Tag Archives: fried rice

Asian style Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken, Mains, Rice August 24, 2018 Comments: 8

First of all, a big apology for putting up this post so late. Many of you have been asking the recipe for this Chicken fried rice for a while now and I have been chirping away the phrase, ‘it will soon be on the blog’ to all.

It’s just that too many things have been going on, both personally and professionally. Sitting down to write out the recipe has taken me the longest time. But today I was determined to get the post published so that all of you can try out this absolutely lipsmacking Chicken fried rice.

On the personal front, most of you would be aware of the Kerala flood situation and the trail of destruction and devastation it has left behind. While my own family was affected less, there have been members of the extended family and friends, many of whom had to be evacuated and put up in shelter homes and many others who have lost everything they have including homes, businesses, properties, agricultural land etc….

It’s a difficult time that everyone’s going through back home. Almost the whole of last week was spent in just trying to communicate with family and in many instances, it took us almost 4-5 days just to establish communication with our loved ones. Work was the last thing on my mind so except for some client projects, I hardly updated the blog.

Getting back to today’s dish, this Chicken fried rice is one of the best I have ever made. It’s totally different to the Indo Chinese style or the typical Chinese style that I often make at home. Adapted from a Marion Grasby recipe, this is more of a modern Thai style chicken fried rice.

It’s quite simple to put together but the flavours are incredible and I loved the fact that turmeric is a key ingredient which adds so much depth and flavour to the rice. Another key ingredient is belachan or shrimp paste, adds that umami hit which really comes through in the final dish.

I usually have a menu plan ready by the end of each week for the following one, so whenever there’s fried rice on the menu, I try and prepare the rice a day ago as the texture of one day old rice works best. But don’t fret about it if you can’t find the time; just make sure you prepare the rice first, drain and spread out to cool before going ahead with the remaining dish.

This chicken fried rice is all about the toppings and condiments too. Fried eggs, fresh coriander, cucumbers, fried shallots, sambal oelek all create this wonderful texture and layers of flavour to the final dish. Requires no other side dish to go along, but you can indulge yourself by adding a stir fry to accompany.

So let’s get cooking this Thai inspired chicken fried rice; and if you make it do tag me #thespiceadventuress in your social media posts so that I can see it too. Or leave a comment below; I love hearing from all of you.

Asian style Chicken Fried Rice - thespiceadventuress.com

Ingredients:

  1. 5 cups cooked medium grained rice
  2. 4 eggs
  3. Vegetable oil; (for frying the eggs and making the rice)
  4. 500 gms chicken thigh (skinless & boneless); thinly sliced
  5. 1 large brown onion; finely sliced
  6. 3 garlic cloves; finely chopped
  7. 1 long red chilli; finely sliced
  8. ½ tsp turmeric powder
  9. 1 ½ tsp shrimp paste
  10. 3 baby bok choy; slice the light green part and tear the leaves coarsely
  11. 3 tbsp soy sauce
  12. 2 tsp kecap manis (sweet soy)
  13. Salt, to season
  14. Fried shallots
  15. 4-5 sprigs fresh coriander leaves
  16. Sambal oelek, to serve
  17. Lebanese cucumber; to serve

Method:

  1. Heat 1/3 cup vegetable oil in a large wok till smoking hot. Add the chicken pieces and season lightly with salt. Cook till the chicken is just about done; remove and keep aside.
  2. In the same wok (add more oil only if necessary), add the onions, garlic, chillies and sauté on medium heat till the onions are softened.
  3. Lower heat and add the shrimp paste and turmeric. Break down the shrimp paste using the back of the ladle and mix well to combine. Cook for about 1 minute till it gets aromatic.
  4. Next add the cooked chicken pieces along with the light green stalks of the bok choy; toss and stir fry for 30 seconds.
  5. Add the cooked rice, soy sauce and kecap manis. Toss well to combine and finally add the bok choy leaves. Mix well and stir fry for about a minute.
  6. Once the rice is done, fry the eggs to your individual preferences.
  7. To serve, place the fried rice in a bow and top with fried egg, cucumbers, coriander, sambal oelek, shallots and kecap manis.
  8. Tuck in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Chilli Prawn Fried Rice

Mains, Prawns/Shrimp, Rice, Seafood December 13, 2016 Comments: 9

My love for markets is legendary, especially the local one in my suburb (Dandenong) which I would have mentioned on my blog at least a million times.

