vegetarian fried brown rice

We’re at the end of day eight of 30 days of clean eating, and we’re having a good old time. I haven’t found myself craving anything that I’m missing, which has surprised me. Except toast, I wanted toast a lot. So I picked up some killer locally-made bread that is a good option for us. (In full disclosure, we did split a piece of homemade cake at our friend’s graduation party this weekend, and as the sugar surged through my veins and my pulse raced, I was reminded of why I should not do that.)

Some of my other observations so far:

1) My husband says he feels better, that he actually feels great; his cheerful and energetic demeanor makes me believe him.

2) Requires lots of time.

3) Costs a lot.

I haven’t even been buying organic produce or hormone-free, pasture-raised meat because of the sticker shock, and we are spending about 40% more than we normally do at the store than we did a week ago. The price difference between a loaf of bread or jar of nut butter now and the stuff we’d buy before? Double.

Produce, the main staple of our diet right now, really adds up fast, even at the discount grocer. It’s killer. Thankfully, eggs and dried beans are cheap.

So, today’s recipe: fried rice is awesome, right? Not really from restaurants (mushy peas, MSG attack…). But at home, where I can control the ingredients and flavors, I have come to love fried rice. Like an old song that is brilliant for the background of a really good television show, but maybe doesn’t cross my mind when choosing a dinner party playlist, this is an unassuming but satisfying one-pot, one-bowl dinner. Simple, enjoyable. It meets my self-imposed standards for nutrition, frugality and of course, texture and flavor. I love the plump, bright peas, fragrantly fried garlic, slices of scrambled eggs and especially the occasional crisp grains of rice from the bottom of the pan — aren’t those the best?

I feel that I’ve finally landed on a sauce that pleasantly dresses and flavors the rice situation without being soy-sauce-salty-town. It’s fresh and enjoyable. And such a good way to use up any leftovers! Cooked pork, chicken, maybe carrot past their prime or some freezer-burned edamame come to bright, flavorful life in fried rice.

The two most important things you’ll need are a really good non-stick pan (I recently had to retire one of mine, and boy, do eggs shimmy and shake across my new pan!) or well-seasoned wok. Secondly, to avoid clumps, the rice really needs to be cool and dry. If you must cook rice the same day as frying it, try to give it some time to cool, spread out on a cookie sheet in the fridge. My preferred method/the easiest way is to make extra rice one evening when serving it alongside dinner and stow the leftovers just for this purpose.

A splash of nuoc cham has become a favorite way of ours to top a bowl of fried rice, offering heat, brightness and acidity, but it contains white sugar so did not fit our clean eating plan. A squeeze of lime provides the same bright lift to the flavors and really takes it to the next level. Enjoy!

serves 4

 

Frying rice is a very quick process once your wok or pan is hot, so begin by prepping, chopping and setting out all your components and mixing your sauce. From there, dinner will be ready in less than 10 minutes.

 

So many vegetables are happy in fried rice, such as bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, chopped cabbage, sugar snap peas or snow peas, asparagus, water chestnuts, bok choy, kale or other leafy, sturdy greens… use your favorite, use what you have on hand.

 

(Note on chiles – fresh jalapenos, serranos, dried red pepper flakes, spoonfuls of sambal or Sriracha are all options, or leave the heat out depending on your preference. The two firey Thai chiles we used produce a medium-hot kick for this recipe and plenty of spice for us. Make sure you turn on the hood fan of your stove if using fresh chiles – they produce spicy steam when they hit the hot pan.)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (or substitute 1 tablespoon each soy sauce and honey or agave)
2 tablespoons soy sauce, tamari or nama shoyu
¼ cup dry white wine, stock or water
1 tablespoon fish sauce (replace with soy sauce for vegetarian option)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (replace with hoisin for vegetarian option)
1 tablespoon honey or agave
black pepper

Fried rice:
Grapeseed or other high smoke-point oil
4 eggs, beaten
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 Thai chiles, minced
2 large or 3 medium carrots, sliced ¼-inch thick and halved, quartered if large
1 onion, diced
3 ribs celery, sliced diagonally
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 cup frozen peas

Finish with:
sliced scallions
nuoc cham
freshly-squeezed lime

Directions:
Whisk sauce ingredients together and set aside. (If using Sriracha or sambal in place of fresh chiles, add them to this mixture.)

