BROWN FRIED RICE

This brown fried rice can be vegetarian or not, with the addition of bacon. I like to mix up the ingredients and use whatever I have in fridge, such as the vegetables in the ingredients list below or  Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, buk choy, broccoli, etc. 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. The optional bacon in this dish is for my fiancee Chris, who can't seem to go one meal without meat! The flavour of the egg, bacon (if using), various vegetables and lime juice should be enough for you to not need to use extra soy sauce/tamari, but if you are craving more flavour add a dash of ground black pepper to your rice! 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 eggs, preferably free range, lightly beaten
• Optional - 100g bacon, fat removed, roughly chopped
• 1 small red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped or 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes 
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup peas 
• 1 large zucchini, roughly chopped 
• 1 large carrot, roughly chopped 
• 1 medium green capsicum, roughly chopped 
• 2 tablespoons reduced salt soy sauce or tamari 
• 1 large lime, cut into 4 wedges 

COOKING 

1. Pour the rice into a medium saucepan and add 2 1/4 cups of water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer, covered, for around 15 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 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil to a wok and swirl to coat over medium heat. Add beaten eggs with 1 tablespoon water to the wok and let cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, or until the outside of the omelette is set. Flip the thin omelette over and cook on the other side until just cooked through. Remove from heat and allow to cool then chop the fried egg roughly into small pieces. 

3. If not adding bacon, skip this step. Once the omelette has been removed from the wok, add the bacon to the wok and stir for a few minutes until slightly brown. Remove from heat. 

4. Keep the wok over medium heat and add 1/2 teaspoon 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, zucchini, carrot and capsicum 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 stick 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 soy sauce and the chopped egg pieces (and the cooked bacon if using), stirring well to combine all ingredients. Serve warm, with lime juice drizzled on top. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes

Total Cooking time / 20 minutes 

x Emily