I went into this week thinking that I was probably going to make fried rice. I don't make fried rice all that often. As someone who doesn't eat much meat, it's one of the dishes that people oftentimes point to going, "See, you can eat Chinese food, too!" And, if I'm being honest, it really put me off of Chinese food for quite a while. All of the butter in most fried rice recipes is unfortunately more than my poor stomach can handle! Not having options for meals is also something that irks me. If I'm going to go out for food? Having a choice on the dish is rather important. As is it actually being worth buying. I don't go out to eat a lot. Especially over the last couple of years. So, when being presented with the option of fried rice that makes me sick, fried rice that makes me sick, or fried rice that makes me sick? I'd rather just not have Chinese food!
The Journey to Fried Rice
Not to be outdone by a challenge, though, I often find myself trying to make a dish that I don't necessarily like more palatable. So, I've kind of gone into this week with the vague idea that I might try and make fried rice work for me. For starters, I'm not using butter. I really just don't have the constitution that handles copious amounts of butter well. You can absolutely go the butter route if that's what works for you! But I'm swapping out avocado oil. I'd maybe prefer to use peanut oil, but I'm all out and trying not to add to the cluttered mess that is my pantry at the present moment. So, avocado oil it is!
Fried rice is also one of those dishes where I've seen people recommend turning leftovers into it. The logic is that colder rice fries better. I haven't personally tested out this method. However, since I made Brown Rice w/ Broccoli, Bell Peppers, & Rice Wine the other day and already have it in the refrigerator? I decided to try my hand at frying it today. Although I have no firsthand knowledge of whether or not this tip is actually true. It does make me feel better about turning leftover rice into a fun and new meal.
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Variations of Fried Rice
I don't ordinarily make all that much rice in my life, let alone Chinese-inspired rice. Although, I've had a lot of fun with it this week in everything from omelettes to salmon. There are also fun other recipes to try your hand at rice in, like paella.
This Fried Rice consists of broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, shallots, garlic, fresh turmeric, rice cooking wine, tamari, and scrambled eggs. It makes 8 servings total. Although I did make it for leftovers and only made 1 serving this time. If you'd like to make all 8 servings, just get a skillet large enough to accomodate the entirety of the rice and 16 eggs at once. Otherwise, cooking in batches is always an option!
Add all of the ingredients into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger vegetables and then add the smaller ingredients, followed by the rice and water.This cooks the larger vegetables on the bottom, while dispersing the flavor profiles in the middle. Although with some mixing, this really doesn't matter all that much. Everything will eventually cook together!
Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.Alternatively you can simmer on the stove. Add all of the ingredients to a pot, bring uncovered to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook covered for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet squash and rice are tender. Turn off heat, add lid, and let sit another 5-10 minutes.
Fried Rice
Preheat a skillet on high heat.It can help to cool the rice during this time as cold rice tends not to stick together as much as heated rice. This is entirely optional. Although leftover rice reheats well at this point if you want to turn it into fried rice later.
Add rice to the skillet with a splash of high heat oil. Let fry for about 3 minutes and then flip.
Meanwhile, crack 2 eggs per serving into the skillet. Quickly scramble with the spatula.The goal is to get small portions of egg interspersed into the dish. This is the opposite of scrambling an egg for most other meals, where the goal is to have large, fluffy eggs. With fried rice, it's more about the rice than the egg.
Serve Immediately.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
For a more in-depth article on making the rice portion of this dish, I have an entire article on Brown Rice w/ Broccoli, Bell Peppers, & Rice Wine as well as The Fundamentals of Cooking Rice. Rice is surprisingly more difficult to cook in a rice cooker than the name would suggest and there are a multitude of simple solutions for common problems, like overcooking and becoming mushy or drying out. There are also some solutions for remedying these issues after the fact, instead of starting over!
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