SPEEDY VEGETARIAN FRIED RICE

Some days I just really crave a simple, vegetable filled fried rice.  I don’t know why vegetable fried rice doesn’t appear in my kitchen more often; its affordable, quick and easy to make. Perhaps I sometimes overlook it as it isn’t as exciting or sophisticated as other meals I could be eating. Silly me. All I can say is that I ate this meal for lunch, breakfast the next day and dinner that night too and I really enjoyed it. You can mix up the vegetables and add carrots and/or Chinese cabbage if you want. I remember my mother used to put little dices of ham into our fried rice when we were younger, probably so my brothers would see the meat and not get freaked out that they were eating a meat-free dish. What is it with all the men in my life and their fear of eating vegetarian meals? But I’m crossing over into a another blog post…enjoy the fried rice!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
• 1 small red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped
• 2 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 cup half peas and half corn kernels (can be frozen, just make sure they are thawed)
• 1 medium zucchini, roughly chopped
• 3 heaped tablespoons kecap manis
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten 
• sesame oil
• sesame seeds (Optional)

COOKING 

1. Pour the rice into a medium saucepan and add 3 cups of water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer, covered, for 8-10 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 

2. While the rice is cooking, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil to a small fry pan and swirl to coat. Add egg mixture to the pan and let cook for 2 minutes on one side, or until the egg is set. Flip the thin omelette over and cook on the other side for just 30 seconds. Remove from heat and allow to cool then chop the fried egg roughly into small pieces. 

3. Heat a wok over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon sesame oil, making sure to swirl the oil to coat as much of the bottom and sides of the wok as possible. Add the chilli and spring onion and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the peas & corn and zucchini to the pan, stir-frying for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables are bright in colour and warmed through. (If at any point the vegetables and/or rice are sticking to the wok, add a splash of water- try to do this instead of adding more oil!). Add the cooked rice to the pan, followed by the kecap manis and the chopped egg pieces, stirring well to combine the sauce, rice and vegetables. Season with sea salt and pepper and remove from heat. Serve with a drizzle more  kecap manis and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, if you desire. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes

Total Cooking time / 16-18 minutes 

x Emily