Thursday, September 30, 2010

Cheap Eats: Fried Rice!

The Topic: Leftover Love

The Dish: At my house, brown rice can be a healthy, inexpensive meal on its own (buy in bulk!)—a little Braggs Liquid Aminos and gomashio sprinkled on top and I'm a happy girl. Another benefit to whipping up a batch in the trusty rice cooker is guaranteed leftovers, which is really just code for "fried rice." It's hard to say no to a dish that combines salty and spicy flavors with whole grains and vegetables. Follow a recipe one time, and for the rest of your fried rice-eating days you can improvise, turning the most random veggie combinations into takeout-worthy dinners. While the restaurant version often gets its kicks by throwing in a ton of oil and a very un-vegan dose of egg, this at-home version is animal-friendly and makes the most of whatever you have on hand. And since you're running the show, you can give or take the oil to your liking.

Get started with this easy recipe, courtesy of VegWeb. This version calls for a bag of frozen veggies, which is super simple if you have one in the freezer, just waiting to be used. If not, may I recommend seeing what frozen wonders are on sale at your local supermarket? A peas-and-carrots medley works great here, or go with a classic cauliflower-broccoli combo. If you have odds-and-ends veggies hiding in your crisper, be resourceful and chop them all. Everything tastes great in fried rice. As for the hot sauce, I'd probably go with Sriracha, but I put that stuff on everything.


Serves 2

What You Need:
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 14-ounce bag frozen vegetables, thawed slightly
2 cups cooked rice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
Salt to taste

What You Do:
  1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add garlic and onion, and stir for one minute. Add vegetables and continue to stir for two minutes. Add soy sauce and hot sauce, and continue to stir, cooking continuously for 5 minutes.
  2. Make a hole in the middle of vegetables, and drop in cooked rice. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until heated, and add salt to taste. Serve immediately.

The Final Word: Oh, and speaking of VegWeb, you're signed up for the newsletter, right? It's a free way to stay updated on what's happening on the largest veg recipe website, as well as get awesome seasonal meal ideas from everyone's favorite webmistress, Laura Hooper Beck. It doesn't hurt that her commentary is hilarious and will brighten up any day.

9 comments:

  1. Thank you for a great idea! This is one that I'm pretty sure my husband will love.

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  2. I've tried to make fried rice but have to admit I like the stuff that comes from the chinese food menu...BUT...now I am a vegan I have just given up to get it to taste at least like that. I see you used Braggs, may I ask why? Maybe that is what I am missing.
    LOL now I am hungry again....

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  3. Such an awesome blog! :-) I love it -- great post! I love fried rice, but I haven't had it in forever. My mother used to make it a lot for the family, but since the switch to vegan, no one's been making it. I'll have to recommend the recipe to her!

    Alex

    Psst: Come check out my charity blog:
    http://www.idealcharity.blogspot.com/
    Please become a follower! ;-)

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  4. This would be great to take into work for an easy lunch.

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  5. we want savvy abby back

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  6. I agree, we want Savvy Abby back!

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  7. What happened to Savvy Abby? Come back!

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  8. Can you at least update us? Is the blog no more?

    ReplyDelete