My incredible husband kindly cooked dinner recently and really knocked my socks off with this deliciously simply dish. It is quite delicious and so easy for those of us who frequently need a fast meal. The intelligence of this dish is you could modify it with any vegetables that are handy in your crisper drawer. Color is another aspect that makes the dish savory for the eyes.
For the rice we simply cook it in bulk and freeze portions of it for later use. As I can hear some of you cringing behind your monitors, I must confess that this was a tip given to me by a Chinese Chef. He said the best fried rice at restaurants is made a day or two ahead, frozen and reheated in a wok with oil. I was suspect of this technique myself, but I cannot argue with the results.
Our thought is that perhaps fresh made rice is too moist and lacks the proper consistency for wok cooking. Although we do not own a wok, we merely stir-fried everything in a large non-stick skillet. Whatever your technique, be aware that his recipe below calls for cooked, frozen and reheated rice as I described above.
Vegetable Rice
2 cups rice
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 Tbsp GF soy sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 cups of chopped vegetables (our choice was snap peas)
3 Tbsp of sunflower seeds
Half of a large onion, diced finely
Heat non-stick skillet with sesame oil and soy sauce, over medium-high heat. Put diced onion into skillet and cook until nearly clear; make sure you stir frequently to coat the onion in the sesame oil and soy sauce. Add vegetables to the pot, saute for 5 minutes or so and season with salt and pepper. Finally add rice and cook long enough to heat the rice through.
For those of you who need very specific directions, you may find my website less helpful. I cook by feel more often than by directions, unless I am baking a souffle or something. Hopefully newer cooks are encouraged by the lack of direction I offer because food will speak to you, if you let it. When you cook something right you can smell it, see the look of the food and taste it when you sample something. You can easily learn this process if you are patient with yourself – and I say this from experience!