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a well-seasoned wok or nonstick pan over medium heat, swirling to coat. Add beaten eggs and tilt pan to coat, making a large, flat omelet. Cook until set, flip out onto a cutting board and slice. Set aside and wipe pan clean.

Heat another tablespoon or two of oil over medium-high. Add chiles, if using, and garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Add onion, celery and carrots and cook until just becoming crisp-tender, 5 – 8 minutes. If necessary, add water, wine or stock to keep things in the pan moving along. Add rice and stir-fry until hot through and beginning to crisp here and there. Reduce heat, add edamame, peas and prepared sauce and stir until warmed through, just 30 seconds or so. Add egg strips and stir to combine.

Divide between bowls and top with scallions and nuoc cham, or a squeeze of lime.

soba noodle salad with crispy tofu

 

 

When my husband and I go on vacation, whether with family or friends, we choose rental homes based mostly on how well-stocked the kitchen is, to accommodate our flurry of cooking. I love to cook while on vacation, and the preparation and consumption of the meal becomes a production, lingering for hours, gathering everyone near the kitchen, tasting, drinking wine, talking and anticpating a feast.

Something I’ve noticed about these vcation meals is that washing the dishes made dirty by all the cooking and eating becomes kind of a fun chore… because, we’re on vacation, what other chores do we have? There just isn’t anything that is pulling us away to do something, no schedules, no appointments… we’re enjoying the day, the slow pace, the relaxation. Suddenly, I start to look for something to do, and those dishes — there they are.

 

I am a busybody; relaxing just has never come naturally to me. First World Problems, right? I wander often into these vacation-home kitchens to start prep on dinner, to set out something to come to room temperature, stir a pot, pour a drink, or wash a few dishes. Which is silly, right, because how annoying is it to wash dishes at home? (Though decidedly less annoying for me recently, since my wonderful husband is making it his full-time job to keep the dishes, cleaning/vacuuming, errand-running and dog-walking in order every day until the next form of employment makes itself known. Recently, he moved a broomstick capped with a dust cloth along all the ceilings, making cobwebs magically disappear. I LOVE THIS MAN.) A chore I try to put off at home, washing dishes, becomes a little something to accomplish on vacation, a break in my relaxation – which makes for a happier me. While I’m trying to conquer my own mental battle around relaxing and doing nothing and being ok with it, this is a small task I can see through in a matter of minutes that helps balance out my idea of an awesome, relaxing, “we did so much great stuff, too!” vacation.

 

 

Can you tell that we just got back from a mini vacation? A three-day weekend at the coast with my husband, my parents and siblings…. eating clams, riding bikes, board games and zombie movies, having time to paint my nails with my sis and let them dry (really, doing nothing!), and drinking so much coffee. I washed some dishes… we all did. It was great, and we ate very well, especially my mom’s carne asada and grilled salsa that we ate on hand-shaped pupusas. I cooked Yotam Ottolenghi’s shakshuka for breakfast, because, I can’t just make a simple breakfast, I suppose! But my mom’s breakfast of french toast with cinnamon-maple syrup and ham steaks was my favorite, so amazingly delicious. She is the master.

shakshuka with potatoes, and $1 coffee at the local bakery

We especially loved off-roading in my brother’s new rig…. climbing rocks and dodging streams in this vehicle was so much fun, with wet sand blasting through the open windows, pelting us.

 

As we return to our routines and busy schedules, I appreciate quick meals that are nourishing, tasty and maybe even a little out of the ordinary, and a make-ahead component doesn’t hurt at all with getting it on the table. This is a dinner I get excited about because of its simplicity, deliciousness and how packed it is with fresh flavors to wake our tastebuds; interesting and bright, healthfully fueling our day of accomplishment, or perhaps, of relaxation. It does dirty some dishes to wash — two pans and a couple of bowls for prep. I hope that’s all right with you…. I find these noodles worth it. This features nuoc cham, a Vietnamese staple sauce of chiles, lime and garlic, that is spicy, sweet, sour and salty. I love it and put it on everything… rice, meats or seafood, as a salad dressing or a dipping sauce. It’s versatile, fresh and bracing and so flavorful… a great one for your arsenal.

