.  It stands alone, but adding some chicken or Chinese sausage isn't too much.


There is a little bit of prep-work getting  all the veggies cleaned and cut.  Rebekah is a great help with this.  She loves to pull the strings off the pea pods and cut them with her wavy chopper.  She also peels the carrots.  I don't let her cut them, match stick cuts can be difficult for an adult.  She does crack and beat the eggs.  It really is a grand time.


Once all the prep-work is done the cooking goes really fast.  So fast that even though amazing smells are wafting through the kitchen I don't need to be sampling, well at least not too much.  I like that.


I'm luckily enough to have a wok gifted to me by my mother-in-law many years ago.  Buy you could do this in a large saute pan.

Doesn't it look yummy?  I'm sure you are wanting to go right now and make this, so without further ado on to the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups brown rice
  • 2 Tbsp kefir (used to soak the rice)
  • 3 carrots
  • 3/4lb pea pods
  • 1/2lb bean sprouts
  • 6 scallions
  • 2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
  • 1 cup tamari soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp sucanat (brown sugar would work)
  • 1 heaping Tbsp grated fresh ginger root
  • 4 eggs
I like to soak my rice, but you can skip this step.  Basically you want to cook your rice as you normally do.  For me that means putting the rice, water and kefir in my rice cooker in the morning. Give it a stir and let it soak until it is time to cook.

In a small bowl mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sucanat, and grated ginger.  Mix until sucanat dissolves and set aside.

While the rice is cooking we prep the vegetables. Peel the carrots and cut into match sticks.  Clean the pea pods and cut into bite size pieces (halves or thirds).   Chop the greens of the scallions into thin rings.  Put the lower white portion with the roots in a glass to grow more.

Next heat the grapeseed oil in you wok or pan over medium-high heat.  When it is hot throw in the carrots and stir fry for about 2 minutes.  Add the peas and bean sprouts and 1/4 cup of the soy sauce mixture and stir fry for another 3 minutes.  Remove the vegetables and keep warm.

Return the wok to the heat and add the cooked rice, scallions and the rest of the soy sauce mixture.  Stir fry until heated through and all the soy sauce mixture has been absorbed.  Push the rice to the side and pour in the beaten eggs.  I find it works best if you pour in a little at a time and let it cook, like scrambled eggs.  When all the egg is cook mix it into the rice.

Serve rice in bowls with the veggies over the top.  This makes 8 servings.  We fight love to have left overs the next day for lunch.

I have been known to use different vegetables, sometimes it is what ever is in the fridge.  Broccoli  is a lovely addition. 

Hope you give this a try and if you do enjoy it as much as we do.  

I'm linking up with Make Your Own Monday, Traditional Tuesdays, and Scratch Cooking Tuesday.

2 comments:

  1. Looks very tasty! I appreciate the detailed instructions. I'm going to have to google "kefir" because it's not an ingredient I know... I love learning something new! Thanks for sharing and the pictures are awesome.

    (dropping in from the Facebook post "Getting to Know You" by The Encouraging Home)

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    Replies
    1. Lori, Thanks for stopping by. Milk kefir is a probiotic dairy drink, much like a drinkable yogurt. It is made by fermenting milk in kefir grains. By soaking your grains you make them more easily digestible. Here is a great post on kefir.
      http://nourishedkitchen.com/milk-kefir/
      Elizabeth

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