Easy Vegetarian Fried Rice

Chuck — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:14:27 +0000

One day last week, our fridge was practically empty. The only things we had were eggs and leftover rice. Hungry Bear wanted to use the rice and whipped together a vegetarian fried rice using canned wheat gluten and snow cabbage & bamboo shoots.

We had no intention of posting about this fried rice because it was just dumping two cans of stuff onto rice. But it was so good, I asked Hungry Bear to make it again the next day so we could document it for SND and enjoy it again. You could say this is the fried rice equivalent of dump cake.

The key to this fried rice was the Companion brand canned goods. Companion is a Taiwanese company that provides Chinese-styled vegetarian products with no preservatives or artificial coloring. I love the braised wheat gluten and could eat it every day, if it weren't so high in fat.

Anyway, the fried rice was super easy to make. The canned goods had enough flavor that no soy sauce was required. And there was only a little salt to season the eggs. There's not much else to say about this vegetarian fried rice, except it's deliciously simple!

Easy Vegetarian Fried Rice Recipe

SND Note: We use a combination of eggs and egg whites to be a little healthier. You can use 4 whole eggs instead. You can find many different vegetarian canned goods at any Asian market; substitute with your favorites.

Ingredients

3 large eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
2 cups uncooked rice (6 cups cooked)
1 can (10 ounces) snow cabbage and bamboo shoots, drained
1 can (10 ounces) braised wheat gluten (seitan), drained and rinsed

Directions

Beat together eggs, egg whites and salt.
In a wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the egg mixture; lightly scramble until partially set, but still wet. Add rice and mix to coat with eggs. Add cabbage and bamboo shoots and gluten; stir-fry until heated through. That's it, enjoy.

Makes 4 servings

Tags: bamboo, cabbage, chinese, easy, eggs, fried rice, rice, vegetarian, wheat gluten

Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Broccoli

Chuck — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:16:03 +0000

If you had to choose one dish to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be? As someone who enjoys a good smorgasbord and wants it all, I have a difficult time answering this question. Without hesitation, Hungry Bear's choice is fried rice, because it's a flavorful, balanced meal. And she can't survive without rice.

The beauty of fried rice is the endless variations that can be made from leftovers or random ingredients in the fridge. In my head, I have a basic shrimp fried rice recipe my mom taught me, but I can't recall the last time I made it. Instead, each time we make fried rice, it's a unique, never to be made again creation, because the combination of leftovers/ingredients is never the same.

Leftover sauces are my favorite things to add to fried rice, for example, Thai green curry. Every time we make green curry, we end up with a cup or two of sauce in the bottom of the pot. If you take the curry sauce, add some rice, any leftover meat, sweet petite peas and bamboo shoots, all of sudden you'll have an amazing green curry fried rice. Other times, we make fried rice by just dumping leftover Asian takeout into a wok.

The recipe below is a fried rice Hungry Bear whipped together with some Chinese broccoli, Chinese sausage and Shiitake mushrooms we had in the fridge. The broccoli was leftover from making beef chow fun. Hungry Bear used minimal oil and sodium in the recipe, since there's plenty of it in the Chinese sausage. It was simple and delicious. Could you eat fried rice for the rest of your life?

Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Broccoli Recipe

SND Note: Most people recommend using day old rice, to avoid having mushy fried rice. Despite this, we use freshly cooked rice regularly in our fried rice and haven't had issues with it. Hungry Bear prefers a softer fried rice anyway. If you like a drier fried rice, the eggs can be prepared by completely scrambling them, set aside and added to the rice with the broccoli, sausage and mushrooms.

Ingredients

3-4 Chinese sausages, thinly sliced
1 pound Chinese broccoli
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 ounces Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
5-6 eggs, whisked
4 cups cooked rice, cooled
2 tablespoons soy sauce, plus extra to taste
Salt to taste

Directions

Cut the broccoli stalks in half lengthwise if more than 1/2 inch in diameter. Cut the stalks and leaves into 1/2 inch-long pieces, keeping the stalks separate from the leaves.
Over high heat, stir-fry the Chinese sausage until cooked through and fat is rendered, about 1 minute. Transfer to bowl and set aside. Reserve one tablespoon of sausage fat in the wok for the broccoli.
Stir-fry the broccoli stalks for 30 seconds. Add the leaves, lightly salt to taste and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes until the stalks are bright green and the leaves are limp. Transfer to bowl and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon oil and stir-fry the Shiitake mushrooms until soft, about 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt to taste and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoon oil in wok over high heat. Add the eggs and scramble for 30 seconds. The eggs should still be runny. Add the rice and mix the eggs evenly into the rice. Stir-fry until eggs are fully cooked and the rice gets dry, about 2-3 minutes. Add the broccoli, sausage, mushrooms and soy sauce and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes to heat through. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve.

Makes 6 servings

Other Fried Rice Recipes

Fried Rice Yang Chow-Style by Wandering Chopsticks
Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Vegetables by Nook & Pantry
Curry Chicken Fried Rice by CanaryGirl

Tags: broccoli, chinese, eggs, fried rice, lop chong, mushrooms, sausage, shiitakes, stir fry

Sunday Nite Dinner » fried rice

Easy Vegetarian Fried Rice

Easy Vegetarian Fried Rice Recipe

Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Broccoli

Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Broccoli Recipe

Other Fried Rice Recipes