Looking back, I think it’s destiny that bought us to this suburb. Amidst all the confusion, loneliness and that strange feeling of newness in a foreign country, it was the local market here that was my refuge. The smell, sights and sounds always reminded me of home because I would get every single ingredient that I needed for my style of cooking which means a lot when you are so far from home. And it’s true that food opens doors where none exists. And for me that door was this blog…..

These days, I don’t visit the market as often as I used to but I am still there at least once every fortnight. It’s my space to get inspired and to re-ignite the creativity and passion I have for food. All the beautiful, fresh produce gives me such a buzz and there are so many ideas that pop into my mind after a trip like this.

And with Christmas almost here, markets are just brimming with such amazing produce and I simply couldn’t go past the seafood section. I had to come back with some fresh Australian raw prawns; don’t waste your hard earned money buying prawns from other countries when you can get some amazingly fresh and delicious prawns caught right here in Australia. Believe me, it’s totally worth those few extra dollars.

After all the shopping, I was only in the mind for a one pot dish and nothing elaborate. And this delicious Indo Chinese style prawn fried rice is what came to mind.

Chilli Prawn Fried Rice - a simple and delicious one pot Indo Chinese style fried rice - thespiceadventuress.com

The Indo Chinese style fried rice is quite different from the traditional Chinese version. It’s a lot more fried where the grains of rice are separate unlike the sticky original version. I wanted a bit of a spice kick and used long dry red chillies for smoky hot undertones.

To get the flavour from the dry red chillies, add it to the cold oil and then heat on low flame. Toss in the prawns with a handful of different vegetables along with perfectly cooked rice and finish off with a dash of soy and tomato chilli sauce.

Chilli Prawn Fried Rice - a simple and delicious one pot Indo Chinese style fried rice - thespiceadventuress.com

Chilli Prawn Fried Rice - a simple and delicious one pot Indo Chinese style fried rice - thespiceadventuress.com

Ingredients:

  1. 400gms long grained rice
  2. 500gms medium sized prawns; deshelled and deveined
  3. 1 large carrot; julienned

This post is bought to you in association with Supreme Seafood so the complete recipe can be found here.

Chilli Prawn Fried Rice - a simple and delicious one pot Indo Chinese style fried rice - thespiceadventuress.com

Chilli Prawn Fried Rice - a simple and delicious one pot Indo Chinese style fried rice - thespiceadventuress.com

Mixed Vegetable Fried Rice

Rice, Vegetarian March 7, 2014 Comments: 6

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A few days earlier, I had posted the recipe for Szechwan chicken and I had mentioned that this is best paired with fried rice especially the Indo-Chinese style rice. Though I had prepared the same that day, couldn’t find the time to post the recipe. Since many people have asked me the recipe, I decided to post the same today.

A stark difference between the Indo Chinese style fried rice and the traditional Chinese one is that the latter uses sticky or a day old rice and sesame/peanut oil which lends a distinct flavour to the rice. But the Indo Chinese style uses the long grained rice generally and the veggies, egg or meat are cooked in vegetable oil.

This is quite a beginner’s recipe and can be made easily by anyone. The only thing to remember is to keep all the ingredients chopped and ready. The veggies have to be stir fried over high heat to retain colour and crunch. Add the ingredients which require the longest time for cooking at the beginning and follow in that order.

You can use just about all kinds of vegetables, meat or egg for preparing fried rice though I have done a mixed vegetable fried rice. And this makes an awesome tiffin box recipe too since children just love this stuff.
So, here is the recipe for mixed vegetable fried rice….

