Easy Fried Rice

Shrimp fried rice with edamame

This recipe makes a great lunch but requires some planning ahead. Make extra rice for dinner and then you can put it into the fridge overnight and make fried rice for lunch the next day!

2 Tbsp. Canola oil
1 tsp. butter
2 eggs
Black pepper
2 cups cooked COLD white rice
1 medium carrot, diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced (including green part)
1-2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced (more if you love fresh ginger flavor)
1 large garlic clove, minced (or pressed through a garlic press)
1 cup cooked edamame or cooked green peas (optional)
Soy Sauce (about 1/4 cup or more)

Crack eggs into a small bowl, add one to two grinds of black pepper. With a small whisk or a fork, whip the eggs until smooth and "scrambled."

Heat a small non-stick pan with small dab of butter. When hot, pour a small amount of egg the pan and move the egg to cover the bottom of the pan.

Egg should cook quickly and look like a large pancake. Turn over the egg and finish cooking egg just until it is no longer glossy.

 Remove egg onto a plate. Repeat with the remainder of the egg until it is cooked, adding more butter, if needed. Roll up the egg "pancake" like a crepe and slice into thin strips. Set egg aside.

Heat a large wok pan over high heat, adding 1/2 Tbsp. oil. When oil is hot, add the carrot and stir fry for about 1 minute or until it is tender, but not completely cooked.

Add green onion, ginger and garlic to the pan and stir fry about 30 more seconds.

Drizzle another tablespoon of oil around the sides of the pan. Add the cooked rice to the pan and break it apart, stirring to move it constantly and mixing the vegetables together to distribute throughout the rice.

Add more oil by drizzling it around the side of the wok so it is heated quickly. Continue to stir the rice mixture until it is heated and begins to brown. Rice will likely stick to the bottom of the pan, but don't worry about that. It adds flavor.

Once the rice is heated and fried slightly, add soy sauce by sprinkling it all over the top of the rice and stirring rice to distribute it. The soy sauce should be enough to help bring up the rice bits sticking to the pan, but not so much as to make the fried rice too salty.

Add the cooked egg and edamame or peas if using and give the rice a good stir. Taste the rice and add more soy sauce if needed.

Remove from heat and place fried rice into a bowl or onto a plate. Serve with additional soy sauce.

• This recipe will make 2 side dishes or 1 large serving for a hungry person. To make it more hearty, add cooked and diced chicken or pork or shrimp when you add the rice to the wok.
• All amounts are estimates -- there is no magic to the amounts indicated. Add more or less, based on your individual tastes and how many veggies you want in your fried rice.

Fried rice with nothing extra added.

Japanese Curry

This is a recipe from "Chef Dru" -- my sister and guest for today. The photo below has chicken, eggplant, onion and mushrooms. The curry level is hot, but not burning. It is a very tasty and fragrant dish. I would use a good Garam Masala spice.

Ingredients:
*Chicken and/or vegetables to serve number of people (Or whatever meat or vegetable you choose such as eggplant, mushrooms, spinach, hamburger, pork, beef, shrimp, crabcakes, fish, omelet) Cook as desired: shredded, fried, breaded - in Okinawa it is usually fried
*Cooked rice to serve # of people-1/2 to 1-cup of rice per serving
*1 medium onion thinly sliced caramelized in oil just prior to beginning the roux.
*Ingredients for Roux (see below)
*Shredded cheese, if desired.

To prepare recipe in Photo:
Begin by preparing the rice.
Chicken
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut 1.25 pounds of boneless-skinless chicken breast into 2” pieces and dip in 1/4 c. flour mixed with salt and pepper and cinnamon, then in 2 eggs (scrambled with a little water) and finally in 1 cup Panko bread crumbs. Fry in 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil until partially done turning just once until crispy (will not be cooked through. Transfer to an oven safe pan with cover or put foil over. Put in oven to finish cooking while you make the roux.

Vegetables
Eggplant - cut one small eggplant into large jullienne strips, dip in the flour and fry in olive oil until cooked, but still firm, place in oven proof pan and cover to keep warm.
Mushrooms - slice and fry 8 oz baby portebellas in olive oil until browned, place next to eggplant in the pan and keep warm.
Onion - thinly slice and fry in oil until translucent and just a touch of brown
Keep all vegetables in separate piles in a covered oven-proof pan and place in oven until ready to serve.

Roux
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1/4 cup flour
* 3 tablespoons garam masala (or curry powder)
   Dru used 2 Tblsp garam masala +1 Tblsp of CoCo’s curry
* Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
* 1 tablespoons ketchup (or tomato paste)
* 1 tablespoons tonkatsu sauce (or Worcestershire sauce)
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (add less if you want it mild or more if you want it spicy or eliminate it altogether if you are serving this to young children)

Melt the butter in same pan, when melted add the flour then spices stir in the ketchup and tonkatsu or Worcestershire sauce until aromatic. After the roux becomes a bit crumbly slowly add 3-4 cups of water and whisk to smooth. Cook until hot and a bit thickened. It will resemble a medium thick brown gravy.

To serve:

Put rice on half of the plate, line chicken and eggplant along the edge of rice, add mushrooms and onions on other half of plate then ladle roux gravy over the onions and mushrooms. As you eat, mix the rice and roux and dip the chicken into that lovely, fragrant gravy!

Enjoy!!


Easy Garam Masala
"This recipe produces a quick version of Garam Masala, the aromatic blend of spices often used in Indian cooking."
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions:
1. Mix cumin, coriander, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a bowl. Place mix in an airtight container, and store in a cool, dry place.

Simple Sukiyaki

My mom used to make this recipe when I was growing up. She always made it in an electric skillet which is why I would recommend you do the same. If you don't have an electric skillet, you can use a frying pan. Once everything is chopped, the recipe takes less than 20 minutes to complete.

2 Tbsp. cooking oil
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of sirloin tip steak, sliced paper thin across the grain
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup water
5 oz. can bamboo shoots, drained
2 large bunches of green onions, sliced on the bias into 1 inch pieces
16 oz. fresh bean sprouts (can use canned, but drain well)
5 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
8oz. fresh baby portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced

Combine sugar, flour, soy sauce, and water and stir well. Heat oil in pan or electric skillet (375 to 400 degrees). Brown the sirloin 2-3 minutes (will still be rare). Remove meat. Add mushrooms, green onions and bean sprouts, keeping into separate piles. Cook until they are slightly tender/browned. Add the water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, keeping them each in a separate pile around the outside of the pan. Put the meat back into the center of the pan and add the soy-sauce mixture. Sauce will thicken, so stir each pile separately, making sure the vegetables and the meat are all covered well. Turn the heat down to simmer and continue cooking until all the vegetables are heated and tender crisp.

Serve over rice. Add a mandarin-orange ambrosia fruit salad to complete the meal.