Growing up, fried rice made a regular appearance on the kitchen table – for breakfast, lunch and dinner. That’s because my mom refused to let leftover cooked white rice go to waste. She could deftly transform the cold, hard grains into a satisfying dish the whole family enjoyed. It was also her smart way of repurposing food.
If we had pork chops for dinner the night before, my mom would dice and sauté one or two with onions, carrots and frozen peas and then fold in the rice, scrambled eggs and staple seasonings (oyster sauce and soy sauce). For extra oomph, she might add a scoop of shrimp paste or sliced Chinese sausage. She had the formula down pat.
This vegetable fried rice is for the uninitiated, like me. Yes, I’m Chinese, but I don’t do a lot of Asian cooking. And, for the most part, I like to follow recipes. It’s pretty tame in flavor and the shiitake mushrooms add a nice chew. For a more robust meal, you could take a cue from my mom and throw in some meat – but, in my opinion, it doesn’t need it.
Recipe adapted from Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast.
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup brown jasmine rice
- 1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
- 10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 6 ounces snow peas, stem ends removed, cut diagonally into ½" pieces
- 2½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- In a medium sauce pan, bring water to a boil. Add salt and rice. Bring to a boil, cover and then reduce heat to low. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. If you have time, chill the rice for a few hours.
- In a 10-inch nonstick fry pan, heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil over medium heat. Add eggs and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook, without stirring, until set, 1-2 minutes. Transfer the egg "pancake" to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, cut the pancake in half and then into ½"-wide strips. Set aside.
- Heat remaining tablespoon vegetable oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 2-4 minutes.
- Add carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown, 4-6 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3-5 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger and snow peas and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes.
- Add prepared rice, soy sauce and rice vinegar; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Fold in the sliced eggs and serve.