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Ingredients:

1. Long grained rice – 2 cups, washed, soaked and drained
2. Red onion – 1 large, chopped
3. Tender green beans – a bunch, chopped
4. Carrots – 1 large, chopped
5. Green bell pepper – 1 large, chopped
6. White mushrooms – 1 cup, sliced
7. Spring onions – 4, chopped
8. Vegetable oil – 3-4 tbsp
9. Salt – to season
10. Freshly milled black pepper – to season
11. Soy sauce – 2 tbsp
12. Tomato sauce – 1 tbsp
13. Red chilli sauce – 1 tsp

Method:

• Cook the rice in salted boiling water till just done. Make sure the rice has not gone overcooked or mushy.
• Heat oil in a large deep pan and add the onions; sauté over high heat for a minute and add the green beans. Cook for another minute and add the carrots. Saute for 30 seconds and add the mushrooms. Cook for a minute on high heat and add the bell pepper. Cook for another minute and add the spring onions.
• Add the seasonings and sauté for another minute on high heat.
• Lower heat and add the rice; stir through to combine and remove from heat.
• Hot, delicious fried rice is done.

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Prawn and Brussels Sprouts Fried Rice

Mains, Prawns/Shrimp, Rice, Seafood August 23, 2013 Leave a comment

Recently, I went to a Chinese restaurant where we ordered prawn and cabbage fried rice. We loved it and so I tried to re-create the dish at home using simple ingredients. Didn’t want to use the different Asian sauces and so used just soy sauce and chilli sauce to give it the typical Chinese flavour. And also used brussels sprouts which gave a slightly different texture to the dish.

An easy meal to satiate your Chinese taste buds. And also a great lunch/tiffin box idea for the busy mornings or weekday dinners.

Prawn and Brussels Sprouts Fried Rice - thespiceadventuress.com

Ingredients:

  1. Medium grain rice – 2 cups, washed and soak for at least 30 minutes to reduce cooking time
  2. Prawns – 200 gm, cut into bite-sized pieces
  3. Brussels sprouts – 1 cup, shredded
  4. Red onion – 1 small, chopped
  5. Soy sauce – 1-2 tbsp
  6. Chilli sauce – 1 tbsp
  7. Salt – to taste
  8. Black pepper – to taste
  9. Spring onion – chopped, for garnish
  10. Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
  11. Sesame oil – 1 tsp

Note – Any kind of rice can be used for this dish. And if you have leftover rice, works perfectly too.

Method:

  • Cook the rice in salted boiling water, drain and keep aside.
  • In a wok or large kadai, heat the vegetable and sesame oil.
  • Add chopped onions and sauté on high heat for a minute.
  • Then add prawns and cook till the prawns are almost done.
  • Add the shredded sprouts and cook for 30 seconds.
  • Add the soy, chilli sauce and pepper; mix well.
  • Add the rice and mix well to combine. Taste and season with salt if necessary.
  • Serve warm garnished with chopped spring onions.

Prawn and Brussels Sprouts Fried Rice - thespiceadventuress.com

 

Egg broccolini rice

Eggs, Rice August 21, 2013 Leave a comment

All of us have days when we hate to enter the kitchen and I am not an exception. And one particular night, though I was deeply tempted to order food from outside, I resisted the urge and decided to come up with something simple yet filling.

A quick raid of the fridge revealed leftover rice, eggs and broccolini. ‘Necessity is indeed the mother of invention’ and I ended up preparing this simple fried rice with a splash and dash of the innumerable Asian sauces that I have in my pantry. Surprisingly, the dish turned out to be a good one; the proof for that came when my 4 year old gave me a hug and said; ‘Mama, that is deleeecious’.

Egg broccolini rice - thespiceadventuress.com

Egg broccolini rice - thespiceadventuress.com

 

Ingredients:

1. Long-grained rice – 2.5 cups (I used leftover rice, but make it fresh if you want to)
2. Eggs – 3 large, beaten well
3. Broccolini – 2 bunches; chopped
4. Dark soy sauce – 2-3 tbsp
5. Fish sauce – 1-2 tsp
6. Salt – to taste
7. Black pepper – to taste
8. Ginger – ½ tsp, grated
9. Vegetable oil – 1-2 tbsp

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add the beaten eggs. Scramble till half done.
• Add the broccolini and sauté on high heat. Add the grated ginger and seasonings.
• Saute for a minute.
• Add the rice and mix well. Serve hot

Egg broccolini rice - thespiceadventuress.com

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