Garlic Ginger Fried Rice with a Fried Egg 22Jun11

I had elaborate plans to make a fancy dinner tonight. I was thinking maybe a creamy pasta dish with sun dried tomatoes, or roast veggies with artichokes and eggplant, or maybe a moroccan stew with cous cous… they were all very good candidates. Somewhere between 3pm and 8pm I completely lost track of time. Guess those dishes will have to wait for another day!

So what’s a good dish that’s quick yet hearty and also jam packed with flavor? It can only mean one thing … fried rice night! We always seem to have leftover rice in the fridge and it’s best to use day old rice for making fried rice. Fresh rice is too moist and will clump together.

My mom used to make me a million different variations of fried rice when I was a kid. Usually as a last minute dinner when I’d get home late after dance classes, practice or guitar lessons. She got a little creative at times but this one is one of my favorites. Garlic, ginger, a little touch of tomato paste and soy sauce. Sounds weird, but it’s delicious! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 cups of cooked rice, left over is best
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
1 large egg
pinch of salt
fresh ground pepper
1 green onion, sliced

Step 1: The Chopping!
You’ll only need about 1 in of ginger so chop or break off a chunk. Here’s the trick to chopping the ginger: use a spoon to peel the skin off. Now slice the ginger into really thin slices then into slivers. Now loosely chop into a fine mince. You don’t want a giant chunk of ginger to overpower the dish. Now mince up the garlic… you know how right? Bash it up with the side of your knife, and finely chop it into a fine dice.

Step 2: The Fried Rice!
In a medium frying pan, heat up about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Throw on the garlic and ginger… be careful, the moisture will make it spit hot oil at you! Use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix that around so it doesn’t just burn. You will smell it immediately! Crumble up the cold leftover rice all over the pan. If needed, add a few drops of water over any large rice chunks that won’t break up. Mix it around with the ginger and garlic and cook until the garlic and ginger start to brown. Now add in the tomato paste, soy sauce and frozen peas. Mix it around thoroughly until it is all incorporated. Let that cook for about 8-10 minutes so all the flavors mix together. Plate the rice and let’s move onto the fried egg!

Step 3: The Fried Egg!
In that same frying pan, heat up about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium high heat. Drop in an egg and turn down the heat to medium-low. Cook until the whites are pretty solid. I like my eggs a little more on the runny side so leave yours on for as long as you like. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper. Place the egg on top of your rice, drizzle a tiny bit of soy sauce over the egg. Serve with some green onions sprinkled on top and a little squirt of sriracha! Bon appétit!

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: asian, cooking, dinner, easy, food, quick, recipe, recipes, vegetarian

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 at 12:09 am and is filed under food, mmmm, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.