In The Kitchen with Kanta : Egg Fried Rice

Egg Fried Rice

Sometimes budgeting and busyness can really put a dampener on how interesting we make our food.  In fact they have a direct impact on how much we experiment in the kitchen. When we are on a tight budget we are more likely to buy the same old ‘safe’ and cheap ingredients to make the same old ‘safe’ meals that we always have.  Similarly when we don’t have time to spare, we are likely to fall back on those very same ‘safe’ meals.  But that doesn’t have to be the case – take rice for example, there are so many ways to spice up your rice….literally.  So today I am going to show you just that – what to do with your left over plain rice to make it more interesting.  By simply changing your cooking method and a few ingredients you can literally create a completely new dish. – Exotic and delicious oriental Egg fried rice.  Because egg fried rice is so awesome it can be eaten with any meaty dish or completely on its own; and there are no limits to the veggies that you can mix with it.  So, don’t be afraid to throw in a few extra veggies, and make sure the family are getting their ‘5 a day’.

Whilst your family and friends sit there, admire your cooking skills, and liken you to Gordon Ramsey; we both know that you made this tasty and inspired dish essentially from 5 ingredients and yesterdays leftover rice….but I won’t tell if you don’t…it’s our little secret.

Preparation & cooking time: 20 – 30 minutes

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 200g  long-grain rice (uncooked weight), cooked and left
• 100g  frozen peas, defrosted (rinse under warm water to defrost)
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1-2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 pieces of bacon, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 small red pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs
• 1 heaped tsp mixed spice (optional)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp ground sea salt

Method

Always make sure that your left over rice is stored correctly i.e. in an air tight container and in the fridge.

If you are not using left over rice, cook your rice as normal by; boiling hot water and salt in a pot.  Pour in your rice once the water begins to boil vigorously, stir once and reduce the heat to let the rice boil more steadily.  For stickier rice, boil with the pot uncovered, without stirring.

Fill a separate pot with water, bring to the boil; boil your peas for 2 minutes and drain.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok, or wide pan and stir-fry the bacon for 3-4 minutes until crisp. Tip in the red pepper, spring onions and the garlic cloves and stir-fry for 2 more minutes.  Add the rice,  fry for another 3-4 minutes, followed by the peas until the mixture is completely heated; season well with soy sauce, salt, pepper or mixed spice.  Now push the rice mixture to one side of the pan.

Beat the eggs, pour them into the other side of the pan, and leave for about 10 seconds so they begin to set. Using a chopstick or fork briskly swirl the egg around to break it up and then toss around with the rice. Stir-fry for a further minute and serve straight away.

Serving

Serve your rice whilst it’s still steaming hot.  You can serve it with a side of beef or chicken stew; but it goes down just as well, if not better on its own.

To serve this as a vegetarian dish, simply forgo the bacon.

Kanta Temba is a cake maker and decorator. She is also the owner and founder of Kanta Kakes – cake shop.

You can find her work on www.kantakakes.com.  Follow her on twitter @KantaKakes and Instagram @KantaTemba.