 

 

 

Soba noodles are a Japanese noodle made of buckwheat, which is not a wheat, but a seed – from a fruit related to rhubarb — meaning a lower level of gluten than wheat-based noodles. Incorporating soba and fresh, raw vegetables and tofu make this salad high in nutritious protein, fiber and amino acids, and the contrast between the chilled noodles and hot, crisp tofu slices is wonderful.

 

I make a big batch of this noodle salad for dinner and keep extra in the fridge to pack for work lunches. The crisp tofu fills my desire for deep-fried indulgences without much oil at all, and even tastes wonderful cold, the next day. The soba noodles have a mild flavor and delicate bite, served chilled with cucumber and carrot “noodles” interspersed throughout, and there is so much brightness and garlicky goodness from the nuoc cham. It’s a great salad.  This would work well with regular angel-hair pasta if you prefer, and we also really liked it with glass noodles made from sweet-potato starch from the Asian market. Enjoy!

 

Look for soba noodles at Asian grocery stores, and also in the health-food section of your local grocery… here is a brand that our local Fred Meyer carries.

Thai chiles are very small, very red, and very hot. I find them at Asian markets — sometimes they have them frozen, if not fresh. You can substitute serrano chiles (available at most grocery stores), which are green and smaller than a jalapeno, but serranos are not as hot as a Thai chile. Adjust quantities to your heat preference… we like the 3 Thai chiles here to produce enough heat to be enjoyable but not sear off our tastebuds.

If you’d like to make this vegetarian, use salt in place of the fish sauce — start with 1/2 teaspoon and adjust to your liking.

for nuoc cham:

• 3/4 cup hot water (just hot enough to dissolve sugar — I often use hot tap water)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• juice from two limes
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 Thai chiles, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Mix the hot water and sugar together to dissolve — I like to use a repurposed glass jar or a container with a tight lid. Then add the lime juice, and taste. You’re making limeade –does it taste good? Adjust the ingredients for your preference of sweet and sour. Then add rice vinegar and fish sauce and taste. If it needs more of a salty punch, depending on the type of fish sauce used, add more (Vietnamese-made fish sauces are lighter in flavor, while Thai fish sauces carry a salitier and more bracing taste). Add chiles and garlic and shake well to combine. Let it sit out at room temperture for a few hours, if you can…. overnight is even better. For longer periods of time, store in the fridge.

for tofu:

recipe inspired by alexandracooks.com

• one package extra-firm tofu (around 14 oz)
• 2 tablespoons each white and black sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• peanut, vegetable or another neutral oil

Drain tofu: I like to put the block into a colander that can sit inside a bowl with a couple inches of clearance at the bottom for draining. Weigh the tofu down from the top by placing a second bowl on top of the tofu and filling it with some canned food or other heavy items. Place in the fridge to drain for 15 minutes at least, but  if you can, start the draining before you leave for work in the morning. The better-drained the tofu, the crisper it will fry.

Slice the drained tofu into thick slices, about 3/4-inch. Toss panko and sesame seeds together in a small, shallow dish with some salt and pepper. In another small, shallow dish, lightly beat egg and season with salt and pepper. Dredge tofu slices first in egg mixture and then in panko mixture, making sure to get all six sides coated. Set aside in a single layer on a plate.

Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high. Once a drop of water will sizzle and dance across the pan, gently place the tofu slices in to cook without touching each other. Give them 3 – 4 minutes per side, watching for panko to crisp and brown, then flip and repeat. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain before serving.

salad assembly:

• 4 oz soba noodles
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, halved and seeded (use a spoon to scrape out the seeds)
• 2 medium carrots, peeled
• 1 cup (about 1/8 head) thinly shredded purple cabbage
• scallions, sliced

Cook the soba noodles according to package directions. These delicate noodles do not need to cook in a rolling boil, and don’t cook as long as the usual egg pastas, just as a heads up. Drain, then rinse with cold water.

Run the cucumbers and carrots through the julienne blade on a mandoline to produce noodle shapes, or slice thinly, stack, and cut into long, thin matchsticks.

Toss noodles, cucumber, carrots and cabbage together in a large bowl with nuoc cham to taste (you may or may not want to use all of the nuoc cham). Serve immediately, or chill in the fridge for later.

To enjoy, top with piping-hot, crisp tofu and garnish with scallions.