Hello Hive friends.
This is my entry to this week's hive top chef by @qurator. This week's topic is Fried Rice.
This is something that has become a little more intimidating for me, ever since I discovered "Uncle Roger". This is a You tube character created by the comedian, Nigel NG.
He has become well known by many, in the world, for his comedic critique of fried rice making. He is also known for his obsession for MSG, and disdain of vegetarians and vegans.
Today I will make a fried rice that would make Uncle Roger's head spin with disappointment. It will not contain MSG, and it will be vegan.
It's well known that the rice should be day old rice for best results.
Last night I made Jasmine rice to get ready for today. Normally I put it in a container, but this time I spread it on a pan.
I spread the rice out as evenly as possible and put it in the fridge. I was curious to see if it would be better this way.
Today I pulled out the rice, which was cooled and dried from being in the fridge. I was really happy with it.
After putting it in a bowl, to get ready for frying, it was set aside to get rid of the chill.
It has been said that the rice shouldn't be cold. The reason being that it will lower the temperature of the wok, or pan. I am using a not so great quality wok. Also my stove heating element is not the best for wok fried rice. It would be best made on a fire burner. That's city life in a studio apartment.
I had a good amount of variety in my fridge, to contribute to the rice.
Usually with oyster mushrooms, I tear them by hand. This time I chopped them so they would blend in with the other items.
The broccoli was chopped small as well, removing all of the ends. The ends are kept for other things. Last time I made a creamy broccoli soup.
The broccoli will be added to the pan towards the end.
For the scallions, I used the ends to put in the pan, and reserved the green for the garnish at the end.
I chose to use shallots for it's milder taste.
The shallots were finely minced.
The ginger was grated with a grater.
I usually just use a knife but lately I like the grater method.
I have seen some recipes that use only scallions, without garlic and ginger. I refuse to do that.
I can understand in a way. If the fried rice will be accompanied with many other dishes, you wouldn't necessarily need the ginger and garlic.
In this case, I will have the rice as a main course.
Vegetable fried rice
4 cups precooked jasmine rice
60g cup diced carrots
100g chopped broccoli
70g shallots
25g garlic
45g scallions
20g ginger
1 cup peas
150g oyster mushroom
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup vegan oyster sauce (or more soy sauce)
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste
shaoxing cooking wine
1 cup tofu "egg" scramble
Tofu scramble
1 block tofu
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Black salt(kala namak) or more to taste
Oil for the pan
The classic Chinese fried rice, will often have egg in it. This tofu "egg" scramble is for extra protein and of course the visual eggy look.
The extra firm tofu is crushed was crushed my hands. It doesn't need to be completely uniform.
When the pan is hot add the tofu and seasonings. Adjust the salt to your liking. Black salt is different then regular salt. Start with a small amount then add more if necessary. It will be added to the rice, which will be further seasoned.
After coating the tofu, and cooking it slightly it's put aside, to add to the rice later.
Instead of adding the broth, soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce, sesame oil, chili sauce, one by one I mixed them together for more efficiency.
The only thing I didn't add was the cooking wine.
I spread a decent amount of vegetable oil all around the bottom and sides of the wok. My wok is suppose to be non stick, but it does stick.
I got the pan as hot as possible while hoping the smoke alarm did not go off. It did not.
I added the shallots, carrots, ginger and garlic. It needs to be stirred as well as possible.
Holding a camera while trying not to burn wok items can be difficult.
The shaoxing wine was added to deglaze the pan. This is optional. I could have used water, but I happened to have the cooking wine so I thought it would be nice.
The mushrooms were added as I stirred for my life. My wok tossing skills are non existent.
Only a cup or so of the tofu "egg" was added. The rest was packed away for another day.
The items start to stick a little on the bottom so they were pushed aside, then the pan got an extra splash of oil.
When the mushrooms were cooked down, I added the rice. This was a tense moment for me.
The rice actually mixed nicely not clumping. I added the broccoli at this point since it was almost finished. I can't stand over cooked broccoli.
The sauce mix was added around the sides. I wasn't sure if it would be too much or not. I took my chances and it worked out perfectly. I could add salt or soy sauce later.
The peas were frozen and added at the end. It's another item that I don't like to over cook.
The pan was covered for around five minutes to heat the broccoli and peas.
I have to say that it turned out better then all of the other times. The rice was loose, not mushy and well coated.
I wish that in the past, I had put the rice on a sheet pan in the fridge. I know that some cooks don't even bother using day old rice. They are able to cook the rice in just the right amount of water so it works.
I was aiming for a Chinese style fried rice, but I couldn't help but add lime to it. This turned into more of a Thai fried rice.
Okay so this may not be "Uncle Roger" approved, but it was approved in this house hold.
No leftovers. I was hoping to have some left for the next day.
Thank you for stopping by
**design by: @KidSisters**Photos taken with a Nikon D7500