Easy Fried Rice - Kid's Favorite
This is one of my fall back recipes, it is not incredibly authentic, but it has been incredibly successful in my house- particularly when my children were younger- it was one of my favorite recipes accepted by the kids that I felt good about because it got them to eat their vegies! It was easy to make and always a success. I even loved it for the ability to use up leftovers- like the meat or vegies- making my meals spread further and happily stretching my budget! A frugal favorite!
Easy Fried Rice (Takes about 30 minutes to prepare if using old fashioned rice )
To cook, I start with the rice-
2 cups rice
1 tbsp olive oil
a dash salt
4 cups water
To cook, I prepared old fashioned rice, (you can also use instant rice
if you prefer, or as time saver. Prepare 2 cups as instructed on the
box.). For old fashioned rice:
In large sauce pan, with excellent fitting lid:
I
added olive oil and 2 cups old fashioned long grain rice. Over med high heat,
I fried the rice grains until they turn puffier white and start to brown.
Takes about 5 minutes, stir frequently- but, doing this trick helps to insure the
grains won't stick together in finished product. Once rice begins to brown,
add 4 cups hot water and bring to boil. When boil starts, reduce heat to
low simmer and cover tight. Set timer for 20 minutes.
While rice is cooking, I steam the vegies or prepare the frozen vegetables, as directed, in a sauce pan. ( Or heat up your left over vegies at this time.) You'll need about 2 cups vegies - For the pictured fried rice, I used a frozen vegetable
mix; however, I have a lot of success with just frozen peas, or just broccoli.
Last step is the meat:
1 lb. cooked shredded meat- (perfect for left overs! Use anything you have - pork chops, chicken breast, steak, ground beef, etc.)
olive oil
1 clove minced garlic, 1/2 c green onion diced tiny, salt and pepper.
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 eggs (scrambled in a bowl and set aside for last step)
Shred or dice the meat into small chunks. In fry pan, add olive oil and garlic and cook until the garlic is tender - just a minute or two (this infuses the flavor of the garlic into the oil.) Add the diced meat. Lightly fry until the meat is heated through. Add the green onions and seasonings. Stir thoroughly and cook only until the green onions are to your liking- they get soft very fast. Turn off heat.
Your sauce pan of vegies should be done at this point- Drain your vegies. set aside.
By now the rice should be done. Yay! Stir to fluff, and check to make sure it's completely cooked.
In the meat fry pan, bring back to heat until all is sizzling, add in rice, and soy sauce. Stir together until all is combined well. Add vegies and stir again. Once combined well, move all ingredients to the side -so as to give yourself a pocket space to work in of fresh fry pan- pour in the scrambled egg and fry until completely done. Takes only a quick minute- do not worry about the remaining rice- at this point- it's just gaining the extra fried flavor as you focus on the egg. I scramble it with the edge of my spatula. Once the egg is done stir into the rice mixture. (Note: I do not add personally add extra salt to this as the soy sauce is already mainly salt. Taste test to decide for yourself.)
Yay! You are done! Use as a main dish or a side dish, depending on how adventurous you are. I served a salad first, and at times I will serve with a spring roll.
